Kyle pulled the keys to his shop out of his pocket. “Let’s take this conversation inside where it’ll be warm, and I can get you a cup of coffee to help you shake off the cold.”
“I’d like that, thank you.” Greta followed alongside Kyle and engaged in the hometown small talk that filled their trip from the parking lot to the front of Kyle’s store with something approximating attention. Her thoughts, though, filled with anxiety. The entirety of this year’s Christmas depended on the answer to the question on the tip of her tongue. If Kyle declined to help right here at the beginning, she wasn’t sure how she would handle the feeling of being a failure.
Kyle pretended he wasn’t dying to know what favor Aubrey’s mom might require of him. Like Greta, he kept the conversation going about everything but the one thing he wanted to hear about, Aubrey. He did a soliloquy on the nine kinds of Christmas ebullience that decked out the storefronts on the road in this one stop light town.
How he came up with the idea to extemporaneously categorize the shop owners into those who put up lights, those who put up wreaths, and those who put up both, was beyond his ability to know. He also mentioned to Greta he had volunteered to make a new stand for the gigantic Christmas tree in the center of town, to use for next year’s celebration.
Kyle cycled through all those topics in rapid-fire bursts, during the less than two-minute walk from his pickup truck to the front door of his store. By the time he put the key in and let Greta inside, he was sure she knew the only thing he cared about was the one thing he’d gone out of his way not to mention at all, her daughter Aubrey.
“Have a seat Mrs…” Kyle caught himself in the nick of time, “Greta. I’ll get us a cup of coffee.” Kyle moved a set of blueprints from the chair in front of his desk so Greta would have a natural place to sit down.
“Thank you, Kyle. I’ll take mine with a splash of cream, and a dash of sugar, if you have it.” Greta set her winter gloves on Kyle’s desk with deliberation. She was trying to find the courage to ask for her favor. She had to make this work. It’s what this Christmas demanded. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a theatrical bone in her body. It was times like these she truly missed Scott. He was such a wonderful husband. He was such a great father to Aubrey. He would have pulled it off with no problem. Even Kyle’s mother, Melissa, would have been a better choice.
No matter, she was the one who was here. She was the one who would have to do.
After fixing the coffee to Greta’s imprecise specifications, Kyle set the cup in front of her. He circled his desk and deposited himself into the chair which faced her. This looked a little like what Victoria did to Aubrey and Beth back in New York City. The difference was, in Kyle’s case, there were no other chairs in the room. “I heard Aubrey was coming home for Christmas this year.” His efforts to look casual when he said this failed. Kyle couldn’t hide how much this news pleased him.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Greta took a small sip of coffee. She hoped it would fortify her.
“What can I do to help?”
None of the scenarios which ran through his mind the night before involved Aubrey’s mom coming to his place of business and gift wrapping a chance for him to see Aubrey again.
He had nothing rehearsed for this situation.
On the other side of the table Greta found herself thinking how wonderful it was Kyle always volunteered to help. That’s how everyone in this town knew him. Kyle was the person to call when you needed a hand. It was past time somebody helped him for a change.
“As you know, it’s been almost five months since Scott passed away.” Kyle reached out and gave Greta’s hands a squeeze after she said these words. Greta showed she appreciated the small gesture with a nod of thanks. “And you seem to have heard that I’ve asked Aubrey to come home, so I don’t have to spend my first Christmas without him alone. Thankfully, she’s agreed. But…” Greta broke off. In that instant she became unsure she wanted to ask for this favor. Silence accumulated, like snow, inside Kyle’s shop.
Kyle ventured into the void. “What can I do for you, and your family, Greta.”
Reassured by the fact he included her family in his offer to help, Greta began to circle her point. “It’s just this forecast, and that mountain between here and Charlottesville. I know we won’t make it back in one piece.” Here, Greta looked at Kyle with sincere pleading in her eyes. “Kyle, will you go to the airport and pick her up for me?”
Kyle’s mouth opened and shut twice with no sounds passing through his lips. He was dumbfounded by Greta’s request. Why on earth would she ask him, Kyle Immanuel Morgan, to go to an airport and pick up her daughter? She knew the history between them. It just didn’t make sense. There was no possible world in which this made any sense at all. “With all due respect, ma’am…”
Greta interrupted Kyle to stop that thought train before it derailed her plans. “Believe me, I know it won’t be entirely comfortable for either of you, but you’re the only person in this town I trust to get her safely over that mountain in the ten inches of snow they’re calling for tonight. If it weren’t for the storm, I promise I wouldn’t ask.” Greta grabbed Kyle’s hands in subconscious imitation of the way Kyle grasped hers a few minutes ago.
“If you think she won’t mind.” Speaking of minds, Kyle thought Greta was losing hers. Her plan was saved by Kyle’s compulsive need to help those less fortunate than himself. Over the years, the trait caused him to accept many proposals that ran counter to his better judgment. There was also an even chance he wanted to see Aubrey so bad he would go along with the most ridiculous of schemes to give himself that opportunity.
“Thank you so much Kyle. I knew we could count on you.” Greta released Kyle’s hands.
The look on her face suggested to him those ten inches of snow weren’t the only reason Greta asked for this favor. He couldn’t prove it, and he wouldn’t mention it to anyone if they asked, but a part of him felt like he was being maneuvered by Aubrey’s mom. When he had the time to really think about it, he would no doubt throw his mama into that maneuvering process as well. After all, how had she known Aubrey was coming to town if she hadn’t gotten the information from Greta? No matter, he had committed. Now he needed the details. “What time does she get to the airport?”
“Nine o’clock.” Greta braced herself for the inevitable question she knew Kyle was going to ask. If he did, she planned to lie. The problem was she was so bad at lying, she thought Kyle would see through her. Greta searched herself for the strength to make this work. Christmas depended on whatever acting skills she could bring to Kyle’s table in these next few moments.
“Aubrey knows you’ve asked me, right?” Kyle suspected Aubrey not only had no idea her mother was sitting in his shop asking him for help, but also imagined Aubrey would have an absolute fit whenever she found out. He would go along with Greta’s plan. The chance to see Aubrey again guaranteed he would. But he didn’t want to be unprepared for the mauling he would receive when Aubrey saw him at the airport for the first time in twelve years. He knew the mauling would be more severe if she didn’t know beforehand Kyle would be the one waiting.
“I’ll call her later and let her know.”
Greta prayed she hadn’t blown it. She knew she wouldn’t be convincing saying she told Aubrey about Kyle picking her up—when she hadn’t done any such thing. She hoped the excuse about calling Aubrey later, which Greta manufactured on the fly, would buy her time.
Kyle studied Greta, while thinking back for the second time in as many minutes on that conversation he’d had with his own mother the night before. It was right after she told him Aubrey would be coming home for Christmas. She said something that caused Kyle to lay awake half the night thinking about Aubrey Wilson instead of getting a good night’s sleep.
His mother told him if the chance came up for him to meet with Aubrey and get some closure on their relationship, he should take it. No matter how silly or illogical the chance seemed to Kyle, h
is mother advised he should take that chance. Now that Greta was in his shop offering him a tremendous piece of broken logic with Christmas bells attached, he found he was sure of what he wanted to do.
He wanted, with all his heart and soul, to take that chance.
“Please, make sure you give her a call.” Kyle offered Greta an easy out in case she never got around to placing that call, “if you can find the time.”
Greta sighed relief into the air of Kyle’s shop. “I will, don’t worry.” She knew as well as Kyle there was no way she would be calling her daughter to give her the heads up. She wasn’t sure she could do much better than getting Aubrey and Kyle into the same space, in this case the Charlottesville airport, and letting the pieces fall where they may from there. Having been one half of the dynamic duo which raised Aubrey to be an independent and fiery young woman, she also knew Aubrey would be more likely to walk home from Charlottesville than take a ride from Kyle.
Greta was determined not to let that discourage her. “Thank you again, Kyle. You really are a life-saver. When I take my driving in inclement weather into account, it’s possible I’m making a literal statement with those thanks.”
“My pleasure, Greta. I’ll get her home safely. Don’t worry about that.”
Greta walked out of Kyle’s shop and into the brilliant sunshine that reflected from the snow banks on the edges of the road. She sent her eyes skyward for the briefest of moments. A private communion between her and her husband who died five months prior. She was telling him with her look she had done all she could. She fulfilled her obligations. All of the pieces were now in motion and their orbits would soon collide. It was out of her hands. The details would have to be left to The Magic of Christmas.
Chapter Three
Aubrey entered the waiting room area of the very small Charlottesville airport. She scanned the room looking for her mother. When she didn’t see her, she headed to the baggage reclamation area. It wasn’t like her mother to be late, but the snow was coming down like crazy. Had she gotten behind schedule? If she didn’t show up in the next five minutes, Aubrey would text her to make sure she was okay.
Kyle positioned himself in a secluded corner of the waiting area on purpose. He wanted to see her before she saw him.
She was so beautiful.
If possible, she was more beautiful than the last time he held her in his arms. And, on that day, she’d been dressed like a princess. He knew, in that first moment, he still loved her. He knew, in that first moment, he would move Heaven and Earth for the chance to be with her again.
He had guessed Greta wouldn’t let Aubrey know he was picking her up. Since Aubrey’s eyes skipped over him when she surveyed the room, he knew his guess was accurate. People see what they expect to see. Aubrey didn’t expect to see Kyle. He got up from his seat and approached her. There was nothing left to do but greet her and see if she punched him.
“Hello, Aubrey.”
Aubrey blanched.
She recognized that voice.
She had no idea why she was hearing it here, in this airport.
What monumental string of coincidences would be necessary for she and Kyle to share the same airport, at the same time, four days before Christmas. She then remembered her mom wasn’t here, it was snowing very hard outside, and her mom hated driving in the snow. A torturous kind of two plus two spiraled through her brain. There was no way her mom could have asked Kyle to come pick her up, was there? He COULD NOT be the other arrangements, could he?
Aubrey turned around with malice flashing across her face. “What are you doing here?”
“Your mama asked me to come get you.” Kyle dropped his head in apology. “Just so you know, she told me she was going to give you a call. She must have gotten busy and forgotten to do it.” Kyle conformed to the overwhelming goodness in his personality and presented the most charitable explanation for Greta not getting that phone call made.
“Why?” This was the least venomous thing Aubrey could think to say. If her mom were there, it’s quite possible the scene that would have ensued would have gotten Aubrey put on the ‘no-fly list’ for life.
“She was worried about the snow, I believe.” When Kyle said the ‘I believe’ a bit of southern twang slipped into his tone. It annoyed Aubrey. He could see it in her face. It was as though he had dragged his fingernails across a blackboard in Aubrey’s mind. “What?”
“Please stop that while I try to think?” Aubrey demanded.
“Stop what?” Kyle was determined to make her say it.
Aubrey’s look asked if he were serious with his question. When he didn’t budge from his position, she enlightened him. “Talking like you’re from the mountains.”
Kyle couldn’t contain the smile that spread across his face. Aubrey would have more luck getting a pig into the air then getting the mountain out of Kyle. “But, Aubrey, I am from the mountains.”
Aubrey developed a spontaneous, and complete, apathy to this situation. It extended to her mother who caused it without giving her any warning, and to this knight in shining mountaindom who personified it by insisting on trying to rescue her. She may have been wearing the costume, but she refused to play her part. “I am not a damsel in distress.”
Kyle held his hands up to plead innocence. “I never said you were.”
“You haven’t said it out loud, I’ll give you that.” Aubrey wouldn’t know for sure how this travesty had been organized until she spoke with her mom, but for right now Kyle was in front of her and he would be catching all her ire as though he were solely responsible. What kind of rock had he been living under up there on that mountain that he thought after twelve years with zero contact, she would accept a pleasant ride home with him? The more she thought about it, the less she blamed her mom for this injustice and the more she blamed Kyle.
“Aubrey Wilson, you are the world’s first fully functioning unstoppable force. I would never presume you needed help from a mountain man like myself. However, your mama asked me to pick you up and I intend to honor that request to the best of my ability.” If Kyle imagined the sensibleness of everything he said was going to sway Aubrey, he was mistaken.
“Well, I’m not riding with you.” Aubrey shook her head no, convincing herself. She said the first thing that popped into her head. “I will rent a car if I have to.”
Kyle gave Aubrey a slight bow to signal he accepted her decision. “Suit yourself.” He then walked out the front doors of the airport leaving Aubrey staring after him. It took every ounce of strength he had not to turn around. Even though she berated him from the first moment she saw him, it had been wonderful to talk to her after all these years. He would take being berated if that was the only way he could get more time with her.
Aubrey watched him walk away with feelings that wouldn’t settle. Was she angry? She felt she should be angry, at both him and her mom. What were those two thinking anyway? And which one was the mastermind behind this ambush? She had half a mind to call her mom right now. However, the more she focused, the less sure she was anger was what she was really feeling. She was undeniably surprised, but a part of her seemed… What was the right word? Pleased? Had all that anger she unloosed on Kyle been part of the costume she wore to play the part she thought she should play based on their history together?
Had her temper been an act?
Whatever it was she was feeling; she didn’t have time to focus on it. She sent him away. And he was the one who had been sent to retrieve her. This meant her new number one priority was renting a Jeep, or a four-wheel drive SUV. Something that would carry her home through the thickening snow.
A half an hour, and all four airport car rental agencies with offices at the airport, later Aubrey stood in that thickening snow. She circled a late model rear wheel drive muscle car that was all engine and exhaust and absolutely zero traction and steering. The rental clerk checked the required boxes on his tablet to indicate Aubrey was getting the car with no damage. “It’s not too late to get the i
nsurance, you know.”
Aubrey bit her lip. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford the insurance, she just hated the way they oversold you on it. They had this way of making you feel guilty about it like it was their personal car you would be wrecking if you didn’t get the insurance. “You really have nothing in a four-wheel drive.” Aubrey asked. It was the fourth time since she met the clerk, she had asked this question. Why was it so hard to find a car that had some chance of making it through a wicked snowstorm? At this point she would have accepted something with all-wheel drive, or even a decent set of snow tires.
The rental clerk laughed at Aubrey. “No matter how many times you ask, ma’am, we’ve been sold out on those since Tuesday. I mean, this storm wasn’t a surprise. Most people planned ahead.”
Aubrey considered letting the rental clerk know most people weren’t ambushed by their mom and their high school ex-boyfriend four days before Christmas. Of course, that story would take way too much time and effort to explain. He wanted to get back inside so he could finish whatever series he was binge-watching on his phone. Aubrey took a deep look into the low-hanging clouds. She knew she wasn’t making it home without putting at least one dent in this brand-new car. “Give me the insurance.”
“Wise choice.” The rental clerk checked the last box on his tablet and handed Aubrey the keys to her rental car.
*
Of course, Aubrey drove it straight into a ditch.
The worst part was, she could still see the airport from where she sat immobilized by the deep snow. No matter how much of the car’s horsepower she brought to bear on the task of freeing herself from the ditch, the car would not move an inch in any direction. The massive tires just spun and spun and spun. There was nothing left for her to do. Aubrey would have to get out of the car, get down on her hands and knees, and see if she could dig her way out. She wouldn’t call the police to come help her unless she felt like she was about to get frostbite. At that point, she would have to admit to herself everything else had failed.
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