At the same time, she was ready to go home.
“Chloe?”
She could hear Dad calling her name, but his voice was so soft. It almost sounded far away. Chloe mumbled something in response as she rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head.
“Chloe? Chloe! Wake up, Chloe!”
Dad was shaking her shoulder and speaking louder now. Chloe couldn’t have slept through it if she tried.
“Too early,” she groaned. “Just wanna sleep a little…”
“Chloe, honey, there’s been a big storm,” Dad said.
Chloe’s eyes snapped open as she bolted upright in bed. “Are you serious?” she gasped. “How much snow?”
“Two feet, maybe three,” Dad said. “The drifts are so high it’s hard to tell exactly how much fell overnight.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Chloe cried as she raced over to the window. She pulled back the curtain and gasped when she saw the winter wonderland outside. Though a pale, eerie light reflected off the snow-covered surfaces, Chloe could see that the snow was still falling pretty heavily. The world outside the cabin was almost unrecognizable.
“Oh no,” she said, turning to face Dad. “Sandy is going to freak out!”
“Yes,” he said, glancing at a text message on his phone. “Apparently, she already has.”
“What if we’re stuck?” Chloe wondered. “We’re not stuck up here, right? They plowed the roads, didn’t they? Didn’t they?”
“I… have no idea,” Dad admitted. “Honestly, from here I can barely even see the roads. It’s not white-out conditions… but it was probably pretty close overnight.”
“What are we going to do?” Chloe asked.
“That’s why I had to wake you up,” Dad told her. “We’ve got to get over to the lodge and find out our options. Charlie’s had his breakfast and medicine, so go ahead and get dressed—bundle up, lots of layers—and let’s go. Jessica and Sandy will meet us there.”
After Chloe got dressed, she and Dad trudged through the waist-deep snow. It was dense, heavy snow—great for building a snowman, or even a snow fort—but Chloe knew that the same qualities that made it perfect to play in would make their travel home especially tricky.
“How was Charlie when you took him out?” Chloe asked as they approached the lodge. “Is he still feeling okay?”
“Yes, he’s fine,” Dad said. “I think his upset stomach the other day was just a fluke. He ate every bite of his breakfast. And speaking of breakfast, maybe you and Sandy can get something to eat while Jessica and I figure out what to do.”
“I’m not sure Sandy will have much appetite,” Chloe said as they walked into the lobby. “She’s probably going to be too upset to eat.” After a moment of searching, Chloe spotted Jessica. “Dad! I see them,” Chloe said, pointing at the long line snaking toward the reservations desk.
“Oh, good—they’re almost at the front of the line,” Dad said. “Let’s find out what’s going on.”
As Chloe and her father squeezed into line beside Jessica and Sandy, Chloe noticed how relieved Jessica looked to see Dad, even though the worried expression never left her face. “Morning,” she said. “Quite a winter wonderland out there, isn’t it?”
“Spare me,” Sandy said, shaking her head in disgust.
Dad and Jessica exchanged a glance. “As you can guess, I’m not very popular right now,” Jessica said, still trying to make light of the situation.
“I can’t believe you think this is funny!” Sandy snapped. “It’s Christmas Eve, and we’re stuck here and you keep making jokes!”
“Lower your voice, please,” Jessica said. Then she turned back to Dad. “We haven’t even reached the front of the line, but from what I gather, the roads are pretty much impassable. And they don’t expect the plows to make it up here for at least three or four days.”
“Three or four days?” Chloe exclaimed. Back home, they’d never gotten snowed in for more than a day or two.
Jessica nodded grimly. “The plows take care of the city first, then the suburbs, and make it into the mountains last,” she explained. “But maybe that was just a rumor. Maybe when we get to the front of the line, we’ll find out that—”
“Next!” a young woman called.
Dad put his hand on Jessica’s shoulder. “I think that’s us,” he said.
The woman behind the desk greeted them with a smile as bright as her shiny gold name tag, which read MARA. “Good morning!” she chirped. “How can I help you?”
“We’re supposed to be checking out today—but we’re not sure we can leave,” Jessica began. “When do you expect the roads to be cleared?”
“Three to four days, at least,” the woman replied. “And that’s if they don’t freeze overnight. Then it could be a week.”
“A week?” Sandy cried in dismay.
Mara nodded. “But don’t worry—we’re happy to extend your reservation at a lowered rate,” she said. “And on the plus side, it looks like we’ll definitely be having a white Christmas here at the lodge!”
“Mom,” Sandy said urgently, pulling on Jessica’s hand. “We can’t stay longer—we have to go home. We—”
“Sandy, I can’t do this right now,” Jessica said shortly. But Sandy wouldn’t stop.
“You promised we’d be home for Christmas,” she said—and this time, Chloe noticed that there was no anger in Sandy’s voice. Just a desperate, quivery hope. “Please, Mom, please, you promised—”
“You go ahead and talk to Sandy,” Dad said to Jessica as he stepped up to the counter. “I’ll handle this.”
“Thank you,” Jessica said gratefully as she guided Sandy over to a small alcove.
“Sorry about that, Mara,” Dad said. “What do we need to do to extend our reservation?”
“Last name?” Mara asked.
“Warner and Martinez,” Dad replied.
Mara’s long nails went clack-clack-clack on the keyboard. As Mara peered at the screen, her smile faded.
Uh-oh, Chloe thought. That can’t be good.
“Well, I have good news and bad news,” Mara finally said. “The bad news is that your cabins have been rented out to a party that’s already arrived. But the good news is that we’ll be happy to accommodate you in rooms in the lodge! And we can send someone to bring your luggage up.” Mara smiled brightly again.
“Thank goodness,” Dad said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done with two adults, two girls, a cat, and a dog—”
Just like that, Mara’s smile went out again, as if someone had flicked a light switch. “Pets?” she said. “Oh, dear. I’m so sorry, but pets are only allowed in the cabins. Rooms in the lodge are strictly pet-free.”
For a moment, Dad was at a loss for words. “But—our pets are already here,” he said. “What are we supposed to do? Leave them in the snow?”
“Dad!” Chloe cried indignantly. She didn’t care what the policy was—there was no way she’d leave Charlie out in the cold!
“I’m very sorry, sir,” Mara replied. “But we simply can’t have pets in the lodge, for the comfort of all our guests.”
Dad ran his hand through his hair, making it stand up funny, and that’s when Chloe realized how stressed out he really was. “Is there, ah, some sort of boarding facility nearby?” he asked.
“Not that you could reach on these roads, I’m afraid,” Mara said. “So… do you want me to transfer your reservation to the lodge? Or will you be checking out as originally scheduled?”
“Dad, we can’t—” Chloe began urgently.
“I know, sweetie,” he said. “Just let me think for—wait! If the roads aren’t passable, then the people who have reservations for our cottages won’t be able to make it.”
“Unfortunately, they’re already here,” Mara said. “They’ll be checking in as soon as you’ve checked out.”
“So… you’re telling me that there’s nothing you can do for us?” Dad asked. “We either take rooms with no arrangements for our
pets, or we all check out and—what? Sleep in our cars?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Mara said. “We’ll do our best to find a place for your entire family, but we have quite a few guests and reservation extensions to arrange. We’ll do everything we can.”
Dad sighed in frustration. “Let me speak to the rest of my family,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
Chloe trailed after Dad, her mind swirling with too many thoughts and emotions to process at once. The storm—being snowed in—losing the cottages—no place for Charlie and Elsa—and now Dad had used the word family to describe Jessica and Sandy? Were his feelings for Jessica even stronger now, despite all the drama of the weekend? Were Chloe’s most secret wishes about to come true? But—if they did—how would she handle Sandy on a full-time basis? Even their pets didn’t get along!
“Tom,” Jessica said, “what’s the latest?”
“It’s not great news,” he began. Chloe watched Sandy’s face as Dad explained everything. She got very pale at first, and then her cheeks grew pink and her eyes flashed with anger.
“This just gets worse and worse,” Sandy snapped. “If you think for even one minute that I’m just going to let Elsa sleep in our freezing-cold car—”
“Nobody’s suggesting that,” Dad interrupted her.
Sandy whirled around to face him. “How did these other guests even get here?” she demanded. “If we’re stuck in, why aren’t they stuck out?”
Dad glanced at Jessica and cleared his throat. “I assume that they arrived last night and stayed at the lodge or nearby—before the storm hit,” he said.
“Oh, so they planned ahead?” Sandy asked sarcastically. “If only we had, I don’t know, some kind of special technology that could, like, predict big snowstorms!”
Chloe would’ve laughed if everything wasn’t so serious.
“That was pretty smart of them to travel before the storm,” Sandy continued. “If only we could’ve—”
“That’s enough,” Jessica said sharply. “There’s no point in saying I told you so. We have to—”
“Sandy’s right,” Dad spoke up.
Everyone turned to look at him, but his eyes were locked on Sandy.
“I’m sorry, Sandy,” he said. “You tried to warn us, but we were so determined to make this getaway work just the way we planned that nobody listened. Your mom and I should’ve been more responsible, and I apologize for my poor judgment.”
For a moment, no one knew what to say. Then Sandy looked away and shrugged. “Whatever. It’s fine,” she said.
It wasn’t fine—they all knew it was very far from fine—but she came pretty close to accepting Dad’s apology.
And that, Chloe knew, was a start.
“I can’t turn back the clock and get us on the road last night, before the snow,” Dad said. “And I can’t get us back to our own homes for Christmas. But I’m going to do everything I can to find us a place to stay—and when I say us, I mean all of us, Charlie and Elsa included. They’re not just pets. They’re family members. Where we go, they go.”
“How?” Chloe asked. “They’re banned from the lodge and there aren’t any cabins available.”
“The lodge isn’t the only hotel in the Poconos,” Dad said. “We might not be able to get home, but we can probably make it down the road to another resort. Excuse me—I’m going to make some calls.”
Chloe’s heart swelled with pride. Dad is the best, she thought. No matter what went wrong, he was always ready to fix it.
Now all she could do was cross her fingers—and hope for the best.
“Excuse me!”
Chloe turned around as an older couple hurried over to them.
“I’m sorry, but we couldn’t help overhearing,” the woman said. “Do you need a cabin? For your pets?”
“Yes!” Chloe exclaimed, glancing over at Jessica. “We have a dog and a cat and they can’t come in the lodge—”
“Why, we’d be happy to give you our cabin and stay in the lodge instead,” the man said.
“Really?” Jessica asked in disbelief. “You’d do that?”
“Of course we would, dear!” the woman said, patting Jessica’s arm. “We don’t mind giving up a cabin so your poor little fur babies have a nice warm place to stay.”
“And staying in the lodge isn’t exactly chopped liver,” the man joked.
“Thank you!” Chloe cried. “Thank you so much!”
The woman smiled indulgently at her. “You’re welcome,” she replied. “We booked the Mistletoe, and I think you’re going to love it! We stayed there last winter, too. Now, it’s on the small size, so it will be a little cozy for a family of four, but I’m sure sisters like you won’t mind sharing a room!”
“We’re—” Sandy began, but Jessica quickly cut her off.
“The Mistletoe is where we’ve been since Saturday morning!” Jessica said.
“Even better!” the woman exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. “Now you won’t have to pack up and move! Run along and fetch your father, girls, so you can tell him the good news. We’ll get these reservations straightened out so that we can all start celebrating. After all, it’s Christmas Eve!”
“I’ll tell Dad,” Chloe quickly volunteered before Sandy could say anything. She knew he’d be glad to hear that they could stay in a cottage after all—but now that Chloe’s immediate sense of relief had passed, the reality of the situation was starting to sink in. Mistletoe Cottage was smaller than the one where Chloe and her dad had stayed. It would be a tight fit under the best of circumstances—but they’d be cramming in there with a dog and a cat who hated each other. And Sandy, Chloe thought, who kind of hates me.
A short while later, Dad and Chloe carried their suitcases over to Mistletoe Cottage. Chloe kept a tight hold on Charlie’s leash as he frolicked in the snow. Hope he gets out some of that energy before he sees Elsa again, Chloe thought. Then she remembered that Elsa would be staying in Sandy’s room now that Dad would be back at their cottage.
Jessica swung open the door before they were halfway down the path. Chloe had a feeling that she’d been watching for them.
“Welcome!” Jessica called out. “Come on in from the cold!”
Inside the entryway, Chloe sniffed the air as she stomped the snow off her boots. “Mmm, something smells good,” she said. She unhooked Charlie’s leash and hung it on the peg by the door.
“Sandy and I made cocoa,” Jessica said. “We thought you’d need to warm up after lugging your suitcases through the snow.”
Just then, Sandy appeared in the doorway to the living room, with Elsa trailing behind her. Sandy could’ve reached down to scoop Elsa into her arms.
But she didn’t.
Chloe wished she hadn’t unhooked Charlie’s leash so soon. But it was too late. He was free—and Elsa was just a few feet away. Chloe’s breath caught in her throat. If Charlie charged at Elsa again—even worse, if he accidentally hurt her—
But, to Chloe’s amazement, Charlie seemed to have learned his lesson. He approached Elsa cautiously, keeping his body close to the ground and his tail low. From all the dog-care books she’d read, Chloe recognized the pose instantly: Charlie was showing Elsa that she was the boss.
Charlie moved toward Elsa. Everyone watched—and no one moved. Elsa sat very still, watching him through her bright green eyes.
It’s working, Chloe thought. They’re not fighting! They’re getting to know each other! They’re—
Elsa’s paw was a blur of gray as she lashed out at Charlie. Chloe didn’t need to see her claws to know they were out. Charlie’s whimper of pain—and the way he scurried behind the couch to hide—told her everything she needed to know.
“Charlie!” Chloe cried.
“Oh, Elsa.” Jessica sighed in exasperation.
Sandy shrugged. “You can’t blame Elsa for defending herself,” she said.
Chloe’s temper flared—and she only felt angrier when she noticed the specks of bright red blood on
Charlie’s muzzle. “Charlie didn’t even do anything this time!” she said.
“Let’s all just—” Dad began. Then his face scrunched up and he sneezed loudly. And again. And again!
“Okay, that’s it,” Jessica announced. “Sandy, please take Elsa to your room, like we discussed.”
“But—”
“Nope,” Jessica cut her off. “She’s making Tom sneeze and she attacked Charlie. She’s lost her living room privileges for the rest of the trip.”
“I can—achoooo!—take some—achoooo!—allergy meds,” Dad tried to say.
“Sandy. Now,” Jessica said—in a voice that meant business.
Without another word, Sandy bent down to pick up Elsa. Then she disappeared down the hall. The slam of her door made the little cabin shake.
“I’m happy to try the medicine,” Dad said, wiping his watery eyes.
“It looks like you’ll need to try it even if Elsa’s in a different room,” Jessica said, looking concerned. “I’m so sorry, Tom, I’m sure her fur is everywhere.”
“It’s not your fault,” Dad told her. “It’s not anyone’s fault.”
“Come on—I’ll get you a glass of water,” Jessica said as she moved toward the kitchen. “How about you, Chloe? I bet you’d like some cocoa.”
“Definitely,” Chloe replied—but even she could hear that her voice sounded odd. It was strained and hollow, which was a pretty good reflection of how she felt inside. Just a couple days ago, she’d had such high hopes for this trip. Chloe had never dreamed that it would lead to the worst Christmas ever. It wasn’t even the fact that there wouldn’t be presents or any of the special traditions from home. No, it was all the bad feelings. Jessica and Sandy were obviously having a hard time. Sandy seemed miserable beyond words. Even Elsa and Charlie couldn’t get along for five minutes!
It doesn’t have to be this way, Chloe thought miserably. But at this point, it would take a Christmas miracle to save the holiday.
Celebrate the Season--Let It Snow! Page 6