A Trip Back to Snowy Pines (Book II in the Christmas Village Trilogy)

by Lisa Pendergrass

  She’d never told anyone about that dream except Chris. His mom had left him and his dad when he was too young to remember. After years of drunken rages and unexplained bruises, social services had finally pulled Chris from his home and given him to his grandmother. Most fourteen-year-old boys would have let something like that turn him hard and bitter. But Lola would never forget rounding the corner of their apartment complex and finding Chris alone, quickly turning his back to her, but not before she saw him looking at a picture of his mom and crying. Lola was generally shy, especially around an older boy, but there was something about him that she knew immediately he wouldn’t insult her or blow her off. So she started talking, and before she knew it she’d told him all about her mother’s stint in rehab and her dream and then her few weeks in foster care. He’d listened intently, asking questions and sharing opinions. She fell in love with him that day and from then on the thought that she’d marry anyone other them him never entered her mind.

  They married right after her high school graduation. Her friends thought she was crazy, but they’d been together for seven years already. They were so happy and in love. She had a scholarship to a nursing program and he was finishing his last semester of business school and had already been accepted to the law school at UM. They were well on their way to being one of those rare success stories – kids raised in and out of foster care who married too young but were getting their education and building the kind of lives people dreamed of. And then four months into their marriage Lola took a stomach virus that wouldn’t go away. After nearly a month she faced the obvious truth. This was no stomach virus. This was Ethan. She was less than enthusiastic, but Chris was great. He postponed law school, convinced her to go ahead with nursing and he went to work at a bank. They’d really done okay. It hadn’t been much of a setback after all. And they both adored Ethan. She really thought they’d avoided becoming the clichéd too-young-to-marry tragedy. But now she realized that maybe she’d come to that conclusion too soon.

  She shook her head, realizing she wasn’t on the road she’d meant to be on. She wasn’t sure where she was. She looked down at her gas hand and it was dangerously close to empty.

  “I know I filled up yesterday.” She muttered. “How long have I been driving?”

  She saw lights up ahead and decided to turn in and try to get her bearings. Luckily it turned out to be a mini-mart and gas station that was still open. She started her car filling up and went in for a caffeine free diet Coke and something to munch on and hopefully some sense of direction.

  She opened the door and immediately realized something was terribly wrong.

  “Get in here, and close the door, quick!”

  She stared, trying to figure out what was going on, and then she saw that the man who’d spoken wore a cowboy hat and a scarf pulled high on his face and was holding a gun while another man wearing a baseball cap low over his eyes and his collar turned up was behind the counter at the cash register. A young man in the red clerks vest was sitting in the back corner in front of the drink cooler with his hands tied behind his back. She was pretty sure his shoulders were shaking from crying.

  “Give me your phone.” He ordered.

  “It’s i-i-in my c-car.” She stammered.

  “Then give me your keys.”

  She threw them down on the ground and started for the door but he grabbed her, yanking hard on a handful of hair.

  “Get over there.” He said, pushing her toward the clerk. He pulled out a cord and tied her hands behind her back and then tied the other end to the door handle. “Now I didn’t come in here to shoot anyone, but I will if I have to, you got it?”

  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She got her first look at the clerk who was indeed crying and couldn’t have been more than eighteen. She also realized that his ankles were tied together too.

  “You got all of it?” He yelled.

  “Yeah, let’s go.”

  It happened just like that. No threats, no telling them to count to 100 or that they’d come back and kill them if they called the cops. They were just gone, presumably with Lola’s car, IPhone and beloved Michael Kors handbag. The door closed behind them and a sob escaped Lola as she finally allowed herself to make eye contact with the boy.

  “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” She asked tearfully.

  “No. I’m so sorry you came in. I was praying someone would come in but I’m sorry it was you.” He said, openly crying now.

  “Can you get up? I can’t get loose from this door.”

  “I don’t know. I’ll… I can try.” He said.

  “How much traffic do you get out here? Where are we?”

  “A c-couple of miles off of 330. We don’t get a lot of traffic. I doubt we’ll see anyone till my relief comes in the morning.”

  “Oh God, how did I get this far off course?” She asked, struggling to get her hands free, and realizing that she was simply succeeding in pulling them tighter.

  “I can’t get up.” He said.

  “Maybe if you scoot over here and put your back to the wall, then you can push up from there.”

  He nodded and began trying to do just that.

  “You’re doing great. What’s your name, by the way? I mean, we’ve been held at gunpoint together. We should be on a first name basis.”

  “I’m Kendall.”

  “Kendall, I’m Lola. Lola McCauley.”

  “Like… the Copa Cabana?” He asked, as he attempted to push off the floor.

  “Exactly like the Copa Cabana. When I was little that was what my mother sang me to sleep with.”

  He laughed nervously, but it sounded more like a sob. “I can’t do it Lola. I’m sorry. I’m trying.”

  “It’s okay. We’re fine.” She said reassuringly. “We’ll just hang out here till someone comes.”

  “But the morning shift person won’t be here till 6:00 and her name is Talia and she’s always late.”

  “That’s just a little more than five hours from now. We’ll be fine for five hours.” She said, though she realized she desperately needed to go to the bathroom, and she hadn’t eaten since… she wasn’t sure when.

  “What if they come back?” Kendall asked, trembling.

  “They’re not coming back. They’ve got money and my car had a full tank of gas. They’re not slowing down for anything.” She reasoned.

  “But what if they’d killed us? When you tried to run I really thought they were going to shoot you.”

  “But they didn’t. We’re fine. We’ve just got to stay calm till morning. Come on… let’s… let’s sing!” Lola said, hoping to distract him. “Her name was Lola. She was a show girl. With yellow feathers in her hair…”

  “And her dress cut down to there.” Kendall added, joining in.

  They sang along for a while and then Lola began to hear her voice getting farther away.

  “Kendall… I don’t want to worry you, but I’m feeling a little woozy.” She said, though in reality her vision seemed to be alternating between flashes of blurry and big spots that blocked out everything. “I’m gonna try and slide down and sit, okay.”

  “Lola… you… you don’t look so good. You’re really pale.” Kendall said, suddenly sounding panicked.

  “I’m okay.” She said, though her voice was very far away even to her own ears. “I just haven’t eaten all day and I’m a little anemic.”

  “Anemic? Doesn’t that mean you don’t have enough blood?” He said nervously.

  “It’s okay. I’m a nurse at University of Maryland Medical Center. It’s really very common when…” Her words tapered off as she slipped into unconsciousness, but the last thought that she had before blackness overtook her was that she really should have told Chris that she was pregnant again.

  Chapter 2

  “You've been given a great gift, George. A chance to see what the world would be like without you.”… Clarence Oddbody

  “Is the baby okay?” Lola asked, grasping at life and try
ing to claw back into consciousness.

  “What baby?”

  “My baby. I’m fifteen weeks pregnant.” She said, her hand dropping to her stomach but feeling only flat, instead of the bump she’d been desperately trying to conceal.

  “Oh God, what happened to the baby?” She asked tearfully.

  “Mr. McCauley, has your wife been pregnant recently?”

  “No, we’ve been talking about starting a family but we haven’t yet.”

  “Oh thank God.” She thought, when she heard Chris’s voice. He’d come for her. He was always there for her.

  “Chris, how did you get here? How did I get here?” She asked, still trying to find her way back to full awareness.

  “You were in a robbery and you fainted. You were unconscious for a while, but someone finally came in and rescued you.”

  “And Kendall, the boy?”

  “He’s fine. He was shaken up, but fine. I’m supposed to call him and let him know you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you?”

  She finally managed to focus on him and she immediately noticed the worried, tired lines around his eyes. But after a few seconds she saw more than that… a charcoal gray wool overcoat and mulberry colored cashmere scarf instead of his battered black and royal water-resistant puffer coat. Underneath she could see the evidence of a suit and tie, instead of a polo collared knit or plaid button up and khakis that he normally wore. And his hair, a little longer than it was just yesterday when she’d seen him at her mother’s, was cut and styled as if he’d been to a pricey salon instead of the Cut-n-Save.

  “I… I think so? Where’s Ethan?”

  “Who?” He asked, his face going totally blank.

  Just then the nurse bustled back in, a woman who was probably well into her sixties, but still adorable with candy cane covered scrubs and a sunny smile.

  “Are you sure she’s okay nurse? She’s acting very strange.” Chris said, looking at her with troubled eyes.

  “She’s had quite an ordeal. And she was nearly dehydrated. She’s probably got a little PTSD.” She explained.

  “Lola honey, do you know what day it is?”

  “December 21st … no the 22nd by now.” She corrected and then looked to Chris. “I thought you were going skiing.”

  “We were going skiing. I had to file a brief and you had one more shift. We were going to leave after lunch today.”

  “You’re filing a brief?” She asked, feeling confused.

  “Who’s Ethan?” Chris pressed, when the nurse was out of earshot.

  “I don’t … know. I’m very confused. Where am I?”

  “They brought you to the nearest hospital… actually it’s a clinic. I’ve never even heard of this place. It’s called… Snowy Pines. It looks like something from the cover of a Christmas card.”

  “It’s… very familiar to me. I feel like I’ve been here before.” She said, looking around and realizing that it was very familiar. Even the nurse was very familiar… but older somehow.

  Chris looked at her again as if there was something very wrong with her. Perhaps there was. As far as she understood he was a loan officer, she was a struggling nurse and they were separated with a five year old son and fifteen weeks into an unplanned pregnancy. But from what she could tell now, he was a well-dressed lawyer and they were happily married, childless but about try, and the kind of people who took off for romantic ski trips for Christmas.

  “Lola, you’re not acting right. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Everything in her screamed that she should tell him that she was definitely not all right. That a few hours ago she was pregnant and the mother of a son that she loved more than life and now she had neither. But for some reason she couldn’t make herself say it… it was like saying it would somehow hurt Chris and she knew that so many of her decisions had hurt him. She couldn’t do it again… not here. So instead she took his hand and shook her head. “I was just so scared. And I had these crazy dreams while I was out… you know I have babies on the brain lately.” She said, hoping it was true. By the relieved look on his face she was assumed that it was.

  “Don’t ever do anything to scare me like that again.” He said, kissing her forehead and squeezing her hands. “I’m going to go and see how long you have to stay here.”

  She nodded and smiled weakly until he was gone and then she closed her eyes and pinched herself. She was surely dreaming. There was no way that this was really happening… unless she was dead. Maybe when that burglar grabbed her hair he really shot her. But she remembered so much afterwards.

  “It’s a dream.” She whispered. “It’s got to be a dream.”

  “Lola sweetie, are you hungry?” The cheerful blonde nurse asked.

  Lola thought about it for a moment before saying, “Yes as a matter of fact, I’m starving.”

  “Oh that’s good. A healthy appetite is the first step to recovery. Have a Christmas cookie. They’re the best ever!”

  Lola bit into the cookie and moaned. “That’s… the best cookie I’ve ever had.” She said as the realization that this cookie was more than just familiar. This was a cookie she’d tasted many times. “Who made this?”

  “My daughter-in-law. She’s a caterer and she ships these all over the place. She always ships up a batch early because we can’t wait till she gets here with them.”

  “Your daughter-in-law? These cookies taste like…” She stopped realizing the only way to finish that sentence is to say these cookies taste just like my cookies that I learned how to make once upon a time from the blonde lady in my dreams. She stopped and took another look around the very familiar clinic. “Umm like mine, but they’re better. Will your daughter-in-law be here?”

  “Yes… tomorrow. Oh she loves it here. She says this is the place she dreamed about before she ever came here.”

  Lola nodded. “I think… I think she and I have a lot in common.”

  “Well you have to meet her. My only grand-daughter is actually named Lola. I don’t think it was Josh’s first choice, but Kellany would have nothing else… her daughter was Lola.”

  “Kellany.” Lola said with tears in her eyes. “Josh and Kellany. They fell in love here right?”

  “Uh no... Actually.” She said, looking a little bewildered. “Kellany had a car wreck and woke up at Johns Hopkins where my son’s a doctor. My mom introduced them and it was love at first sight. A week later he brought her home to Snowy Pines to spend Christmas with us. They were married that summer.”

  Lola was confused because she remembered it… remembered watching them on the Ferris wheel and hoping someday she’d fall in love like that. She wanted to ask more questions but realized she sounded like a stalker so instead she changed the subject.

  “So my husband is finding out how long I have to stay, but I’m assuming I should be fine to go. I mean I’m a little shaken up clearly, but I’m okay.” She said before thinking to herself, “Other than being trapped in a dream I’m unable to wake up from.”

  “Excited to get going on that ski trip?” She said with a smile. “Your husband is very handsome and he’s a lawyer? He says you live in Inner Harbor.”

  Lola coughed to hide her surprise. She and Chris could barely afford to drive through Inner Harbor, much less live there. “Chris is a catch.” She said truthfully.

  “You really thought you were pregnant, didn’t you?”