Nowhere for Christmas

by Heather Gray

  Avery stared at him, blinking. He was spot-on, but there was no way she was going to tell him so.

  “I’m going to have to go get the other big one out of the attic,” she said with a sigh, hoping her son would volunteer to climb up in there and retrieve it for her.

  Instead, he nodded and asked, “You want me to pull the ladder down for you?” She grinned to herself as she nodded. They had a regular battle about the attic. Neither of them liked going up there. Since he’d gone up to retrieve all the Christmas decorations earlier in the month, she’d let him have the victory this time.

  After Avery scaled the creaky ladder up into the attic, she scanned the web-dusted contents, quickly locating the suitcase she needed. It was older and more faded than the green one, and it had a rust-and-mustard-colored seventies floral pattern on it. At least no one will try to steal it.

  As she dragged the suitcase with its one broken wheel across the attic floor, a cloud of who-knew-what gently puffed up into the air around her. Then she got a mouthful of it and started coughing, which led to more grime and dust billowing into the air. That, of course, led to more coughing.

  Avery lost her balance and started to fall out of the attic opening, but the suitcase blocked her way enough to pause her descent, giving her time to reach out and grab the back of an old chair that had been in the attic longer than they’d lived in the house. The suitcase wasn’t so lucky. It fell zipper-over-wheel down the attic ladder and landed with a loud thud on the carpeted floor below.

  By the time Avery pulled herself back to her feet and made her way down the ladder, she expected to find Eli standing there wondering where his dinner was. Alas, her teen was blissfully unaware of her near-death-by-attic experience. He was in his room listening to his MP3 player. It’s for the best. I wouldn’t want him to pull a muscle laughing at me.

  ****

  Eli and Avery sat down at the dinner table. Regardless of how busy their lives got, she insisted they eat at the table whenever they were both home together. No television, radio, MP3 player, or computer. Just the two of them.

  On cue, Eli said, “Come on, Mom. It’s only music. What’s wrong with listening to music while I eat?”

  Avery offered a wide smile and said, “Well, son, I would enjoy spending this time visiting with you. That’s hard to do when you’re listening to someone else instead of me.”

  He set the MP3 player on the table. She continued to look at it pointedly until he grudgingly reached over to power it down. When the screen was black, she asked, “Would you care to say the blessing?”

  “Sure,” he answered. Then, bowing his head, he said, “Dear God, please bless this food to our bodies. Bless the hands that prepared it. Help Mom’s cooking not to kill us. Amen.”

  Avery took a bite of her chicken salad sandwich and said, “One of these days you’re going to have to start getting more original when you pray. You’ve been praying the same prayer since you were ten years old.”

  “That’s not true. Sometimes I ask God to kill my taste buds so I don’t hurt your feelings when I taste something new you’ve cooked.” That’s true. He’s always been such a thoughtful boy.

  Another bite, and then she said, “So, it’ll be you, me, and Gavin. He’s the photographer I’ll be working with on this one.”

  Eli’s right eyebrow lifted, but all he said was, “I guess that means I’ll get the back seat all to myself?”

  She shrugged. “Gavin might want the back seat.”

  “Nah. Adults always want the front, and since you force me to respect my elders, I’ll have to let him have it. You ever meet him before?”

  “Nope. The car rental place is supposed to come pick us up tomorrow at ten, and Gavin’s going to text, letting me know where to collect him.”

  “What if he turns out to be some creepy old geezer?”

  Avery almost spat her baked veggie chip out. When she forced herself to swallow, it went down the wrong pipe. She began coughing until she couldn’t breathe. Great. My cooking might kill one of us yet.

  Tears were rolling down her cheeks by the time she caught her breath and gasped out, “I’m sure he’s not a geezer.”

  Eli laughed. “Great. You’re sticking me in a car for hours and hours so I can spend quality time with you and some guy that’s probably old and creepy but is not a geezer. This is going to be the best Christmas ever.”

  She’d done a little too good a job raising him to laugh off his troubles. He’d grown into a teen with a cutting wit. As his mom, even she couldn’t always tell the difference between when he was joking and being sarcastic. When in doubt, she chose to believe he was suppressing an unquenchable laughter behind words that masqueraded as sardonic.

  “Hey, it’s four days. You’ll still get plenty of time for skiing.”

  “Are you gonna let me do any of the driving?”

  “Uh… will that make a difference in how you treat everyone else in the car?”

  “It wasn’t going to, but now that you mention it, I think it might. You should let me drive to keep me happy and agreeable.”

  She polished off the last bite of her sandwich, wiped her hands on her napkin and said, “I’ll take that under advisement.” Let the rental agent tell him it’s against policy. Then I won’t have to be the bad guy.

  “Come on, Mom. This is New Mexico we’re talking about. It’s not like there’s going to be any snow on the ground. Letting me drive would be totally safe. You can think of me as your chauffeur. We’ll put the top down, and you can sit back and let the wind flow through your hair while I do all the hard work of driving.”

  “We are not getting a convertible. We’re getting a nice sturdy SUV, even if I have to pay the difference out of my own pocket.”

  “What’s wrong with a sports car?”

  “A, There’s no way on earth I’d ever let you drive it.” So much for letting the rental agency tell him that! “B, We’re going to have three people, their luggage, and no doubt some camera equipment. Unless you plan on riding on the roof, there’s no way that’s going to happen in a sports car.”

  Eli picked up his plate and grabbed hers, too, before heading to the kitchen sink. After he put the plates down, he winked at her and said, “I’ll be driving. You can ride on the roof. Unless you want to put the creepy old geezer up there. I’m sure we’ll be able to find a bungee cord or two to secure him in place. What’s the worst that could happen? His denture cream dries up from the wind, and his false teeth get blown out of his mouth? I’m sure even he’d say it’s worth it for a sports car.”

  Avery shook her head as she wiped the table down. “Go grab the green bag out of the front closet and load it up with snacks.”

  “Isn’t the newspaper paying for your meals?”

  She gave him a pointed look and said, “I know what a picky eater my son is, and I know things don’t always go according to plan. Pack as many snacks in there as you can handle. We’ll also take a case of bottled water to be on the safe side.”

  “My mother,” he said as he headed toward the closet, “Over-Planner of the Year.”

  “Don’t knock it, bub. It’s kept us out of the poor house and off the evening news, so it must be working.”

  No different than any other family, they had their moments. For the most part, though, Avery and Eli got along. They joked, had fun, and dissected movies together. After years with just the two of them, they could pretty much complete each other’s sentences. Avery knew he was going to grow up and leave home someday. She looked forward to Eli becoming the man God intended him to be, but she knew she’d miss him desperately when the time came. Aside from her job and her faith, he had been her whole life for fifteen years.

  When she heard a thunk by the front door, Avery poked her head around the corner of the kitchen to see Eli had dropped the green bag there. “Got it all packed with food?”

  “Yup.”

  “Did you pick anything I might be happy to eat, or is it all your favorites?”

&nb
sp; He shrugged. “I got a variety. Need me to do anything else?”

  “Take out the trash, and then put your suitcase by the front door, too, so we’re ready to go in the morning. Since they’re not coming till ten, I plan to sleep in.”

  “You don’t sleep in unless you’ve stayed up till four in the morning reading a book.”

  “And I’ve got it already picked out. It’s going to be a good one!”

  When Eli came back in from emptying the garbage, he noted what Avery was doing and, with an exasperated sigh, raised his eyebrows. “Coffee? You’re going to be crabby all day tomorrow if you drink coffee tonight.”

  “Will not,” she replied.

  “Uh, yes you will. It’s always the same. You drink too much coffee and stay up way too late. Then you get, like, two hours of sleep, and you’re in a bad mood the whole next day.”

  Gazing from Eli to the brewing coffee, she knew he was right. There was no way she was going to admit it, though. She was really looking forward to this book. Even if she wasn’t driving the whole trip, she wouldn’t get much reading in. Carsickness had plagued her for as long as she could remember. Reading while in a moving vehicle was out of the question. Avery let out a heartfelt sigh and said, “Fine, you win. I’ll drink no more than half the pot. I promise.”

  “Does that mean you’ll be in a bad mood for half the day tomorrow or that you’ll be in a halfway-bad mood all day?” She gave him The Look again, and he backed out of the kitchen, hands in front of him, “Hey, I’m only asking so I know what to prepare for.”

  Chapter Three

  December 23, 9:15 a.m.

  Eli will never let me live it down if I tell him he was right. I obviously should have skipped the coffee last night.

  Avery knocked on Eli’s bedroom door then opened it. She didn’t bother to step into the room when she hollered, “Get-up-or-we’re-going-to-be-late.” Her words were slurred together from too much fatigue and not enough slumber. Schlepping her way down the hall and into the kitchen, she hoped the haze in her brain would soon clear. To help it along, she promptly started making a pot of coffee. As she inspected the grounds in the filter, she shook her head. I should have known better. Then she dumped in two extra scoops of her late-night nemesis and hit the brew button.

  She moved back down the hallway and stopped in the bathroom long enough to turn the shower on before going back to her room where she rummaged around for something to wear. Life as a single parent meant all she’d been able to afford was an older house. There was one bathroom, and it took forever for the hot water to reach it. Avery hoped the head start she was giving the pipes would guarantee something hot and steamy upon her return, but she knew better than to expect it. Regardless of temperature, when she got back to the bathroom, she was going to have to climb into the shower if she planned to be ready before the rental car agency came for her and Eli.

  When she got into the bathroom, she tested the water. Still cold. She hollered down the hallway, “I’m getting in the shower. Make sure you’re up by the time I’m out!” If Eli hadn’t used the bathroom while she was making the coffee, then he’d simply have to wait until she was out of the shower.

  Avery closed the door again and took a quick look in the mirror. Ugh. When did I get so old? She had crow’s feet inching their way out from the corners of her eyes. Okay, maybe not inching. That’s an exaggeration. They’re centimetering their way out. I remember when they were millimetering. She lathered on her anti-aging face cleaner then stepped into the almost-warm shower. Maybe we’ll stay at a hotel with actual hot water, instead of lukewarm. That would be nice. And complimentary coffee, of course.

  A quick shower, and then Avery was in the kitchen savoring the smell of coffee in her mug as she tried to wait for it to cool down so she could start drinking it. She hollered again, “Eli, are you up yet?” I love that kid, but it is so stinking hard to get him up in the morning.

  When the sound of movement from Eli’s room reached her, followed by the click of the bathroom door, Avery glanced at her watch. Five minutes till ten. She hoped the rental agency was running a couple minutes late.

  While Eli was in the shower, she double-checked to make sure the back door was locked, the windows were all closed and latched, and the coffee pot was shut off. She moved her suitcase to the growing pile by the front door.

  As if conjured by her thoughts of him, Eli walked into the kitchen looking far too perky for someone who didn’t care to get out of bed in the morning. Meanwhile, Avery, normally the morning person, would have rather been anything other than vertical at the moment. Eyeing the clock on the kitchen microwave, she began to wonder where the rental agency people were. It was already twenty after ten. A little bit late was okay. After all, they’d been running pretty late this morning, too. Don’t they usually call if they’re behind schedule?

  “Where’s the people with the car?” Eli opened the refrigerator while he asked. Without removing anything from the fridge, he closed it and moved to the cupboard where she normally kept oatmeal, sugar, flour, and other baking supplies. What? Does he think they’d have mixed themselves into muffins while he slept? After he closed that one, he moved on to the next cupboard. Dried beans, rice, macaroni, and cans of soup.

  Avery, who had been trying to hold her laughter in, couldn’t fight it anymore. It didn’t have the decency to slip out delicately, either. Because she’d been trying to hold it in, her laugh escaped with a loud snort. Then Eli started laughing at her, and she was lost. She laughed until the room started to darken around her.

  “Hey, Mom. Mom!” Eli’s voice broke through the fog and got her to stop laughing. When he came into focus, she saw he was holding out her cellphone. “Mr. Jones is on the phone for you.”

  She wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and took the phone. “Good morning Mitchell! I don’t have a rental car yet. Do you know anything about that?”

  He cleared his throat on the other end of the phone. “It appears there was a bit of a mix-up. They went to the newspaper office to collect you. When you weren’t there, they called the number on the reservation, which was my cell. They didn’t reach me, so they cancelled the reservation. I called them as soon as I got the message. Someone should be by to pick you up soon.”

  “Okay…” Something in his voice made her ask, “Should I be worried?”

  A muffled cough came across the line before he said, “They’ve assured me everything will be fine, but if it’s not, you’re going to have to make the best of it. The admin assistant who booked the car for you said she’d used this rental agency before and that they’re good for the price. I just made a couple calls to some other places to look for a Plan B, but they’re all either closed for the holidays or booked up. Apparently everybody north of the fortieth parallel decided Albuquerque is the in place to be this Christmas.” Avery could picture him reaching a finger into his collar and pulling the material away from his neck the way he did whenever he had something to say he knew wouldn’t be well-received.

  Great. “Where exactly is our reservation at anyway?”

  “Uh, Mom,” Eli said from the living room. “You might want to come see this.”

  The doorbell rang, and she moved to a side window and peeked out through the blinds. A van was here to pick them up. It had a ghastly kelly green and peanut butter brown logo. Beside it, in black and yellow, was their motto. We Do Cars. CHEAP.

  She held her phone up to the window in order to take a picture of the offending van and in the process managed to hang up on Mitchell.

  Nodding to Eli to go ahead and answer the door, she quickly sent the photo to Mitchell with a text that read, You owe me. BIG.

  ****

  “Uh, Mom. Are you sure this is the way?”

  Avery, too, had been watching their surroundings as they presumably got closer to the rental lot. They had passed from a sunny neighborhood into one that was a little less cheerful. Then into the one with bars on the windows. Next they started to see bars on th
e doors and windows of homes as well as businesses. By the time Eli had spoken up, they were somewhere between the homeless shelter and the railroad tracks, not exactly Albuquerque at its best.

  She’d once done a write-up on the shelter. When asking about their location, she’d been told, “If you want to help the homeless, you need to be where they’re at. That’s nothing more than good business. Meet your customer where they have the greatest need. You don’t sell golf clubs on a tennis court, do you?” The woman’s explanation had rung true. One question, however, had remained. After so many years, was it possible that the homeless population now came to the area because the shelter was there rather than vice versa?

  To-ma-to, To-mah-to.

  The sign at the rental lot was as horrible as the one on the van. She hadn’t heard back after she’d texted the picture to Mitchell. He was probably smart enough to know he wouldn’t want to hear what she had to say at the moment. Before the van could pull into the almost-vacant rental lot, they had to wait for a man wearing one shoe and pushing a shopping cart to move out of the way.

  “Mom?” Eli asked again.

  She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile and said, “Everything’s going to be fine.”

  “I don’t think so,” he said.

  “Honestly, Eli. It’s not the man’s fault he’s homeless. And I’m sure this was an affordable piece of property. That’s why the rental agency is here. It’s about business and the bottom line. Nothing to worry about.”

  He gawked at her the way he would a rhinoceros barking like a Chihuahua. “Everything is not going to be okay. I forgot the charger for my MP3 player.”

  Avery swallowed. The telltale pinpricks along her neck and cheeks told her she was blushing. Here she’d been worrying Eli was concerned because he didn’t feel safe. That anxiety in his voice, however, had been all about his music. Where did I go wrong?