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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBy Patricia Crisafulli<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
A red-cheeked mechanical Santa inside the shop doorway raised a mittened hand to throngs of passengers jostling through the terminal. Inside the store, a pair of sales associates wearing antler headbands scanned paperbacks, snacks, and gift boxes of chocolates for someone who\u2019d obviously left shopping to the last minute and the last place. From the edge of the bustle, Amanda watched the scene, distracting herself from panicked thoughts and unnamed fears that threatened to send her out of the airport and back to familiar isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Inhaling to a count of five, then exhaling at the same tempo, Amanda repeated what she knew to be true. Her sister and brother-in-law had invited her for Christmas, after her amends for a fiasco four years ago, the last time she\u2019d seen them. This year, spending the holidays alone would not be conducive to sobriety. Day sixty-seven of not drinking, Amanda reminded herself, half admonishment and half astonishment that she\u2019d made it this far. One day at a time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She hadn\u2019t expected the airport to be so packed on the twenty-fourth. Shouldn\u2019t everyone already be where they were headed? She couldn\u2019t get away before today, having worked in the office all day on the twenty-third. Amanda called b.s. on herself and admitted she\u2019d waited until Christmas Eve to travel because she feared spending the holiday with a family without the fortification of her old friends: cabernet, pinot grigio, brandy, and Bailey\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her small rollaboard suitcase in hand, Amanda rejoined the stream flowing deeper into the terminal to the gate overflowing with passengers. The flight destination read Wichita\u2014not her city, not even the correct direction. Checking her phone, Amanda read her electronic boarding pass: Flight 1328 to Burlington, Vermont, was leaving from Gate 14B. She refreshed the screen, and an alert popped up: the flight was delayed 47 minutes due to late incoming aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every seat at the gate was occupied with Wichita and Burlington passengers. All Amanda wanted was one of the outlets between the seats, but everywhere chargers and cords tethered handheld devices. Ten minutes later, the gate agents announced pre-boarding for Wichita. As passengers vacated their seats to line up, Amanda made a beeline to the nearest empty place before the Burlington-bound snared them all. A man in a dark coat appeared from the other direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was\u2014\u201d Amanda began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBe my guest,\u201d the man replied, with a sweep of his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just need the power outlet.\u201d Amanda clutched the charger, ready to connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExcuse me,\u201d called an older woman in a bright green sweater on the other side of the open seat. \u201cYou can use mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda plugged in her phone first, thrilled to see the tiny lightning bolt in the upper right corner of the screen. The man did the same at the other outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The older woman moved her suitcase out of the way and scooted another carry-on closer to her feet. \u201cOne of you should sit down. Could be quite a wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda took a closer glance at the woman\u2019s luggage, wondering how she\u2019d bring it all onboard. The second bag looked like a hatbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPortable pie safe,\u201d the woman said, as if reading the question on Amanda\u2019s face. \u201cGot apple and mincemeat. Plus a fruitcake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTSA give you any trouble?\u201d the man asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot liquid or hazardous,\u201d the older woman replied. \u201cJust a lot of sweetness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe get stranded, we won\u2019t starve,\u201d the man joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda pegged him for someone in sales\u2014the joviality, the charm. She took in the threads of silver in his dark hair, a shadow of whiskers on his jawline, and faint circles under his eyes. Somebody needed more sleep, she said to herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She turned away from him, toward the woman with the pies. \u201cDibs on the mincemeat. Haven\u2019t had that since my mom was alive. Makes me miss her.\u201d She pressed her lips together, why on earth would she say something like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBitter and sweet. Never feel it as much as you do at Christmas,\u201d the older woman said. \u201cI\u2019m Lavonna, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAmanda.\u201d She turned to the man, expecting to hear his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMind if I leave this here for a minute?\u201d He nudged his suitcase closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s fine.\u201d Lavonna reached for the nametag on his luggage. \u201cCharles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCharlie,\u201d he replied. \u201cBe right back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n Lavonna smoothed the front of her black polyester pants, comfortable for traveling, though at this rate, she\u2019d end up going from the airport right to Christmas Eve services. She had wanted to fly on the weekend, spend more time with her daughter-in-law and grandbabies, but the cheapest fare was on the twenty-fourth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She glanced over at the woman seated next to her\u2014soft brown hair, jeans, an oversized sweater, and a pair of boots that would do no good in a place like Vermont. \u201cAmanda,\u201d Lavonna began, saying her new companion\u2019s name to commit it to memory. \u201cWho are you spending the holidays with?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy sister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow nice.\u201d Lavonna saw Amanda drop her eyes and suspected this woman had her doubts. She waited, knowing sometimes people confided in strangers. \u201cBut families at Christmas can stir things up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amanda tilted her head as if considering the comment. \u201cThat used to be me\u2014stirring things up. This year will be different. I hope.\u201d She sighed. \u201cDay sixty-seven. Sober.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bypassing the tap on the arm, Lavonna took Amanda\u2019s hand. \u201cGood. Very good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n A half-hour later, Charlie headed back toward the gate bearing a cardboard tray and three large lattes. This was his signature gesture, he knew: distract with the superficial and avoid the serious. It was his girlfriend\u2019s perennial complaint. But Lavonna had looked like she wanted to hear their life stories or else recite every one of her sixty-some-odd years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He guessed Amanda to be this side of forty, same age as him. He\u2019d noticed a haunted look in her eyes that told him she wasn\u2019t exactly heading home for holiday cheer, but he didn\u2019t want to know it or hear it. He had his own stuff going on and lingered on a worry about his dad. He wasn\u2019t getting into it with two strangers at an airport gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSorry I was gone so long, but the Starbucks line was insane.\u201d Charlie offered the tray. \u201cCouldn\u2019t come back empty handed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lavonna beamed at him and took the gingerbread-flavored latte.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amanda plucked the caramel latte from the holder. \u201cWouldn\u2019t have picked you for a fancy coffee guy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTis the season.\u201d He raised a peppermint mocha. \u201cCheers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Surrendering her seat to Charlie, Amanda got up, saying she wanted to stretch her legs while she sipped her coffee. She texted her sister, Joie, saying the flight was still delayed and would keep her informed. A thumbs-up, a heart, and a kissing emoji appeared on her screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Scanning the departures board, Amanda saw the Burlington flight was now delayed ninety minutes. She scrolled through her contacts and made a call, while walking back to the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou just missed the good news\u2014hour and a half delay,\u201d Charlie said, grimacing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt gets worse,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cI called the airline. They\u2019re going to have to cancel this flight. Our plane hasn\u2019t even left Cleveland yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou called and they told you?\u201d Charlie raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMillion-mile club. All business travel. I call, they pick up.\u201d Amanda rolled her eyes. \u201cBottom line, we aren\u2019t getting to Burlington today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlie swore under his breath. Lavonna fingered the neckline of her sweater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFortunately, I just booked a rental car\u2014the benefit of being Executive Elite.\u201d Amanda made quote marks in the air with the hand that didn\u2019t hold the coffee. \u201cIt\u2019s six hours to Burlington. I\u2019d be happy to take you two with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda waited for a response, her eyes on Lavonna. The older woman\u2019s hesitation telegraphed fear and judgment. Why get in a car with someone who\u2019s been sober for only two months? <\/em>Amanda waited for the rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lavonna spoke in a whisper. \u201cI take medication for an overactive bladder, so I have to make stops. Is that okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda\u2019s eyes blurred with tears as she laughed. \u201cI just drank twenty ounces of a sticky sweet latte. I\u2019ll be peeing all the way to Vermont.\u201d She turned to Charlie. \u201cYou in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once they hit the highway, the roads cleared. With any luck, they\u2019d make it to Burlington by seven that night. Amanda drove the first leg, though she\u2019d also put Charlie on the reservation as a second driver. He rode shotgun on the passenger side, Lavonna in the back with her pies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiddling with his phone and the Bluetooth connection, Charlie found an instrumental Christmas medley. The Muzak version of \u201cWe Three Kings\u201d filled the car\u2019s sound system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s us\u2014Three Kings, traveling afar,\u201d Lavonna quipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe three strangers met at the gate,\u201d Charlie sang in time with the music. \u201cWe\u2019ll eat those pies if we arrive late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n Lavonna chuckled. \u201cOh, you\u2019d love my pies. Make them every year. My son and his wife always came to see me, even when their babies were tiny. My house was the Christmas house. They used to drive too, just like we\u2019re doing. But not this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She wondered if she should leave it at that. No, she wouldn\u2019t deny his memory. \u201cDaren\u2014that\u2019s my son\u2014died eight months ago. Freak accident on the job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s horrible. I\u2019m so sorry,\u201d Amanda said into the rearview mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lavonna felt the tightening in her throat, the burn in her eyes. \u201cThis year, I\u2019m bringing Christmas to my daughter-in-law and my grandbabies. It\u2019s church tonight and dinner tomorrow. We\u2019ll get through it together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Christmas music transitioned to \u201cSanta Baby.\u201d The tires hummed. Amanda signaled for the left lane and passed a tractor trailer with tiny colored lights around the driver\u2019s side window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat about you, Charlie?\u201d Lavonna asked. \u201cYou seem awfully quiet\u2014maybe a little sad. You tell me to mind my business, I will. But cars are like confessionals, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlie\u2019s shoulders rose and fell with a sigh, but he didn\u2019t reply. \u201cI\u2019m going to see my parents. Dad was diagnosed ten days ago with an aggressive cancer\u2014started in the kidneys, spread to the liver and the pancreas. He starts chemotherapy in a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s rough,\u201d Amanda said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lavonna leaned forward. \u201cYou\u2019re doing the right thing. Nothing you can say or do. Just be there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlie turned toward the window. Cheery Christmas tunes continued on a loop.<\/p>\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amanda knew it was her turn, not only what she\u2019d already shared with Lavonna, but also why she had avoided spending Christmas with family for four years. \u201cHere\u2019s the short version,\u201d she began, and told of her mother dying of an aneurysm five years ago, a loss so sudden it had shaken her to the core. Their father had left when she and her sister were children, an estranged figure who rarely surfaced. Her sister, Joie, had her husband and children for comfort, but Amanda felt the loneliness more acutely than merely being single. \u201cSo I work a lot. A very acceptable way to isolate yourself\u2014you get raises and promotions for it. I skipped the holidays after a blow-up with my sister, took exotic vacations by myself, and thought I was just fine. Then one day I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda shot a glance at Charlie. \u201cDay sixty-seven of being sober.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He nodded. \u201cThat\u2019s great. Good for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGoing to Joie\u2019s is healthier than hiding. But I\u2019m scared to death.\u201d The last words seemed to echo in the quiet car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf what?\u201d Charlie asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMe, I guess. I\u2019m afraid of being in a social situation without something to take the edge off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut she\u2019s your sister,\u201d Charlie pressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFamily can be the worst, even with the best of intentions,\u201d Lavonna piped up. \u201cThey pry\u2014don\u2019t want to see you sad. Want you to cheer up and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda raised her eyes to the rearview mirror and exchanged a look of understanding. Then she focused back on the road and the solid lines that pointed their way forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, aren\u2019t we the Island of Misfit Toys,\u201d Charlie said at last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amanda frowned at him. \u201cHumor\u2014it\u2019s a defense, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTruth,\u201d Lavonna said. \u201cBut you gotta laugh or you cry all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n At the third hour, Charlie took over driving. When his cell phone rang, connecting with Bluetooth in the car, he accepted the incoming call even though everyone else could hear the conversation. \u201cYou\u2019re on speaker with my new friends, Lavonna and Amanda,\u201d he announced. \u201cSay hello to my mom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two women chorused their greetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow\u2019s Dad?\u201d Charlie asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnxious to see you,\u201d his mother replied. \u201cI\u2019ll let you focus on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the conversation ended, Charlie asked Amanda to scroll through his contacts for Chet and place the call. \u201cThat\u2019s my brother. I\u2019ll have him pick me up in town. Saves you from driving out of the way for me and gives me a little time with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so it was arranged, and then they arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the parking lot of a church in the heart of Burlington, where the eight o\u2019clock Christmas Eve service would begin in less than an hour, Amanda, Charlie, and Lavonna waited. \u201cThere they are!\u201d Lavonna opened the back door of the rental car. Amanda exited as well, and Charlie followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A woman in a heavy coat, bundling two small children along, swamped Lavonna in an embrace. Turning to Amanda and Charlie, Lavonna asked them to write down their phone numbers. \u201cWon\u2019t be a bother, I promise. But I want to know how you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlie fished a receipt out of his pocket and he and Amanda wrote their numbers on it. Amanda kissed them on the cheeks before for the church stairs, waving one last time at the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHere\u2019s Chet.\u201d Charlie pointed to an SUV bumping over the ice ruts. \u201cYou gonna be okay getting to your sister\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s fifteen minutes away,\u201d Amanda assured him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charlie motioned for her phone and put their numbers in each other\u2019s contacts. \u201cText me when you get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay,\u201d she said simply. Then reaching out, she hugged Charlie. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have come without you and Lavonna.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd miss a first-class ride with a Million Mile, Executive Elite VIP?\u201d Charlie smiled and headed toward Chet\u2019s SUV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wind picked up, scattering loose flakes of snow that had fallen during the day. Amanda started the engine, feeling at once how empty the car was. She just wanted to stay in this little cocoon, away from the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her phone buzzed with an incoming text from a number she didn\u2019t recognize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou got this. Call if you need to talk\u2014seriously. Charlie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She headed out of the parking lot, singing softly to bolster her courage. \u201cWe three strangers traveling by car. Never expected to go this far \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By Patricia Crisafulli<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2212,2,18],"tags":[6,38],"class_list":["post-10393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holiday-fiction","category-original-online-fiction","category-patricia-crisafulli","tag-christmas","tag-holidays"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/free-online-fiction-poetry-art-300x225.png\")
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