Exactly one week before Christmas Day. That block held a colorful drawing of a Christmas tree with a bright yellow star on top. It wasn’t artistic at all, just a squiggly green line for the tree, but someone had put it there overnight a week ago. Like a Secret Santa present.
She raised the marker, and rather than x-ing out today as she had every day since the third, she drew a big check mark, then dropped the pen into the tray below.
She made one last sweep of the office. If it weren’t for Anna she could’ve left and never come back. Except for her handwriting on the wall, literally, there was no personal sign of her ever being here.
Her hands tingled. There was no way she could just walk out of Porter’s today, close the door, and never say goodbye to the people she’d met here. She was used to being disconnected—never looking back on the places she’d been. The emotional tug made her a little dizzy.
She took one last look down Main Street from the office window, then gathered her things and went down to the parking lot, where Anna’s car sat packed and ready to roll for the Greensboro airport.
The local weatherman had been calling for snow for three days, but the first flakes had started to fall when she stepped outside. Dry flakes blew around like Styrofoam packing debris, skittering along the walkway around her. She got into Anna’s car and started the engine, patiently letting it warm up as she’d promised.
She eased out of the parking spot and headed out of town.
The roads were clear, and there was very little traffic. Singing to Christmas carols at the top of her lungs, she couldn’t wait to get today’s meeting in Chicago over with so she could do some shopping and catch the last flight back.
Our tree is beautiful, but it needs some presents underneath it.
As she drove out of town, the snow started falling faster. She double-checked her GPS to be sure she was still on the right route, because she hadn’t seen a sign in a while.
The snow was coming down harder, but thankfully the roads weren’t bad, and the heat in Anna’s car was keeping her toasty warm.
The radio station became fuzzy with static. A few twists of the knob didn’t find anything but more of the same, so she switched it off.
The steady squish-swish-thrump of the wipers made a rum-pumpum-pum melody. On top of the world for nailing this project in record time, she was anxious to tie it up in a nice neat bow, then get back and relax with Anna until the new year rang in. Jetting off somewhere tropical to watch the ball drop in short sleeves with her bonus money sounded pretty good right now.
The heavier snow produced a fluffy layer across the median and trees. Every once in a while, the snow would swirl into a bunch, making everything seem as white as if she were in the clouds.
She clutched the wheel as a gust pushed against the car, sending her heart on a Tilt-A-Whirl for a moment there, but she’d stayed the course.
Nothing to see here.
Alone with her thoughts as she was, the beauty of thewinter wonderland forming right in front of her made her feel like a speck in the vast beauty of nature. The pines stood tall, and the white pellets seemed to define the space between the hefty bark pieces like a puzzle snow line.
She forged ahead, silently appreciating the time she’d had in Fraser Hills, and Anna. All the others too. She’d continue to mentor Misty from Chicago. Misty could take the reins at Porter’s someday if she wanted to. Meeting that young lady had elevated Vanessa’s own awareness. Her immediate response had been to coach Misty to balance things.Talk about “Do as I say, not as I do.”She was horrible at it, and Anna had tried to tell her a million times.
She thought of how Anna had looked at Buck. Anna looked ten years younger this morning.
Then her phone sounded and about scared her out of her lane.
Bear right at the next exit.
She slowed and got into the right lane, happy to finally get off the highway. The snowflakes were getting bigger and falling softer.
She followed the signs to the airport, and valeted the car. There was no line at security, so it seemed overkill to be in the TSA PreCheck line, but the habit had led her there. Her bags made the scan and she still had time for a cup of coffee before they began boarding.
The coffee shop boasted a holiday special: an insulated travel mug filled with Ho Ho Mocha Gingerbread Latte. “I’ll have the special, please.”
A few minutes later she was walking through the only gift shop on this concourse. Mostly necessities, but in the back corner they had a cute assortment of locally crafted holidayitems for last-minute shopping travelers. Velvety wine-colored stockings trimmed in gold satin cording. One style had a gold vine and stylized poinsettia blooms, and the other a partridge in a scrolling pear tree.
She’d totally forgotten about the stockings she’d had embroidered before she left Chicago. She picked up a few little stocking stuffers, then checked out. Pleased with her purchase, she headed to the gate.
She walked over, but no one was lined up at the gate yet. The airline counter attendant made an announcement:
“Passengers in the gate area waiting on Flight 3333 to Chicago, this flight is being delayed due to a mechanical problem. I’ll provide you an update as soon as I have one. At this time, we are showing a delay of forty-five minutes. Please—”
Passengers grumbled.
Vanessa glanced down at her watch. One delay would make it tight for her to make the meeting. Any longer than that, and she’d miss it entirely.
