Page 4 of A Christmas Adventure

"What did he say?" Teresa asks as soon as she sees her enter with a disgruntled face.

"No," Violet responds.

"What a cheapskate. What are you going to do?"

"I'll go by car this weekend and come back."

"Are you crazy?" Teresa says with her eyes about to pop out of their sockets as if she had two springs behind them. "We work Saturday morning, and you have a five-hour drive."

"I'll leave when I get out of here. At least I'll see my mother for a while at night and can spend Sunday morning with her. I'll come back in the afternoon."

"It's crazy, woman. You'll end up exhausted."

"I need to see my mother, to let her know she has me. I can't wait three weeks."

Violet has decided. She's going this weekend.

Chapter 2

Saturday morning drags on for Violeta. She has everything ready in her car. Last night, she packed a small bag, prepared a thermos that she filled with fresh coffee this morning, and added a package of chocolate cookies in case she gets hungry on the way.

"Are you sure? It seems crazy to me," Teresa says beside her. "Plus, temperatures are dropping, and it's going to snow in Huesca."

"I've already told my mother. She doesn't agree either, but I've made up my mind."

"Have you even listened to me? It's going to snow, Violeta," her colleague insists.

"I've seen it. I've checked the weather forecast, and it's not much. I've dealt with worse snowfalls. Besides, with luck, I'll have arrived before it starts, and it's just a few flakes tonight."

"You know what you're doing."

Teresa rolls her eyes and sighs. Violeta eats a salad while the last few minutes until departure time tick away.Suddenly, she chokes and coughs until her face turns red. Teresa watches in shock, offering her a glass of water from the fountain behind her.

"No," Violeta refuses, her voice still raspy and her cheeks burning from the effort. "I filled the car with diesel last night so I wouldn't have to stop along the way. If I drink water, I'll need to pee."

"You're crazy, you know that?" Teresa asks before drinking the glass of water herself.

When the clock strikes two, Violeta turns off her computer, grabs her purse and coat, and gives Teresa a hug goodbye.

"Call me when you arrive," her colleague demands.

"I'll send you a message," Violeta replies, disappearing down the hallway.

In the car, she knows she has almost five hours of driving ahead. It doesn't seem like much to her; she's made much longer trips, and besides, she enjoys driving. If all goes well, she'll arrive at her mother's house around seven in the evening. She'll take a shower, and they'll have time to chat for a couple of hours before dinner. Then she'll spend all Sunday morning with her and return to Madrid after lunch. She doesn't understand why Teresa is making such a fuss or why her mother insists it's not necessary.

As she drives with the radio on low volume, she thinks about the situation. Last night, driven by anger, she was about to call her father and put him in his place, but she held back because she's so frustrated with what happened that she doesn't even know what to say to him. She prefersto wait and talk to her mother to get more details about what happened before having a conversation with him.

When she's covered more than half the journey and eaten three cookies, it starts to drizzle, and Violeta slows down cautiously. Traffic becomes a bit heavier, but nothing serious, and the navigator indicates she'll arrive only twenty minutes later than expected. Violeta doesn't mind; she's comfortable and doesn't feel tired. But when she's half an hour away from Huesca city, the light rain turns into snowflakes that grow larger and thicker as she advances.

Traffic slows down even more. The snow isn't sticking to the road yet, but Violeta, who has seen many snowfalls, knows that if it keeps snowing with this intensity, it will soon start to accumulate, and that will become a problem. She checks the navigator, a bit more anxious this time, and sees that she's fifteen minutes away from Huesca city. If it keeps snowing like this, when she reaches the capital, she'll look for a hotel and stay the night, because continuing to Alquézar in these conditions and on the winding road that leads to her village would be madness.

She remembers Teresa's words and imagines her reproaching her for her stupidity when she finds out her plans have been thwarted. Violeta breathes a sigh of relief when she enters Huesca city, not only because she feels safe but because it's well-lit and she can see much better than a few minutes ago when the windshield wipers couldn't keep up with sweeping away snowflakes, and she felt like her car's lights were illuminating less and less.

Despite growing up nearby, Violeta doesn't know Huesca city well, so she lets the navigator guide her to the center and looks for parking as soon as she sees the sign for a hostel with a decent-looking entrance.

The snowflakes crunch under her feet as she heads towards the entrance. Violeta feels like the snow is falling less heavily now, and for a moment, she wonders if she should return to the car and resume her journey. But then she thinks about getting stuck and having to spend the night inside her vehicle, and a sudden feeling of suffocation at the thought makes her walk until she crosses the hostel's threshold and approaches the reception desk.

"Do you have any rooms available?" she asks, feeling her cheeks frozen.