LITMIR.BIZ

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      Melanie followed her gaze. “I see. Then I’ll just go on. You call if you need me for anything, no matter what, okay?”

      Melanie’s words jolted her back to reality, the reality that she really did need a friend right now. “No, don’t, I mean don’t go off by yourself. Come with us to the Christmas tree lighting. I think I might need a friend tonight.” There, she’d said it. She’d actually taken Grace’s advice. When you need help, a friend, a hug, ask for it.

      Melanie instantly brightened. “I was hoping you’d say that. I don’t want you and the girls to be all alone tonight.”

      Stephanie nodded, then walked to the employee exit, Amanda and Ashley trailing behind. “You want to ride with us?” Stephanie asked as she stepped out into the frigid evening air. Snowflakes swirled in the bluish glow beneath the lights in the parking lot. Icy wind whipped the ends of her hair as she walked across the almost empty lot to her car, a car in such pitiful condition, it almost made her smile. She’d scrimped and saved for three long months so that she could have a car of her own. She and the girls used the public bus system, but the buses didn’t take them through the drive-thru at McDonald’s, nor would a bus be there when they had the sudden urge to go out for ice cream. She’d been so proud of herself when she bought the car, her first major purchase with money she’d earned on her own. But as she fumbled through her pockets for the keys she’d placed there minutes ago, she saw the vehicle for what it really was. An almost-twenty-year-old hunk of junk just barely making it. Sort of like me, she thought as she unlocked the back door for the girls.

      Surprisingly, neither girl had uttered a word since they’d witnessed Patrick whisper those harsh words to her. Then it hit her! They weren’t talking because they were afraid! Even though they hadn’t actually heard his words, they knew their import from the way in which she was behaving. How could she be so blind? They’d spent so many years living on pins and needles with their father that it was second nature for them to behave this way when they saw a man and a woman together who didn’t appear to be on the best of terms!

      For this, she was mad. Madder than she’d been in a very, very long time. Anger pulsed through her veins, throbbing with each thought that raced through her head. Thankful no one could read her mind, she took another deep breath before getting behind the wheel. It wouldn’t do for her to be distracted in this weather, especially with the girls in the car. She looked in her rearview mirror. “Are your seat belts fastened?”

      They nodded.

      Melanie slid into the passenger seat, and Stephanie was glad she’d invited her, or rather that she’d accepted Melanie’s offer to come along. The younger woman reached across the seat and clasped Stephanie’s cold hand with her gloved hand. “We can talk later,” Melanie said.

      Stephanie gave a slight nod.

      “Let’s get these future veterinarians home so they can change clothes. Then I think we should all go out for pizza after the Christmas tree lighting.” Stephanie glanced in the rearview mirror again. Both girls were smiling, and in that very second all was right in her world.

      As she pulled out of the parking lot, Stephanie’s thoughts drifted to the enormity of what had just taken place at Snow Zone. This was the worst time in the world for it to happen, but she’d try and put it out of her mind for the rest of the evening. She owed it to the girls to at least try to act as though everything were normal. It wouldn’t be hard, as she was an expert at that type of behavior.

      Amanda was the one who broke the silence. “Mommy, can we go to Burger King instead of having pizza?”

      Kids, Stephanie thought as she carefully guided her old Ford down the narrow road that led off the mountain. “I think you should ask your sister.”

      “So do ya?” Amanda asked Ashley.

      “Mommy, tell her she needs to speak in complete sentences. When you’re in fourth grade, Mrs. Yost won’t allow you to speak that way if you’re in her class. Right, Mom?”

      “I suppose that’s true. But you didn’t answer Amanda’s question,” Stephanie said in a teasing tone, amazed that she could still banter back and forth with her girls given the dire situation Patrick O’Brien had just put her in.

      “Burger King is fine, but the only reason Amanda wants to go there is so she can get that Dora the Explorer toy they’re putting in the kids’ meals,” Ashley explained. “She’s too big for that stuff.”

      “And you’re too big to sleep with that crummy old rabbit that you’ve had forever. Right, Mommy?” Amanda asked. She was at the age where she needed her mother’s approval for almost everything she said. Most of the time, it was funny, but at that moment, Stephanie was trying to drive carefully in near-blizzard conditions, and it wasn’t funny.

      Melanie leaned over the front seat. “Let’s allow your mom to concentrate on her driving. Okay, girls? The roads are very slippery right now.”

      “Is that right, Mommy?” Amanda asked.

      Stephanie couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, Melanie is right. How about we play the quiet game until we get home. Whoever wins gets a double-dipped chocolate-covered ice-cream cone.”

      She was met with silence. She smiled at Melanie. “Both of them always win this game,” Stephanie explained.

      She knew the girls wanted to talk, but they were also very competitive. They’d bite their tongues if they had to.

      The rest of the drive to the garage apartment was made in silence. Stephanie wanted to enjoy her night with the girls because, from the look of things, it might be a while before she had a free night. Since she was out of a job, she would have to hustle to find something so late in the season. While she had her savings for her down payment on the house, she didn’t want to dip into them unless she absolutely had to. She still had high hopes of giving the girls a home of their own for Christmas. She might have to sacrifice the white canopied bed, but that would be okay, as long as they had a home of their own.

      Stephanie parked the Ford Taurus next to the outside stairs that led up to their apartment. The girls knew the rules of the quiet game. Once they were inside the house, they could talk all they wanted. Both shot up the stairs like bolts of lightning.

      “I think the quiet game is about to officially end,” Melanie said as she waited for Stephanie to unlock the door. Both girls barreled through the door.

      “I am not too big to sleep with my bunny rabbit. Mommy said she slept with a stuffed Tasmanian Devil until she was fourteen, so there!” Ashley said in a huff.

      “Well, then, it’s okay if I want the Dora Explorer prize in the kids’ meal.”

      In response, Ashley rubbed Amanda’s shoulder. “I guess it’s okay. I was just teasin’ with you anyway. I like Dora, too, just don’t tell anyone at school. Pinkie promise?” Ashley asked.

      Both girls locked their pinkies together, then shook their hands. “Okay, so let’s go change. I want to see the tree, but first I want something to eat. We never had lunch today,” Ashley explained to her mother.

      “I’m sorry. We’ll make up for it at dinner, now both of you change into something warm and brush your teeth and comb your hair before we leave. You’ve got ten minutes, or we’ll miss the Christmas tree lighting.”

      They ran inside their bedroom, slamming the door behind them.

      Out in the galley kitchen Stephanie poured glasses of Coke for her and Melanie.

      “Want to tell me what sent you racing out of Snow Zone today? I know that conceited idiot said something to anger you,” Melanie said before taking a sip of her Coke.

      Stephanie debated not telling her, but she needed a friend. Even though the girls had managed to get away from her today, she trusted Melanie to the nth degree. “He told me to take the next four weeks off. Said I needed to spend the time with my kids. Then he added that my extended leave of absence would be without pay.”

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