Small Town Christmas

Chapter 6: Micheal

A woman stepped out of the car. She had brown shoulder length hair. A grey winter coat covered a red plaid shirt. Her figure was slightly curvy but her height seemed to even it out. I was tall, about 6,2, she must have been 5,7. Kind brown eyes met mine.

After explaining what happened and trying to fix it we came to a conclusion. Since all phones we had on is was dead, she offered to drive me to a close town.

"Can I bring..." I asked her. She nodded and smiled. Oh she is so beautiful, I thought. I was hoping that she would say yes, it would break Ryder's heart if I left him in the car. 

As we drove on up and down the hills I noticed every now and then she looked at me. I just continued to look out the window. The feeling I felt with her was the same as. Claire.

No, not this time. Not today. This is a business trip not a meet-another-girl-to-break -your-heart trip. She was pretty. I thought for a long time. Over and over I went why I couldn't talk or look at her.

Soon enough we arrived in a small town. Christmas decorations hung from lampposts, small stores also had decorations in the windows. We slowly drove down the street and looked for a mechanic shop.

"See anything?"she asked as she studied shops and signs. He brown eyes seemed lighter with the snow.

I looked away and sighed. "Nope"

Ryder stirred in the backseat. Snow fell faster and heavier, the road was almost completely covered in the white powder. I wondered how Elizabeth could see the lines.

"Oop I see it!" She exclaimed. Now that we knew where we where going she speeded up a bit. A sign with snow barely covering it read 'Mikes Auto Mechanic Shop'.

Thank god for Mike, I thought.

I looked back at Ryder, he was sleeping peacefully. I knew that if he was asleep I could leave him here, while me and Elizabeth get so help for my car.

Elizabeth must of knew what I was thinking when I slowly and quietly climbed out of the car. She carefully gathered her purse and closed her door. She smiled so quickly at me that I barely even saw it. Together we walked to the front door of the shop.

The inside smelled of oil and grease. A man sat in a desk and was reading a newspaper. A tv was on but it seemed no one was watching it. Fainted drills sounds from a back room. Elizabeth and I stood in front of the desk, the man's face was hidden by the newspaper.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. The man jumped and looked up. He smiled embarrassed and kindly asked us what we needed.

"Hello, sorry about that. I'm Mike." He stood up to shake our hands, "how can I help you?" We both shook his hands. I began to tell him what brought us to his shop. I explained how we couldn't call and tried to figure what was wrong with the engine. He listened intently and nodded his head every once in awhile. When I finished he looked like he was thinking.

"Well," Mike clicked his tongue. "I can't help you."

I turned to Elizabeth. She gave me a confused look.

"This is a auto mechanic shop. Right?" She politely asked the man. He nodded and read the paper again.

Elizabeth gave him a look and then gently pushed the paper down so he could see us and we could see him. He sighed.

"What do you mean you can't help us?" I asked a little irritated. Elizabeth looked at me with a little-more-politely face. I turned back to Mike.

"Thanks for keeping your boyfriend under control ma'am." He told Elizabeth. She huffed a replied.

"He is not my boyfriend. We explained that I drove him here when his car wouldn't start." She emphasized the car and start.

"Sorry. My apologies." His voice hinted sarcasm. "Well I still can't help you. This blizzard is going to get worse, we won't make it to your car even if we left now." He gestured to the window. Larger snowflakes fell.

I turned and walked out. I made it out the door just in time for hear Elizabeth say, "Ok well thanks, sorry for wasting your time." I was surprised on how she acted so kindly to the man who did absolutely nothing to help.

Elizabeth came back out. I was standing right outside the door waiting for her.

"That didn't go as I thought it would." She gave a slight laugh. She unlocked her car as we both walked to it. We sat in the car for a few minutes in silence. Ryder was still asleep in the backseat. His breath was a little wheezy and occasionally snored. Elizabeth gently laughed when he snored particularly loud.

"When did we ever get this blizzard?" I asked and stared out the window.

She shrugged. "I didn't think it would come this north, but surprise!" She gave a half hearty chuckle.