Trackside

Cal's First White Christmas

Baby Cal has never seen snow before. It's magic. Strip begs to differ.

___

Everything about the season was magical for Cal. His parents usually took him down south for the holiday season, where it was warmer, but this year they'd left him at his aunt and uncle's while they took some personal time to get away.

And he was loving it. The days were shorter, but brighter with all the snow. He'd never really gotten to play in it before. Nighttime was even better. The Christmas lights on their front porch made the icicles turn all sorts of colors, and illuminated the falling snowflakes. He could go outside and touch the cold, see it firsthand and never be too far from the warm, cozy house, where there was always a fire going and holiday movies on the TV.

That Christmas Eve, Cal was restless. There was so much excitement in the air. The Christmas tree was decorated with a few perfectly wrapped presents gathered underneath it. Cal knew that fun things awaited him, and that he just had to be patient.

But he had very little patience. He sat parked in front of the tree and watched the lights twinkle around the bows and ribbons for a while. Then he'd zip over to the picture window on the other side of the room and watch big, fat snowflakes fall from the sky onto the already covered front yard.

"He's been runnin' in circles all day." Lynda told Strip, coming into the living room from the kitchen and joining him in front of the TV. "We need to wear him out so he sleeps tonight."

"I tried to keep him focused on the movies for a while." Strip told her. "He got bored real quick."

"Why don't you take him outside?" she prompted. "He's never really got to play in the snow before."

"You know I can't drive in the snow." he reminded her. "Last time I tried I was stuck in a ditch for hours."

"It ain't that deep." she didn't fall for his excuse. "Just take him out in the back yard and let him experience it. But not for too long, I don't want him to get too cold."

Strip sighed. "Yes, ma'am."

He started his engine, which immediately got the kid's attention. Cal whipped around and stared in excitement at the racecar.

"You wanna go outside, Cal?" Strip asked him.

"Yes!" Cal squealed, popping a wheelie in excitement.

"Come on, then." Strip led him towards the back of the house and out onto the back deck. "Now listen to me, I have some rules for you. Stay close to the deck and don't try and drive too fast, you hear?"

Cal smiled at him and laughed. He spun his wheels taking off for the white wonderland before him. The ramp leading off of the wooden deck and into the yard was wet and slippery, and Cal lost traction almost as soon as he started moving. He slid down the ramp sideways, laughing the whole time. He then spun around and plowed nose first into five inches of snow.

Not that deep, huh? Strip thought to himself. Five inches was pretty deep for a racecar, especially a very small one.

Cal revved his engine and started doing donuts right there in front of the deck, spraying snow all over everything, including his uncle. Strip shook the snow off and continued to watch from where he sat. Cal was having the time of his life. He was fearless, plowing into the snow and letting himself slide all over the place. He jumped out of the area he'd cleared by doing donuts into a small snowbank. It was an impressive leap for someone so small, but he paid for it. His rear wheels could no longer reach the ground, and he was unable to wriggle his way out of it.

"Help! Ship, help!" Cal yelled, flailing his tires around. "Stuck!"

"Really?" Strip groaned. "It's been five minutes, you're not ten feet away, and you get yourself stuck. And now I have to go down there and get you out."