Christmas Lost & Found

December 26th

Michelle

Michelle looked out the kitchen window into the woods which separated the houses on Gull Lane from the ones behind them on Sandpiper. She had never seen it look this way with so much snow. It had snowed heavily all morning, but stopped early afternoon. With about a half a foot on the ground, the entire world looked white.

She survived Christmas without her kids. Lily called and was coming to spend the day with them the following day. She felt better already just to have the one day she dreaded behind her. The day had been nice. They foolishly braved the storm for coffee and discovered they weren't the only ones. It was a thing on The Point to gather at The Landing in bad weather. The atmosphere was festive and when they returned to the cottage, Rob suggested a warm bath. Unlike the last time he had suggested one, he intended to join her. Sharing the tub was another activity they hadn't done together in years. She gladly let him wash her and it was no surprise how things turned out.

Just watching the snow was entertaining, and they spent some time talking to Rob's parents on the phone. Later they watched Elf, Rob's favorite Christmas movie, and took a nap. She made dinner with the lobster and they shared a bottle of wine. She drank most of it and as a result they ended up in bed very early.

Every day had been wonderful since they arrived at the magic cottage. Looking down at her favorite slippers, she thought about when she compared their marriage to a pair of neglected old slippers. The slippers were no longer neglected, but rejuvenated.

Rob took forever with the coffee. She wondered who he ran into and was about to go find him when he came in, talking on his phone. She could tell by his voice he was talking to someone from work. He didn't look happy.

As he handed her a cup of coffee, he spoke into his phone. "Let me know what the next step is. Thanks." Before he could put his phone down, it rang again. "Hey, Jasmine. Yeah, it was great. Yours? I'm on vacation."

Michelle would give him a taste of his own medicine. She put her coffee down and got down on her knees in front of him. As she went to undo his pants, he grabbed her hand. When she looked at him he wasn't smiling.

"Hey, I need a minute. I'll call you right back." He smiled a force smile. "I need a raincheck. All shits hit the fan."

"What? It's the day after Christmas."

"I know, but it's a mess. The hourly chip assemblers want collective bargaining. They have a meeting schedule to discuss unionizing. The brass are going ballistic. I warned them over a year ago, but no one listened."

"What are you supposed to do now?"

"Jasmine said they want me back tomorrow. I'm not going. The best they get is me virtually which will mean you and Lily will have a girls' day. As much as I would love for you to give me a taste or take a taste of what I gave you. This is not the time. Let me arrange things this morning and hopefully we can enjoy our day."

She nodded, and he walked into the bedroom as he called Jasmine back. She felt helpless and could tell he was not happy about the new developments. As much as she wanted him to tell them he was on vacation and to wait for next week, she knew at his level he just couldn't do it. She drank her coffee and paced around the room. The peaceful feeling she had looking out at the snow had evaporated.

Eventually he came out of their room looking weary. "I have to do some work today. Tomorrow I'll probably be on a conference call most of the day. I'm sorry, Chellie."

"Did you have any idea this was happening?"

"I got wind of it on Christmas Eve. I had an email from an employee who respects me. She wanted me to know what was happening. She had cancer a few years back, and I made sure they treated her right. She feels loyal to me. This may not even happen if not enough employees want it."