Meredith
The weather is atrocious, even for December. My little car doesn’t know what’s hit it, crawling down the M5 with the heater on full whack and sad love songs playing on my crackly radio.
It seems like everyone is going to Devon for the holidays, but instead of going to a lovely little cottage like most of the tourists probably are, I’m heading for my sister's tiny terraced house, which holds a sofa for me to spend the next two weeks.
But I don’t care—I don’t want to be alone at Christmas. I’m looking forward to seeing my niece and nephew, and of course my sister and her husband. The alternative was flying to see my mother in Australia—no funds for that, or getting excessively drunk alone in front of the TV with a paper hat on.
I can’t do that, so here I am.
I sigh, my breath coming out in a cloud of smoke despite the heater having been on for four solid hours. My feet are aching from the constant struggle to keep my car alive, playing with the accelerator and the clutch, praying it doesn’t cut out. My phone rings, and I press the speaker button to hear my sister’s cheerful voice greeting me.
“Merry! Where are you, love?”
“Hey, Cass. I’m still on the M5.” I sigh, craning my neck to see a blanket of traffic in front of me.
“Still? But you were on that an hour ago,” Cassie complains. “Harry, put the catdown.He’snota toy—“
“I know, but the weather is pretty bad. I swear it’s snowing.”
I peer out at the grey, almost neon white sky.
It’sdefinitelygoing to snow.
“Oh, that’s why I’m calling you, there’s snow here already, and it’s falling thick and fast. I know you’ve not got the Range Rover anymore…”
Yes. No winter tyres or heated seats. No Bluetooth. Hell, I’m lucky this car has seat belts.
“No, but I’ll be fine. The car is running perfectly well,” I lie as it shudders beneath me. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Victoria, donothit your brother with a glass! Do either of you have an iota of common sense?!” Cassie screams, and I close my eyes, knowing this is going to be my reality for the next fortnight.
“I’ll see you soon.” I sigh as Cassie shrieks at the children again. Harry and Victoria are twins and fight like cats and dogs. Separately they’re angels, but together… they’re not.
The traffic begins to ease somewhat as I pass Bristol, and I’m relieved to get my foot down. The last thing I need is to be stranded in a snowstorm in this heap of crap.
The snow is falling thick and fast, heavy clouds of snow hitting my windscreen as my wipers work furiously to keep my vision clear. I spot the turn-off for my sister's county and heave a sigh of relief. My indicator is so faint it’s absurd, so I have to make sure there’s no one on the left side when I exit the motorway.
The slippery road is already glistening, a white wonderland for my car to play in.
“Shit,” I mutter, feeling the snow crunch beneath the tyres. “Come on, Bertha, we can do it.”
My car groans as it slides along the snowy exit, and I ease it slowly off the roundabout and towards the little town my sister lives in. We’d grown up here, and my sister has never left. She married her high school sweetheart and popped out a few kids, and thanks to her husband, she didn’t need to work.
Husband.
My core aches at the word, and I stare down at the indentation on my ring finger. Years of wearing rings there left a permanent reminder that I’d failed at marriage.
It wasn’t my fault, though, not entirely.
Forcing the thoughts away, I focus on making a sharp left to climb the hill towards Bellwood, my childhood town. My car loudly groans as I press on the accelerator, leaning forward like I’m helping my car move. Stupid, really, but I want to give Bertha some moral support.
“Come on,” I plead as the car slows. “No, no, no!”
It barely makes it to the top of the hill, and I lean back when I see the familiar sign welcoming me to Bellwood.
“Thank God—“
Crunch.
