Worst Holiday Ever

Brian Kinney walked out of Kinnetik into newly falling snow. He pulled the collar of his camelhair coat closer around his throat. He felt like shit, but he didn’t want to be sick. He had more important things to do.

He had been trying to get out of the office for hours, but there seemed to be one last minute crisis after another. The staff had been clearing everything from their desks so that they could have a few days off over Christmas. As a result, everything seemed to end up on Brian’s desk. This artwork needed fixing ASAP, and that client contact couldn’t wait until after the holidays, and this deadline was an imminent disaster needing Brian’s immediate attention. Brian had spent hours on the phone with clients and magazines and newspapers and production companies. Why the fuck had he hired people who couldn’t do their own fucking jobs?

It was now after 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and with each passing moment he was feeling more like he was coming down with something. It was snowing now as well, not too hard, but enough to make Brian’s hair wet. He could feel the melting snowflakes slide down his neck. He shivered involuntarily. Since he’d been stuck at Kinnetik all day, he had eaten nothing and had drunk about twenty cups of coffee. He felt his stomach roll at the thought.

The only thing that kept him going as he hurried towards the Corvette was that Justin would be waiting for him at Britin. Justin had flown in from New York several hours ago. He had phoned Brian asking him to come home. Brian so wished he had been able to do that. But his fucking incompetent staff had let him down and required him to stay at work, when there were so many much more pleasurable things to be doing at home.

Brian unlocked the car and got in, starting the engine quickly and turning on the heat. He turned on the wipers hoping to clear the snow from the windshield. The wipers took away some of the snow, but not all. He knew he was going to have to get out and clear all the windows. With a little cough and a big sigh, Brian hauled himself out of the car.

He had just retrieved the snow brush from the trunk of the ‘Vette when Ted came hustling out of Kinnetik.

“Need any help, Boss?” Ted asked cheerfully.

“I thought you left a couple of hours ago when the other rats abandoned the ship.”

“I wanted to make sure everything was taken care of,” Ted replied. “Looks like you were doing the same.”

“I am the boss,” Brian reminded him as he shoved a wad of snow off the back of the car. He coughed and shivered, hoping against hope that he really wasn’t getting sick.

“Well, drive carefully,” Ted advised, “and I’ll see you at Deb’s tomorrow.”

“Do the same,” Brian replied. He really was getting soft in his old age, wishing Ted well.

Finally the car windows were clear and Brian got in. He shivered as he cranked up the heat some more. He backed out of his parking spot and stepped lightly on the gas. The Corvette sputtered a bit but then moved forward. Brian wondered if he should be buying a new car that was more reliable, but he knew he loved his old ‘Vette.

He gave Ted a cursory wave as he passed the man trying to clear off his own car. Carefully Brian pulled onto Liberty Avenue, noting that there was a lot of traffic for this time of night.

“Bloody last minute shoppers,” Brian muttered as he inched his way down the street. He should have been at Britin hours ago. He wondered what Justin was doing. He wasn’t going to think about the possibilities of that until he got closer to Britin. Brian hadn’t seen his lover for a few weeks, so this time together at Christmas was to be cherished. Brian hated wasting a minute of it. Brian could hardly wait to see Justin.

After a much too slow bit of progress through the streets of Pittsburgh, Brian turned a corner and felt the Corvette engine sputter again as he stepped on the gas. And then the unthinkable happened. The car died. As in dead. As in no power. Brian couldn’t fucking believe it.

The car had enough momentum to continue rolling forward. Brian managed to nurse it along into the outer edge of a service station lot. The car stopped moving finally and Brian pulled on the emergency brake. He wasn’t sure why he bothered with the brake, because he sure as shit wasn’t going anywhere.

Brian gave the steering wheel a hard smack with the palm of his hand, before he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He hit #1 and waited as it rang.

“Hello?”

“Justin, it’s me.”

“Hi, you,” Justin replied cheerfully. “Are you finally coming home?”

“No.”

“Wha…What?” Justin asked uncertainly.

“My fucking car just died. I’m barely on the outskirts of Pittsburgh.”

“Shit! What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to call AAA. I’ll let you know how long I’ll be after I talk to them.”

“Can you get a cab? Or a rental?” Justin asked hopefully. “I really need to see you.”

Brian groaned. This had to be his worst nightmare. So near to Justin, and yet so far. He wanted to throw up as he contemplated what he could possibly do.

“Brian? Brian!”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“I’ll let you go. You need to call AAA. The sooner you call, the sooner they will get there.”

“Yeah,” Brian said dejectedly. He started coughing as he cut the connection with Justin. He used one of his apps to call AAA, only to be told that it would be at least an hour before anyone could come to help him. Brian was livid.

“What the fuck am I paying you for?” he shouted at the poor woman on the other end of the line.

“I’m sorry, sir, but it is Christmas Eve and it is snowing.”

“Yeah, thanks for the fucking weather report!” Brian cut the call.

A coughing bout ensued before Brian could do anything else. After a couple of minutes he picked up his phone and called the taxi service he usually employed when he was in Pittsburgh. He got no better results there. It would likely be at least an hour before a taxi could be dispatched to him. It was Christmas, short staff, bad weather, people drinking, taking all the fucking cabs. Blah, blah, blah. Brian cut the connection.

He was about to call Justin again when a big, old SUV pulled up to the pumps of the gas station. Brian didn’t know why it caught his attention, but he noticed that the back of it was loaded to the gills with what looked like the sum total of their belongings. He could just see the heads of a couple of young kids in the back seat. A young, rather tired looking woman got out of the car. She walked over to the service booth. Brian imagined she was paying for her gas with cash. As she returned to the car, her feet almost slipped out from under her, but she was able to catch herself on the back of the SUV. She lifted the nozzle and got ready to pump gas, as Brian dialed Justin again.

“An hour,” he said bluntly when Justin answered.

“An hour till you get here, or an hour till help comes?”

“The second.”

“Shit!” Justin responded. “What about a cab?”

“An hour.”

“Fuck!”

“I wish,” Brian grumbled.

“Did you try the car again?” Justin asked out of the blue. “Maybe it will start after a little rest.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Do you expect a fucking miracle?” Brian asked as he watched the woman at the pumps stop pumping gas and put the nozzle back. He noted that she could not have added much gas to such a big vehicle.

“Well, it is Christmas,” Justin said trying to lighten the mood. “Give it a try.”

Brian turned the key. Not a sound resulted from that action. “Nothing,” he told Justin.

“I…I’m sorry,” Justin said.

Brian watched the woman at the SUV turn to close the gas tank. As she turned, her feet slid out from under her and she fell to the ground. She just sat there. Brian could hear the kids in the car calling “Mommy.” She stayed on the ground and yelled for them to stay in their seats.

“Gotta go, Sunshine,” Brian said.

“What hap…?” Justin started but he realized the line had gone dead. Maybe Brian had found someone to help him.

Brian got out of the car and headed for the woman who was still on the ground. His feet slid in the snow, but he reached her in a few steps. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Ye…Yes,” she stuttered.

Brian could see that she was crying. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?” he asked.

“I’m, I’m f…fine.” She wiped at her eyes.

“Let me help you up,” Brian said. He extended his hand. She looked up at him through tear filled eyes. She gave him her hand and he gently pulled her to her feet. “You should have boots on,” Brian advised her looking at the shoes that looked worn and probably had no traction at all.

“I…” She didn’t finish whatever she was going to say.

“Mommy?” a young boy said from the back seat. “I’m hungry. Can we get something to eat?”

“No, Tommy,” the woman replied wiping at her eyes. “You have to wait till we get to grandma and grandpa’s.”

Brian took in the scene and it hit him that this young woman had no money for food – or for boots. He glanced at the gas pump. She had put in five dollars worth of gas.

“How far are you going?” he asked.

“Cleveland.”

“That’s a couple of hours away, nore like three or four in this weather. Do you think that bit of gas will get you there?”

“It..It’s all the money I had.” Another tear trickled down her cheek. “My husband left us a few months ago, and I can’t find a job. They were going to throw us out of our apartment, so I called my parents in Cleveland. I haven’t talked to them in years. They hate my husband. I guess they were right all along. He left us with nothing.” The woman took a shuddering breath. “My parents agreed to help us, but I don’t think we can get there. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Here,” said Brian as he pulled out his credit card. He swiped it at the pump before she could say anything. He punched in his password. “Fill it up,” he ordered.

“I…I couldn’t…”

“Yes, you can. Do it! It’s Christmas Eve.”

The woman looked so relieved that Brian thought she might start crying all over again. She lifted the nozzle.

“I’m kind of hungry. I’m going to get some food at that Burger King across the street,” Brian said. “It looks like it’s still open.”

“Thank you so much,” the woman said as she started to pump the gas.

Brian hurried across the street, managing not to slip and fall on his own ass. He realized that he was hungry and he felt a lot better. He wasn’t coughing any more. And it had stopped snowing.

The woman was just finishing filling the gas tank when Brian returned. The Burger King was in the process of closing up, but Brian had paid them a hefty sum for all the burgers and fries and drinks they were willing to give him. The food probably would have been thrown out, but Brian wasn’t about to argue with them.

“This is for the kids,” Brian said. “They would have thrown it out.” Just then the lights in the Burger King all went out.

“Wow, thank you so much,” the woman said as she passed the food into the car. The kids started ravenously devouring it. Brian wondered when they had last eaten. He realized there were three little kids in the car – two boys and a girl. And now they had no father to look after them.

Brian held out a burger for the woman. He had kept one back for her.

“What about you?” she said as she looked longingly at the food.

“I have a meal waiting for me at home, once I get my car going,” Brian explained. “I got these too.” He handed her two fifty dollar gift cards. “My Christmas gift for the kids.”

“Oh my God!” she reacted almost choking on her bite of burger. “Are you a Christmas angel?” Her eyes were full of wonder.

“No,” Brian chuckled. “Most people think I’m an asshole.”

“They are so wrong!” she declared. “I’m Chris Collins. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Drive carefully and get those kids safely to Cleveland. That will be thanks enough.”

“I’ll do my best. Thank you so much, Mr. …?”

“Kinney, Brian Kinney. Merry Christmas,” Brian said as he turned towards his car.

“Thanks mister,” the oldest boy in the SUV reiterated.

Brian nodded before heading for his car. He felt much better, and he hardly slipped in the snow. He hoped that meant the driving conditions wouldn’t be too bad for the little group heading to Cleveland.

He got in his car and was about to call AAA for an update on a likely arrival time, when he saw the SUV head out of the service station. They all were smiling and waving at him. Brian felt a warmth in his heart that he hadn’t felt in a long time, maybe ever.

On a whim he set his phone on the seat and turned the key in the ignition. The car started right away. “I’ll be damned,” he muttered to himself.

He put the car in gear and eased out into the traffic which had certainly lightened since he had been sitting in the service station lot. The car didn’t even sputter. It seemed to be running fine.

Brian saw that he was going to have to stop at the next light. He hit the button for the AAA and told them he no longer required their services. The woman sounded very relieved. Brian guessed she remembered him from when he had cursed her out twenty minutes ago. He wished her a Merry Christmas.

Brian drove for several blocks. The car was working fine. Maybe there were such things as Christmas miracles. Just before Brian reached the highway that would get him to Britin in less than half an hour, he pulled off to the shoulder. He hit #1 on his phone.

“Justin, I’ll be home in about half an hour.”

“That’s great! Did the AAA get there early to start the car?”

“Didn’t need them.”

“Huh? How come?”

“I’ll tell you all about it when I get there.”

“Okay, drive carefully.”

“I think I could fly tonight,” Brian said with a little laugh. He felt great.

“Are you on something?”

“Just Christmas spirit, Sunshine.”

“What has happened to you?” Justin asked in bewilderment.

“I love you and I’ll be there soon.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“You better be. It’s been too long. I … need you.”

“I love you so much,” Justin said. “I have a surprise for you when you get here.”

“What is it?”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”

“Does it have to do with nakedness and a bed and lots of lube?”

“It just might,” Justin said with a laugh.

“I’m on my way.”

Brian set his phone down and pulled back onto the road. Momentarily he was on the highway sailing towards Britin and Justin. He thought this might turn out to be the best Christmas he had ever had.

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