SNOW ANGEL

SNOW ANGEL

Pat Williams lay flat on the ground, hands stretched out in front of him, legs splayed out to the sides. He lay still for the moment gathering his wits. The snow on his face quickly getting his attention. Swinging his arms down to his side he brought his legs together, pushing himself up. Shaking the snow off his arms body he turned and looked back at the car stuck in the snow, its headlights casting a beam of light highlighting his struggles. His wife Sarah stared out of the windshield at him slowly shaking her head. He shrugged and gave her a thumbs up to show he was okay and turned to continue down the slick snow-covered driveway that they had slid into. Well, it wasn’t exactly ‘they’, he had misjudged his speed and the curve of the road. He’d be hearing about that for a while. Luckily the car had managed to avoid the stone walls that lined the road and had slid into someone’s driveway. Now it was stuck, the front grill buried in the soft powdery snow that had been falling for the last hour. If it hadn’t been snowing, they would have been well on the way to the children’s medical center using the interstate but an accident had effectively shut it down. Pat’s only good fortune was the highway was shut down before they could get on the onramp. But now he was stuck in a snowy driveway in the middle of nowhere. Looking down he noticed that his fall and flailing about had created a pretty good snow angel. He smiled to himself and thought that their daughter Anne would have enjoyed seeing that. But right now, she was strapped in her car seat behind her mom. She being the reason for this trip. She needed her monthly I.V. treatment to treat the infection that was rampaging through her body. The doctor’s had assured them that there was a good chance that the course of treatment would take care of it but they had to maintain the monthly schedule for several months. Pat continued walking down the slippery snow-covered driveway, taking his time, trying to avoid another embarrassing faceplant in the snow. When the car had come to a halt in a powdery puff of snow, Pat had noticed a light shining in the distant darkness. Hopefully someone was home and he could get some help and apologize for blocking their driveway. As he continued on his way, shuffling his feet like a penguin trying to stay upright, he heard the flapping of wings directly over his head. Ducking instinctively, he cranked his head around and saw a large bird swooping down towards him, its large wings flapping effortlessly as it passed over. With a piercing ssshhreeeek the bird landed in a tree next to him, dropping a fresh load of snow down onto Pat’s head. “Thanks a lot for that” said Pat annoyingly as he tried to scoop the snow off his head and out of his collar. Looking up into the tree he could see a large, white, heart shaped face with coal black eyes and dark brownish body staring quizzically at him. Great he thought, that scared the bejeesus out of him. A barn owl, another witness to his struggles. Hope it was enjoying the show. Wonder if Sarah saw that, he thought, Anne would laugh when he told her how it scared him. Coming around a corner he saw the house directly in front of him. The light that he had seen shone softly in the curtained doorway window.

He walked to the door and knocked briskly. There was no response. Pat knocked again and he thought he could hear movement on the other side. “Hello? Is there someone there? I’m sorry to bother you but I’m stuck in your driveway and could use some help. Hello?” Pat knocked once more. This wasn’t working. He’d have to turn around and go back to the car and try to figure things out from there. Sarah wasn’t going to be happy and Anne would be fidgeting about, her fussing adding to the stress level. As he turned to go, he heard the rattling of a lock being unlocked and chain being unfastened from the door behind him. Turning back, he saw the movement of the closing curtain and knew he at least had a chance to plead his case.

The door cracked open and a small wrinkled woman’s face, bracketed in white hair and glasses, gnarled veined hand holding a kerosene lantern, stared up at him. “Yes? What do you want?” she asked hesitantly. “I’m sorry to bother you ma’am but I ran off the road, and I’m afraid, stuck in your driveway. My wife and daughter are in the car. They’re okay but I need to get the car out so we can get to the children’s hospital for my daughter’s appointment.” Pat blurted this all out in a rush hoping to get his urgency across before having the door closed in his face. “Can I use your phone to call for some help?” he continued, a sense of pleading in his voice. She stared up at him for a moment before answering. “Nope.” She started to close the door. Pat panicked and held his hand against the door frame. “Please ma’am. I could really use some help right now. Not for me or my wife. It’s my daughter Anne. She’s only four years old and needs monthly I.V. treatments to try and make her better. This is the appointment that I have to get her to. Please?” he pleaded. She looked up at him as though to judge his truthfulness. She glanced down for a second and then opened the door wider.

“Come on in. Stay on the doormat. I don’t need you tracking snow into my house and making a wet mess.” She backed up into what appeared to be the living room. Pat nodded appreciatively and entered, trying not to bring in any excess snow. “Phone lines are out and so’s the electricity. This is the only light I have.” She gestured with the kerosene lantern. Pat noted in the low lantern glow that the room was sparse yet neat. In the corner he saw a wood stove that was in use. The snapping of the burning wood inside giving evidence of it’s current use. “Who’d you say you were?” she asked. “Sorry ma’am. My name’s Pat Williams and my wife Sarah and daughter Anne are out in the car. If the phone isn’t working is there someone else nearby that could help?” She chuckled quietly. “Not really. Most of the smart ones leave for the winter. The only other one close by is the Vickery farm. It’s a couple miles up the road. Doubt they’re any better off than me. Let me think for a moment.” She stared at the wooden floor, her worn grey slippers contrasting with the bright flowered sweater that she clutched around her. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” With that she went through a blanket covered doorway with the lantern leaving Pat in the dark. In a few seconds he could hear her rustling around in the other room and then starting to talk. Pat could hear her voice but was unable to tell what she was saying. At one point he thought he hear a blast of static. Maybe the electricity was coming back, thought Pat, with a brief flash of hope. He then heard her voice rise in anger, then appeared to come down a notch as though directing a child to do something. Finally, he could hear the tone change to what seemed soothing endearments. Then silence.

The curtain parted and the old lady came back into the room.

“My son Owen will be here in a few minutes. He’ll help you.

But you need to go now and meet him at the end of the driveway.

You don’t want to miss him.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have electricity or phones?” asked Pat, somewhat accusingly.

“I don’t.” she replied, “My boys set me up with a battery powered CB radio for times like this. Only used it a couple of times but it’s handy. Now you better get going.” With that she ushered Pat to the door. “Good luck with everything with your daughter.” She said in finality as she closed and locked the door behind him.

Pat stared at the door in disbelief. Did he just get the bum’s rush? What was her hurry in getting him back to the road? He didn’t even get her name. He turned and started the slow, slippery trudge back to the car and what was sure to be two nervous occupants. As he headed up the driveway he glanced once again at his inadvertent snow angel thinking to himself that it looked pretty damn good for an accidental face plant. Reaching the car, he smiled and waved at his wife. Coming up to the passenger side she lowered the window. “Well?” she asked somewhat coolly. “Help is on the way.” Pat replied with what he hoped was a confident tone. He wasn’t sure how confident he really was. The old lady had shooed him out the door with only a faint promise of some kid coming to help. He stood there looking around, waiting for some sign of approaching help. Glancing in the backseat he could see Anne was slumbering holding her favorite stuffed rabbit. Hopefully she would sleep through all this, although that was unlikely. Suddenly he could hear the rumble of what sounded like a good size truck downshifting through its gears approaching. Looking to his left he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as a big plow truck with flashing orange lights approached, its main plow and wing blades throwing back waves of snow coming at him. Crap! That was going to bury the car deeper and make it even more difficult for that kid to get him out. Amazingly the truck slowed and with a hiss of air brakes came to a halt beside Pat. The trucks passenger window lowered and a voice called out. “You the guy that’s stuck and needs help?”

“Yes,” Pat yelled back. “Are you Owen?”

“Yep.” Came the curt reply. “Come on, get in. I don’t have time to waste. I got a schedule to keep.”

“Okay, thanks. Let me get my wife and kid.”

Pat turned and motioned to Sarah to get out. “What’s this?” she asked. “This is our help?” “Look he’s our only option right now. I’ll grab Anne and her things. Shut the car off and grab the keys and lock it up.” Pat undid the car seat but a gruff voice from inside the truck said “No room for a car seat. You’ll have to hold her.” Pat looked at Sarah. She just shook her head and closed the car door. They pushed through the snow to the side door of the truck. When the door opened the interior light showed the driver, clothed in coveralls with a knitted hat on his head, face covered in several days growth of beard, sitting with his hand on the gear shift waiting for them to pile in. Scrambling in they squeezed together, managing to get Anne situated between them, holding her in place.

“Thanks for picking us up. I really appreciate it. It was very nice of your mom to do this for us.” Pat said. The driver looked at him strangely and then looked back at the road, getting the truck underway. “Yeah, she’s like that sometimes. Now let me pay attention to what I got to do.” With that Owen started working the gear shift, getting back up to speed, the plows peeling back layers of snow. With practiced moves he maneuvered the big truck down the road keeping the plow in a straight line. Pat looked at Sarah with a shrug. Guy wasn’t much of a conversationalist. The low rumble of the truck and steady stream of heat from the heater lulled Anne back into a fitful sleep. Pat was about to speak when Owen reached up over his head and removed a CB radio mic from the cabs ceiling. “You folks be quiet now. I got to get some things set up.” With that he changed the channel selector on the CB radio. “Breaker one seven. Breaker one seven. You there Jojo?” There was no immediate reply, just a steady hiss of static. He repeated himself once again. “Breaker one seven. Breaker one seven. Come on Jojo I know you’re there. Got a message from mom.” There was a momentary silence then the hiss of static was broken.

“BULLSHIT.” The reply angry and definitive.

“Jojo that’s no way to talk on the radio. Look, lets go to momma’s channel and we can talk more. And be nice. I got company with me.” There was no response. Owen reached up and changed the channel. Pat glanced at Sarah. What the hell was this all about? She looked at him and raised her eyebrows in one of those looks of concern. Looking back at Owen Pat could see a look of frustration on his face. Owen pushed the button on the mic again. “You there?” he asked into the darkness. After a brief moment there was a break in the hiss. “What do you want? You sure it was mom? I don’t need this crap right now Owen. You just go do your thing and I’ll do mine.” Owen muttered something under his breath then push the button. “Look, mom asked me, us, to do something for her. I need you to do your piece and then we can get back to the way things used to be. Okay?” There was a tenseness in Owen’s voice that Pat noticed. After a moment a sulking voice replied, “Okay. Just this once. What is it that mom needs?”

“I have three passengers. Two adults and a child that need to be delivered to the medical center. I can’t leave my route but the hospital is on your side. Just meet me at the shopping plaza, pick them up, drop them off at hospital and we’re done.”

“Are you crazy? What are you doing with three people in your truck? You trying to get fired? Get me fired? No way!”

“Mom asked.” was Owens simple reply.

“Alright already. Jeeze. Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you there.”

Owen sighed and looked at Pat. “My brother Joe. We don’t often see eye to eye. You know what I mean?” Pat nodded slowly. What could he say?

Owen drove into the shopping plaza and there at the opposite end was a plow truck similar to the one they were in. He drove over to it, parked, and hopped out. “Give me a minute.” He then walked over to the other truck where the driver also got out, a younger version of Owen. In seconds it was obvious that a heated discussion was taking place. Pat could hear raised voices and the hand and arm gestures were just added silent exclamation points. Finally, they both stopped and stared at each other. Owen turned and came back to his truck. Joe got into his truck, waiting, fuming.

“All set, folks.” Said Owen with a forced smile as he got into the cab of his truck. “Joe will take you to the hospital. It’s only about five minutes from here. Have to warn you though, Joe is not much of one for conversation. So, if you just get in the truck and not say much it’ll probably be for the best. Good luck with everything. Hope your daughter gets better.” Pat gave a weak smile and reached over and shook Owen’s hand. Getting out he helped Sarah as she passed down Anne. They walked over to Joe’s truck and got in the passenger side. After brief frosty hellos to each other Joe started up his truck and started off. Pat and Sarah sat in strained silence, each wondering what they had got themselves into. Talk about family feuds. As Owen had warned Joe didn’t say a word on the short drive to the hospital. When they arrived, Pat and Sarah got out with Anne. As Sarah headed into the hospital Pat turned to thank Joe. “We really appreciate all the help from you and your mother and your brother.” Joe just stared at Pat, nodded and said “Yep. Gotta go.” With that he started off, Pat slamming the door shut as Joe drove off without looking back. Pat shook his headed and followed Sarah into the hospital for the next round.

Two days later Pat stood on the side of the road as the tow truck driver maneuvered his truck to get Pats car out of the snowed in driveway. Pat looked down the driveway. His snow angel still visible in the snow. Turning to the driver Pat yelled, “Be right back!” He headed down the driveway to give his thanks once again to the old lady for her assistance. Coming around the corner he stopped in his tracks. In front of him was a chimney rising from the remains of a pile of burnt timbers covered in snow. He was confused. This had to be the house, but the remains were obviously old. His snow angel was proof positive, evidence, that he had been here only two days ago. He stared silently at the burnt remains, a feeling of unease coming over him. Suddenly a loud shreeeek came from behind him followed by the sound of large wings flapping in the air. He ducked, flinching as he had once before. He watched as a large barn owl flew to the top of the chimney remains and landed, facing him. They stared at each other for a moment then the owl blinked, his coal black eyes shining in the middle of its heart shaped white face. It fluffed its wings, emitted another loud shreeeek then flew off into the distant woods. Pat was startled. This was all getting too weird. He was roused from his thoughts by the airhorn of the tow truck driver blaring. He stumbled as he turned, confused thoughts running through his brain, this was all wrong he thought, and headed back to the road.

His car was loaded on the flat bed of the tow truck, the driver waiting impatiently. “Here, this is for you. It was stuck on the driver side window.” He handed Pat an envelope then got into the truck. Pat climbed into the passenger side and closed the door. “That house down there? What do you know about it?” he asked.

“That’s the old Mullen place. Burnt down about two years ago now. Seems the old lady went outside to get firewood for the stove and dropped dead of a heart attack. Appears she left the door open on the stove when she went out, helps with the draft you know. Anyways fire spread to the house and that was the end of Mary Mullen and her house. She had two boys, Owen and Joe. Her two boys haven’t spoken to each other since. Blame each other for the incident. Kinda sad if you ask me.”

Pat nodded in quiet agreement. He opened the envelope. Inside was a brief note that said “Just wanted to let you know that momma said your daughter’s going to be okay. Sorry for me and my brother acting the way we were. We had some issues to work out. Regards Owen and Joe Mullen.”