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A Tucumcari Christmas

By Gail Gaymer Martin

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Chapter 1

“So, what are you going to do?”
Dayna Littleton, tired of her friend’s nagging, ripped open the next carton and flipped back the lid. “Look at these men’s shirts. What guy would wear this color? It’s pink.” She turned to Shelly Dawson and spotted her usual head rocking response. “What’s that look for?”
Shelly wagged her head. “How’s your hearing? I asked you a question, and as you most often do, you ignored it.”
Dayna dropped the box cutter and shoved her hand against her hip. “Maybe, you should take a cue from that?”
“A cue? Ah. I understand. You’re losing your hearing.” Shelly gave her a smug grin. “Or do you mean something else?”
“If you’re that dense, let me be blunt. I don’t want to talk about it. Can you understand that?” She grasped the box cutter and accentuated her question with a display for swordsmanship.
Shelly drew back, her jaw taut. “Christmas is just around the corner. Thanksgiving is three weeks away. When are you going to make plans? That’s all I’m asking.”
“And that’s the question I’m not answering. Shelly, I don’t know, and as far as I’m concerned my sister promised to come to visit me here in Apple Valley, and every other week she had an excuse why she couldn’t make it. Now I’m supposed to change my plans to satisfy her. Is that what you think I want to do?”
“What plans? I didn’t know you had any.” Shelly cocked her head, her eyes wide as if expecting a strong rebuttal.
“I don’t share all my plans with everybody. Some things are private.” She managed to keep her voice soft and loved seeing Shelly’s expectation deflated.
“And that means you don’t have plans. No surprise.”
Dayna closed her eyes and counted further than ten. She could have reached a hundred more easily than give in to Shelly’s nagging. “Why are you being rude?”
Shelly’s eyes grew even wider. “Me? I’m your best friend and co-worker. In fact, sometimes I think I’m your only friend. I care, Dayna. Yes, I care about you. If I were in town for Thanksgiving, I would invite you to join me, but I’m going to visit family for a change. I hate for you to sit alone on Thanksgiving again.”
“First off, who says I’m alone, and second, what do you mean again.”
Shelly’s sigh rattled the airwaves. “I’m not going to give you the pleasure of a response. You’ll deny it anyway.”
“Good, then let’s get back to these shirts. What man wears pink?”
Shelly shrugged and took a closer look. “It’s a good looking shirt and it’s not pink. It’s sort of coral. I’ve seen men were this color in ads, and I like it. Times change.” She flailed her arms in the air. “Anyway, the buyer ordered them for the store, so who are we to challenge him?”
Dayna shook her head and stopped herself from responding. Why have a silly tiff with Shelly?. She’d been a faithful friend over the years, and one thing she needed was a friend.
Shelly gave her a flustered look, lifted the pink shirts from the box and charged past her as she carried them into the store.
With an apology on her lips, Dayna stood in silence, then cut open another box and lifted the lid. Finally. She grinned, approving of the shirt color. Who didn’t like gray?
This time of year store buyers were busy with Christmas merchandise which meant the help was busy too. She eyed the next carton a moment and set the box cutter on top. A lengthy breath escaped her. She was glad Shelly had left the stock room to give her a chance to unwind and calm herself.
Since her sister’s first call from Ohio about visiting Apple Valley, she’d been struck with a faint hope that somehow they could heal her wounds, wounds she’d allowed to damage her self-worth. But her hope had plummeted downward with her sister’s next call. Her apology for not making the trip had dampened her expectation along with numerous other calls that added to her rejection.
How many excuses could one person come up with? Skylar had been creative. First she broke her ankle, then someone’s grandmother broke her arm. That was farfetched and the reason had rankled her beyond her limit. Then another call that Sky would leave in two days, and again the faint hope peaked from the shadow. But the same day, another phone call dragged the hope into a deeper cave.
“What next?” Shelly charged through the door, her eyes shifting from the boxes to her.
“You can stock the gray shirts if you want. I took a break.”
“Break? You’re standing there in a trance.”
Another breath rattled her lungs. “Look, Shelly, I’m sorry. I know Thanksgiving is getting close and everyone’s making dinner plans and Christmas plans. The fact is that I’m not. I don’t know what I’m doing, and that’s where I stand.”
Shelly opened her arms and drew her into an embrace.
Though she wanted to pull away, she’d been too gnarly already. Shelly didn’t deserve it. She was trying to be a good friend, and a good friend was precious.
As she eased back, Shelly lowered her arms. “Dayna, let’s do something tonight. You’re stressed out, and you need something too… I know, let’s go to the gym and then dinner afterward. What do you say?”
The gym? “You’re not giving up something else to do this with me, are you?”
“Why do you always assume that I’m being a martyr to go somewhere with you. I enjoy your company, Dayna? I care about you. How many times do I have to tell you that? I thought about going to the gym earlier, but I hate to go alone so you’ll be doing me a favor.”
“Okay. And you’re right. My back and neck feel knotted. The gym’s the place to unwind.” And she hoped it was distracting enough to help Shelly give the Tucumcari topic a rest.
♥
Dayna tugged the towel from the recumbent bike handle and wiped her face. She started dripping when she’d nearly killed herself on the treadmill. Apparently incline meant just that. After five minutes, she realized she’d been heading to the top of Mount Everest.
When she looked across the room, she spotted Shelly using the rowing machine and looking content. Not one drop of perspiration. In fact, the speed she was rowing looked as if she were heading down the old mill stream and nowhere near the Niagara Falls rapids. Obviously Shelly’s heart wasn’t in exercising.
With hearts on her mind, she slowed her pace and faced the nagging question Shelly had asked earlier. What should she do? An elderly woman, Mamie she said, called and described Sky’s car problems which, once again, caused her to cancel her visit had left her empty. If she had any hope of soothing the longtime wounds with Sky, the situation rested on her shoulders.
But why should she care? Sky seemed to be unaware of the situation. Months ago when she called from Ohio, she announced her plan to visit and said how nice it would be to have time together. She’d made no reference to resolving their issues or easing the hurt. Sky had been unaware of how their mom’s illness had impeded her life even more than when their father died. What did she expect?
“Are you sleeping?”
Dayna jerked back her head, her heart slamming her ribcage. “Shelly, you scared me.”
“You’d drifted off, I think.”
“Drifted nothing. I’m pedaling the bike. It’s more than you were doing on Moonlight Bay.”
“What?”
“Never mind.” She buttoned her lips. Again, she’d attacked Shelly with anger she felt toward Sky. She paused a moment and got her wits about her. “Are you ready to leave?”
“I will be, but first let’s end with the elliptical.” Shelly tossed her towel over her shoulder and pointed to the next torture machine.
“Here’s an idea. You do the elliptical, and I’ll save it for next time. I’m pooped.”
Shelly’s jaw dropped until she eyed her watch. She closed her mouth and raised her shoulders. “Never mind. It’s late and I’m hungry. I suppose you are too.”
“I won’t argue that. Are you ready then?” She’d been ready a half hour earlier.
Shelly gave a nod and started toward the dressing rooms. Once inside, she had hoped that Shelly had given up on the Christmas holiday quest.
“How are you feeling now?” Shelly slipped her head through the neck opening of her knit top.
Dayna’s spirit lifted, hearing the innocent topic. “Better. You’re right. For a while I had my pulse ticking along about something other than problems.”
“Good.” She pulled a water bottle from her gym bag and took a long drink.
Dayna grasped hers and joined her. “From now on, I need to bring the bottle into the gym. I’m parched.”
“We both need to plan ahead.” Shelly tucked the bottle back into her bag. “I forgot to take it with me too.” She tossed her sneakers onto the bench. “Speaking of plans, let’s get back to Christmas. Did you give that any thought while you were exercising?”
Dayna’s lungs collapsed. So much for a reprise. “Could we save that for another time? I don’t want to ruin my efforts to relax.”
Shelly rolled her eyes. “Okay. What would you like to discuss?”
Dayna stared at her, her mind empty.
“That’s what I thought.” She blew out a stream of air. “Okay, let’s talk about men.”
“Men? Now? What’s that have to do with anything?”
Shelly gaped and dropped her arms to her side. “If you were dating, you’d have plans for the holidays. You wouldn’t be anticipating spending another Thanksgiving or Christmas alone in the apartment. I can’t deal with that, Dayna. I want you to be happy.”
“And you think happy means having a date?”
“It’s not being alone.” She dropped her clothes into the gym bag and tossed in her sneakers. “What do you think of that hunk who works in the shop next to ours?”
“What hunk?”
“Dayna, you’re kidding. He looks like Bradley Cooper mixed with Chris Pine.”
Shelly’s facial expression rattled her brain. “That means nothing to me.”
“You don’t know who Brad—”
“Yes, I know who they are. I just can’t blend the two men into someone I’ve seen at the shop next door. Please, Shelly let’s...” Words failed her.
Shelly’s shoulders slumped. “Never mind.” She zipped the bag and slipped her feet into her shoes.
Dayna watched her huff and puff, and wished she had something that would help Shelly understand. She didn’t want people’s pity. She needed to get her act together on her own.
While she packed her bag, Shelly stood a moment and studied her. “Are you ready?”
“Do you mean ready to leave?”
“That, too.”
Which meant she wanted to continue the harangue. Dayna struggled to lower her brows. She’d longed for the topic of her holiday plans to drift from Shelly’s brain. So much for distant hope. She held her breath. “Shelly, let’s leave here. I don’t want to spend the evening sitting in a smelly locker room.” She grabbed her gym bag. “Let’s go to my house and order a pizza. I can take off my shoes and relax. What do you say?”
Shelly gave her a smile. “I haven’t had pizza for ages. Let’s go.”
Dayna’s spirit rose though her hope remained hanging in the balance. Would pizza stop the inquisition? Probably not.
♥
Dayna carried the pizza box to the trash basket and pushed a button on her coffeemaker. Dessert would be store bought cookies but Shelly wouldn’t care and neither did she. Once she settled back in her favorite living room chair, the room became thick with apprehension.
“The pizza was great. Are you sure I can’t chip—”
“It’s on me, Shelly. You can pay next time. We’ll go to a steak house.”
Shelly chuckled, plumped up the sofa cushion and rested her back against it. “I know your sister had car trouble. You told me, but you said she also invited you to come there. What did you say when she asked? You must have given her some hope or said you’d think about it.” She shifted to a different position and tucked her legs beneath her. “Don’t tell me you said no.”
Dayna closed her eyes. Getting Shelly to give up on the topic was like telling Vesuvius to spare Pompeii. She grasped her fortitude and gave up. “You have it a bit wrong. The call with the invitation wasn’t from my sister. It was rather odd, really. Mamie was the one. She greeted me with a long story about Sky’s car breaking down many miles from Tucumcari and hundreds of miles from Apple Valley. Apparently her grandson was on his way to bring Sky back to Tucumcari while her car was being repaired. Though the implausible story irked me, the woman’s sweet explanation sounded sincere. She’d talked about how much Sky wanted to visit me, and though I doubted it, her manner left me with the feeling she was genuine. She said Sky insisted on coming against their wishes.”
“Against their wishes? Who is this Mamie again? Somebody’s grandmother? Is that it?”
“She runs a rooming house or had rooms to rent. Something like that. She’s the doctor’s grandmother.”
“Sky’s doctor?”
“No, the one whose dog wrapped around her legs and caused her to fall. She tripped over the dog’s leash according to her story.”
“That was convenient.”
“Convenient? How can a broken ankle be conv—”
“Not her ankle. The grandmother had a room for rent.”
Dayna sank against the chair back. “I guess it was.” She tried to picture the grandmother from her voice. “She sounded like a sweet old lady. Probably on a walker, bored out of her mind and loves having roomers.”
“Or maybe she’s just a nice woman who’s there when people need her.”
The lash of Shelly’s comment cut through her. “That could be true, actually. I could hear a kind of caring in her voice after I thought about it. At first I told myself the call was set up by Sky and it was one of her fabricated tales of woe. But Mamie came across as honest and forthright. She said Sky was determined to make the trip even though Doug—I guess he’s the doctor—was worried about the starter on her car. It’s a Lexus, but the thing is ten-years old, I think.”
“Sounds like the doctor made the proper diagnosis.”
Dayna grinned, and the tug on her taut face stunned her. “He did. Anyway, after Mamie finished talking about Sky, she suggested I make the trip there. She said I would love the town and told me how much she would like to meet me.”
“Hmm?” Shelly’s back straightened for the first time since she’d begun the tedious story. “Do you think Sky put her up to that?”
“Not on your life. Sky would be stuck with me there. If she came here, she could leave when she got tired of me or bored or eager to get back to her life in Ohio.”
Shelly leaned forward. “Dayna, why do you think your sister dislikes you so much?”
The question struck her chest and knocked air from her lungs. She could only shake her head.
“You don’t know?”
“That’s not it. It’s me.”
Shelly shook her head as if trying to shake out the cobwebs. “Okay. What does that mean?”
“I haven’t given her a chance, I suppose. It’s one of those long term things that has built up over the years, and I’m not sure I can put my finger on it, Shelly.” She turned to face her. “And don’t carry on. I know it sounds weird but things happen. It’s like a volcano. Things build underground. Earth shifts, cracks form and fire rises through the crevices. Lava flows from the fractures and one day steam rises and the volcano blows its top.”
“And you’ve blown yours?” Shelly’s expression was unreadable.
“Kind of…I guess. It’s words never spoken. Feelings knotted so tight I can’t unravel them. I don’t know. So if I don’t know, how can I make it better? Or what can she do to smooth out the wrinkles.”
“What you’re talking about, Dayna, is more than wrinkles. It’s ridges. Deep crevices with no way to repair it, and I hope that’s not the case.”
“To be honest, Shelly, I hope the same thing.” She was ready to end the discussion, but how? “I have coffee brewing in the kitchen. Would you like a cup?” She had lots to think about and maybe a new motivation to do something. Anything.
“No, but thanks for asking.” She lowered her legs and sat upright. “I’m tired, and tomorrow I want to go to the…” She snapped her fingers. “I knew I wanted to ask you something.” She wagged her head. “Where’s my mind?”
Dayna knew where Shelly’s mind was. It was on her business.
“I wanted to ask if you’d like to go with me to the Holiday Craft Fair. It’s tomorrow and Sunday. It’s more fun to go with someone and—”
“You don’t have to explain, Shelly. I don’t need anything, but sure, I’ll go with you. What time, and should I pick you up or meet you there?”
“I’ll be out anyway so I’ll come by around ten or so and pick you up. It’s open until three, I think.”
“It’s a date.”
Shelly rose with a grin. “Good, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She gave her a wave as she stepped out the door.
It’s a date. The words sounded alien. She hadn’t had a date in forever. But that was her fault. She’d had offers, but—
She shifted closer to the door and locked it while the single word ‘but’ hung on the air. That was the story of her life. She realized it more and more. Even Shelly knew it. One of these days, she needed to move forward instead of standing still.

 

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