Snowed In at Christmas (Christmas Tree, PA #4)
Chapter 1
Allison
The windshield wipers squeak as they scrape the slush from my frozen windshield. The snow is coming down heavy and thick as I squint to try to be able to see out. The defroster fan runs on high, filling my car with dry air that doesn’t seem to change the temperature in the vehicle at all.
White covers the roads, and the last time I tried to tap the brakes, my car had started to skid.
It scared me, and I’ve slowed way down, putting my four-ways on. Not that anyone else is on the road. I haven’t passed a car for the last five miles. The snowstorm came up unexpectedly the way lake-effect snow sometimes does, and people have smartly decided to stay home.
I’m only about twenty miles away from home, but at this speed, it is going to take a good long time to get there. I wish I would have stayed in Baltimore, instead of trying to make it home. But I’d grown up in Christmas Tree, Pennsylvania, and I know that winter is like this. There is always the chance of having the white stuff come down, fast, slow, blowing, or soft, it doesn’t matter. It can happen anytime.
I bite my lip as a particularly strong gust of wind blows, shaking my car and making it feel like it slides just a bit on the road. I lift my foot even further from the accelerator and feel the decrease in speed, even as it feels like my car is slipping out from underneath me. It seems like the Department of Transportation has been caught flat-footed, as there are no stones or treatment on the road. I try to think of somewhere I can stop, but I can’t even remember there being a gas station in the area.
Typically lake-effect snow doesn’t last long, although it can pile up quickly.
My hands grip the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles are white as I search, not just for someplace to stop, but keeping my eyes on the road to try to see as far ahead as I can in the almost whiteout conditions.
Suddenly, a driveway appears on the right, with a sign hanging over it. I can’t quite read it, since it has snow obscuring some of the words, but the last word is “Inn.”
Perfect. I can stay for the night, maybe two, and head home once the roads are better. I’d do pretty much anything to get off these dangerously slick roads, especially considering that the rest of the way to Christmas Tree, PA, is winding mountain roads that might or might not have guardrails, not that the guardrails ever seem like they are going to stop anyone from tumbling over the edge of a mountain.
I tap the brakes and turn the steering wheel, and maybe in my excitement, I do it a little faster than I mean to, since my car starts to turn, and then it slides on the slick, icy snow, and while I know hitting the brakes will be useless, I do it anyway. The wheels do not respond, and the antilock brake system keeps my tires from locking up, but it also keeps me from slowing down, and in what feels like a split second, I go from being on the road to being in a ditch.
Maybe I close my eyes, and definitely a startled yelp comes out of my mouth, but the ditch isn’t deep, and my car is still running once it stops moving.
My airbag didn’t deploy, and if I’m able to get my car out of the ditch, I think it would probably be drivable. As it is, my seat belt keeps me in my seat, but somehow my car has spun the entire way around and it is now pointed out the driveway, leaning toward the passenger door.
My hands are trembling and my legs are shaking, but at least I’m not hurt, I think to myself as I try to take stock of my surroundings. I’m pretty sure I can get my car door open. It’s not like the car is lying on its side. And I know there’s an inn at the end of this driveway. I saw the lights. So it will be a short walk. It’s not like it’s blizzard conditions where I’m afraid I’m going to get lost in the woods and freeze to death or something.
Plus, I have an overnight bag that I had packed when I left Christmas Tree. I ended up not using it since I have everything I need at our house in Baltimore, but I still always pack a bag. I guess people who have traveled a lot between two houses will understand. Sometimes you forget that you left without washing any clothes, and you get where you’re going and you realize that you have nothing to wear. An overnight bag is always handy.
Anyway, I’m a little frustrated with myself. I grew up in Pennsylvania, and I take pride in the fact that I know how to drive in the snow. Of course, the fact that this new storm came up so unexpectedly meant that the roads weren’t treated, and maybe the skill I have with driving is less about me being a good snow driver and more about the Department of Transportation keeping the roads in good shape. Regardless, I reach behind me, grab my bag, then turn my car off, and push the door open. I am able to get out, and lugging my bag and purse, I start the short walk down the driveway. I’ve never stayed at this inn and don’t have a reservation, but hopefully they have a room.