Miracle on I-40 (11 page)

Then, in a fluid, surprising motion, he swooped Anna up into his arms. “Let’s keep your feet dry. Don’t want to make your cold worse on vacation.”

White Christmas

Cooper went off to check highway conditions. He returned and slipped into the booth. “They’ve cleared one lane going east. And it’s slick out there,” he told Lacey.  “I think we can handle it, but there is some danger.” He gazed at her with a raised eyebrow.

His consulting her came as a bit of a surprise. She gazed at him, and then looked at her children.

Anna said with all practicality, “We have to get to Grandpa’s, Mama, or else Santa won’t know where we are.”

“Cooper can handle it, Mom,” Jon said with confidence.

“Of course he can...and of course we’re goin’ on.” The looks Cooper and Jon exchanged did not escape her notice. Boys and men, she thought.

Then Cooper lifted Anna and carried her out to the truck. Jon slid on his shoes across the lot. Lacey prayed:
I trust in You, Lord.

The big truck rolled down the entrance ramp and into the single lane of traffic, all going at an amazingly good clip, to Lacey’s mind. From the sleeper, Anna and Jon poked their heads out and sang, “Jingle Bells…”

Cooper actually grinned.

Lacey peered hard through the windshield. The hard north wind made a muffled roaring sound, and the windshield wipers thumped rapidly as the Kenworth sliced through the swirling white gloom. The CB radio crackled occasionally with reports of the highway conditions from drivers heading both east and west. Music from the radio provided a low background to it all. Twice, on two different stations, they heard
“White Christmas”
, and Jon and Anna sang along.

It bothered Lacey this time. She told the children to please get back in the sleeper and stay there.

“Where’s your Christmas spirit?” Cooper said, giving her a wink.

The snow began to blow back on the road faster than the plows could keep it clear. Repeatedly, the truck plunged through drifts that completely obliterated the pavement. Lacey caught occasional glimpses of two other semi rigs up ahead. Directly in front of them was a red station wagon, a blessing to follow with visibility so poor.

Though she could feel the tug of the wind and the occasional sliding of the truck, Lacey strangely did not feel terribly anxious. She felt a certainty they were going to be all right, and this caused her to worry if she was being neglectful of worrying.

She glanced over at Cooper. All of his attention was focused on his driving, and it was as if he were attached to the truck, anticipating its every movement. She suspected, by the rapt look on his face, that he secretly loved the challenge of driving in such abominable weather.

It had begun to grow quite dim when it happened. Lacey had actually been drowsing, when a car came pushing around them in a rare wide spot in the road. As Cooper braked slightly and struggled to keep the Kenworth on the road, he cursed under his breath, which brought Lacey up in her seat to see the car’s taillights disappear immediately into the gloom. She strained to see, expecting to find the sedan nose first in a snow-bank on the shoulder, as they’d seen many others.

She glanced at Cooper and saw a worried frown crease his brow. He let out a curse, and Lacey looked again out the windshield to see red taillights getting rapidly larger.

Cooper, who had instinctively slowed his already crawling rate of speed, reacted immediately and carefully. Coming down on the brakes too fast could jack-knife the trailer and even overturn the entire rig. The red lights seemed to grow larger right in front of his eyes.

The damned car was
stopped
in the middle of the road!

He applied the brakes as hard as he dared. The trailer began to skid back and forth across the narrow strip of road, dragging the truck with it. Then, in frustrating slow motion, despite Cooper’s frantic turning the wheel, the truck left the highway and plowed its way down the sloping ground, sending snow up and out in a giant wave.

The truck came to a gentle rest, snugged all around in the snow.

“Lacey…Lacey, you all right?” He ran his gaze over her, and relief surged through him when she appeared only mildly shaken.

She nodded and jerked around. “Anna? Jon?”

The children came scrambling forward, not scared but excited as all get out, the way kids could do. Cooper let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll have a look.”

“I wanna go,” Jon said, eagerly throwing Cooper’s coat at him and scrambling not to be left behind.

Cooper knew beforehand, though, that there would be no getting the truck up on the road again without help.

They got back into the cab along with cold wind and swirling snowflakes.

“What about that car in the road? Are they all right?” Lacey asked.

Jon answered. “The stupid car’s gone, Mom.”

Looking thoroughly disgusted, Cooper got on the CB and began calling for help. Quite quickly the answer came: Help would be sent as soon as they could get through. For now, wait.

“I’m hungry,” Jon said.

“I’m cold,” Anna said.

“Guess I agree with both,” Cooper said, a dry grin twisting his lips.

Lacey laughed, and laughed again. Suddenly she was absurdly happy. “I think I can fix both things,” she said.

They were all safe, just as she’d known they would be. Thanks to her motherly inclinations, they had plenty of refreshments. The truck’s engine continued to purr, putting out heat, and they had plenty of clothes and blankets. They were snug as could be.

From the big tote bag, Lacey pulled cookies and sweet rolls that she had Jon pop in the microwave oven. As she passed out napkins, her hand brushed Cooper’s. Their eyes met.

For the first time in years, Lacey thought, she was sharing the company of her children with a handsome man she had come to care a lot about.

For the first time in years, Cooper thought, he was not spending Christmas Eve alone and lonely.

* * * *

After they’d all eaten, Lacey tucked herself and the children into the warmth of the bed. When Anna began worrying about Santa Claus, Lacey tried to divert her by telling stories about both children when they had been babies. She succeeded in getting Cooper to smile, while he appeared not to listen.

Soon Anna and then Jon fell asleep. Lacey laid her head back, lulled by the gentle rumbling of the diesel engine. Idly she gazed at Cooper smoking a cigarette up in the driver’s seat. She let her eyes roam over him, wondering how they had come to this point together.

When she noticed him rubbing his arms as if cold, she said, “Might as well join us. There’s room.” She wriggled herself and Anna over, indicating the empty space at the end of the bed.

Cooper looked at her, then sort of grinned. “Think I will. We’ve got a long night ahead.”

Lacey leaned toward Anna, trying not to get too familiarly close to Cooper. It was impossible, of course.

Cooper slipped an arm around her shoulder. “It’s okay. I promise I’m not a man to take advantage,” he said, and then added sweetly, “At least not in front of witnesses.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Lacey decided she wasn’t a person to
miss
an advantage. She settled into Cooper’s offered shoulder.

It felt good, almost remarkably so.

She realized that she had never before experienced such a feeling as she was at that moment, relying on Cooper, totally.

She wondered what he felt, if anything. What was he thinking? His heart beat against her arm, and he was so wonderfully warm. She drifted off into the sweetness of the moment, a special Christmas gift.

* * * *

Motion and hushed whispers woke her. Good heavens! She had fallen fully asleep. Cooper was gone from beside her, and Jon was shaking her leg with some urgency.

“Mama…” Jon said in an uncertain tone.

“Santa!” That was Anna in a strange voice.

“Well, I’ll be dogged…” That was Cooper.

Lacey struggled to get to her feet and into the cab, peering around Cooper and Jon to see what everyone was staring at out the passenger-seat window.

Santa Claus.

Santa Claus?

Yes, it was. The faint glow from the cab spilled out upon his very jolly and white-whiskered face. Light snow fell on the velvet and fur cap on his head. He was grinning and peering back at them.

Anna rolled down the window. “Hi, Santa! Hi! Do you have my puppy?”

“Oh, missy, it’s too cold out here for a puppy,” Santa said.

Lacey thought maybe she was dreaming.

The Santa was saying, “Let’s see…puppy…” He pulled a paper from his pocket and looked at it. “Yep, one puppy for…” he peered at Anna, “…for Annie.”

“Anna,” Anna corrected.

Now, how did he guess so close? Lacey would have bet a month’s tips that his beard was real, as was his near shoulder-length white hair. His coat was black, but the pants beneath were deep, royal red.

“That’s right. And you’ll get him, but it’ll be a little later. Live puppies are a tricky present. I always have to work that out. He’s comin’, but right this minute you need to get out of this cold, yes you do, missy. There’s Mountain View Lodge just up the way about three ‘r four  miles. I can get you there, but I got to hurry. I got lots to do tonight, don’t cha’ know.”

Several yards away sat Santa’s odd-looking wagon-sleigh, pulled by two draft horses blowing steam in the cold air. Lacey heard bells. Peering harder, she realized they came from bells on the horses’ harness.

Anna wanted to know where Santa’s reindeer were. “Where’s Rudolph?”

“He’s takin’ a break. He’s been workin’ for eight solid hours, darlin,” Santa told her heartily. “And in this area, ol’ Jim and Tom know the way. I borrowed them from a friend, while my reindeer eat a bite.”

By then Cooper had his coat and hat on and was getting out of the truck. Anna started after him, and Lacey had to pull her back and get her bundled up and gather their bags. Anna would hardly be still and kept straining to see Santa, who had gone over to his sleigh with Cooper.

Cooper and Santa returned together. Santa took a very excited Anna to his sleigh, and Jon followed along, cueing Santa by saying, “I told her all about your magic sleigh that can go faster than anything on earth, and how the world turnin’ like it does works in your favor.”

Cooper helped Lacey get her bags down, then began to shut down and lock up the truck. Lacey was struggling toward the sleigh, when Santa returned to help her.

“Who are you?” she asked the pink-cheeked man in a whisper.

“Don’t you know, Missy?” he answered. Then, “Oh, I see you don’t believe I’m Santa.”

“Well, yes...yes, I do...but...who are you?”

There actually was a storybook twinkle in his eye so bright that she could see it in the dimness. In fact, there
was
a magical quality about him. Although, she found anyone coming to their rescue right then quite magical.

He said, “Darlin’, maybe you could accept the explanation of an old cabinetmaker who enjoys makin’ sure that the tykes up in these back hollars—them that sometimes don’t have much—don’t get forgotten at Christmastime. And it ‘ppears that this year I’ve had a bit of search and rescue thrown in, too. I’ve already hauled five people out of various predicaments. Gettin’ behind schedule...I hope he knows...” His voice trailed off.

“Busy night for Santa,” Lacey said.

“Yep…but not a one hurt, thank God. And the most fun I’ve had in twenty years.” The man chuckled in a very merry fashion.

“Would you…” Lacey lifted the travel bag containing her presents. “Could you give the children and Cooper their gifts for me?”

“You betcha’. You just leave it all to me. That’s my job, after all, you know.” His cheeks
were
rosy in the dim light still shining from the cab.

The curious wagon-sleigh had lanterns on each of the four corners. Anna was tucked beneath a thick blanket in the front seat next to Santa, while Lacey and Cooper, with Jon between them, managed to sandwich themselves into the second seat, with all of their bags around their feet.

Looking behind the seat, Lacey saw the area filled with something that was covered with a blanket and tied in with cord.

“Gee-haw,” Santa called to the horses, and the sleigh was off through the night, with bells jingling on the harness and snowflakes falling softly upon them. Anna chatted happily with Santa about what she and her friends wanted, and he told her about children he had already visited. Cooper’s arm came around behind Jon, and his hand took hold of Lacey’s arm that was holding onto Jon, who repeated again and again, “Man, this is cool. Just too cool.”

Lacey silently agreed. It was a magical experience she would share with her children long after they grew up and she grew old. She was so glad that she had made the trip, just to have this experience.

Nevertheless, when the lights of the lodge finally shown through the snowfall, she was glad to see them. She was frozen clear through. When they came to a stop beneath the wide portico, she found she leaned heavily on both Santa and Cooper to get out of the wagon and stand straight

“Now, let’s see what we have here,” Santa said, producing a red corduroy bag from beneath the wagon’s front seat and crouching to Anna’s size in a manner that seemed that of a much younger man, Lacey thought.

Cooper felt a rush of pleasure when Anna squealed over the stuffed dog he’d bought her, and Jon insisted on trying on his red jacket right then and there. But mostly it was the wonderment in Lacey’s eyes as she held the crystal ball snow scene that moved him. The eyes she turned to him had tears in them and were filled with so much pure happiness that he had to look away.

When Santa began handing out wrapped packages, Cooper realized that there were more presents than the ones he’d given the old man. With amused amazement, he realized Lacey had done the same as he. His amazement tripled when Santa place a small package into his hands.

Lacey had bought him a present!

He stared at the bright red package with the gold ribbon.  He hadn’t had a real present for years. There’d been precious few of them throughout his entire life. He looked up to find Lacey gazing at him, a trembling smile on her lips. Feeling a whole lot the way he had when he’d lost control of the Kenworth, he smiled back and stuffed the package into his coat pocket. He would wait until he was alone to open it.