Dear Santa Claus - 14 Short Stories Until Christmas

19th December - The Hut on the Hill (2)

"I told you so."

Isla and Hayden stood next to her car. Well, actually they stood next to a big pile of snow under which they expected her car to be.

"I know. Thank you for reminding me."

They had come here after a small breakfast, to see if she could continue her trip but as soon as they had left the hut, they knew that it probably wouldn't be possible. There were two feet more snow than the day before; Flynn almost disappeared when he jumped into it.

"What do I do now? There is no way I can get that car out of here."

"We could try to get help but my car won't drive on that snow, either, and walking to the next town would take hours. And I don't think that we're getting any reception on our phones."

"What you're saying is we could try to get help but there is no way we can get help here?"

"Is that, what it sounded like?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well...I guess then that was what I was saying."

"So? What do I do?"

"Wroof!" Flynn came running to them after zooming past them for the 100th time.

"Exactly. That's what I was thinking." Hayden said with a big smile.

"What?"

"What he said."

"What did he say? I think I haven't learned his language yet." She laughed.

"Stay."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure. We have room for one more, right, Flynn?"

"Wroof!"

Isla didn't know what to say. She didn't want to be a burden for Hayden but she had also really had a great time the night before and didn't have anywhere else to go.

"What happened to 'I come here when I need time for myself'?"

"I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I didn't really need time for myself. I...I think I like having you here."

"You don't even know me and you already want to spend Christmas with me? Because it doesn't look like I'm gonna get that car out of here any time soon and Christmas is in three days."

"I wouldn't mind at all if you stayed until Christmas. I don't have anywhere else to be."

"And you are really sure that you want that?"

"Yes. I want you to stay."

"Well," she said, "then we should find a way to get my stuff out of that car. I can't run around in the same clothes every day."

"I have lots of clothes..." he said with a smile.

"Yeah, right. You know, I almost disappeared in those pajamas of yours. Thank you for the offer, but I prefer mine."

"I know. I was kidding."

"I hope so."

They started to push the snow to the side to get to the doors and the trunk but only after a few minutes it turned into a snowball fight. Flynn's way of participating was to try and catch the snowballs in mid-air. It looked hilarious. About ten minutes later, all three of them lay on the floor, completely out of breath.

Hayden and Isla turned their heads to look at each other.

"We should probably get going," said Hayden.