That Thursday was a bleak one for Summer. With Bev being on bedrest and Jack Frost having completely frozen her out (she saw the irony), Christmas was turning more cold and bleak than ever. She hadn't felt truly lonely until she suddenly had no one. The only people she spoke to that day were her customers who were everything from jolly and happy to winter-depressed and stressed. She gave them all her best attempt at a smile, but truth was, she didn't feel like smiling at all herself. There was nothing to smile about.
And that's why, as Summer closed her shop down that night and stepped out into the cold snow that only seemed to keep coming stronger and stronger every day, she was in a crappy mood. She told herself this was no mood to be in, so she made up her mind about baking some Christmas cookies when she came home. Yeah, that would cheer her up, if not because she could eat them all afterwards.
But first, grocery shopping. The stores didn't close until 8pm, so if she hurried, she could just make it across town to buy what she needed to bake.
Summer did just that and drove to the local supermarket of Whitefish, the same one she had shopped at all her life. She bought what she needed and wished her friend the saleslady Mary a Merry Christmas. She then bagged up her groceries and walked back to her car.
The bodega next door was playing loud Christmassy music. When Summer had parked her car, they had been playing Last Christmas, but now they were playing All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey. Both were numbers she truly couldn't stand after they had been played so frequently in the radio, so the sound of Mariah belting out her amazing vocals brought a slight grimace to her face. However, when the door to the bodega opened and a male voice tried singing in the exact same key as Mariah, she realized she definitely preferred the original version.
"All I want for christmaaaaas is yoooou-uuh, baaaybeee!"
Summer automatically glanced towards the drunken man singing and saw to her mortification, Jack. He wasn't the one singing though, he was the one dragging the guy out who was; He was tumbling over his own feet and barely standing upright, but Jack kept him up by slinging his arm around his body.
"Come on, man. Please stop singing, you're killing my ears and every dog in the neighborhood."
"But it's my song!" The guy drunkenly slurred. "I love it, it makes me feel loved..."
Summer now realized she recognized that voice. Squinting her eyes in the dark as Jack tried holding him upright, she now realized who it was. "Is that Nick?"
The question flew from her mouth without her thinking about it, and now that it was too late, Jack spun around and looked at her in slight shock as he saw her standing there, watching the show. "Summer?"
Oh, what the hell. The damage was done, wasn't it? No point in being the lesser person here. It was Christmas after all. "Yeah... is he okay?"
Jack gritted his teeth and looked down at the pathetic excuse that was Nick. Sober-Nick was much more handsome and attractive than drunk-Nick. The way his hair was left unruly and the thick odor of alcohol that carried all the way to where she was standing really blew off his appeal. Summer definitely preferred the sober-Nick with the styled brown locks and warm twinkle in his eyes, and not the drunken, crosseyed one he had right now. "Yeah, he's just really drunk. Don't worry about it."
"Why, hellooow there, Summer!" Nick slurred when he noticed her as well, "You look good tonight! Why don't you climb up... up on my lap and... and tell me what you want for-for Christmas... maybe I'll give it to y—"
Jack thwacked Nick over the back of his head and made him holler in pain. "Zip it. I'm sorry," He said and turned to look at Summer. "He's really, really drunk, he doesn't know what he's saying."
"It's fine," She assured him. "When did he get back into town?"
"Last night."
"Oh."
A silence stretched between them. Jack looked up and down the street as if he was looking for something, but couldn't find it. Summer assessed the situation and decided to be the bigger person again. "Do you guys... need a lift? I have my car."
Jack gave her a look, one that went from her head to her toe. After a moment, he averted his eyes and sighed. "It's fine. We'll manage."
It was obvious they wouldn't manage with Nick almost being passed out and Jack straining from carrying him. He could be stubborn all he wanted, and Summer got that he didn't want to spend time with her, but this was just plain ridiculous. They were both adults here. "Come on, Jack. It's a ride, not a blowjob. Just take the offer, if not for you, then for Nick. He needs to lie down and sleep it off."
Jack looked to be thinking hard for a moment, clearly debating something with himself. After a moment, he finally blew out a breath that turned white in the cold air. "Fine. I have no idea where he parked his... thanks, Summer."
She gave a hopefully neutral shrug and opened the passenger door to her car. "Don't mention it."
With a bit of maneuvering, Jack somehow managed to get Nick to lie down in the backseat of the car, Nick mumbling absolutely gibberish to himself. After that, he shut the door and sighed heavily, leaned his palms up against the car. "Thank you," He said and sounded truly exhausted. "I honestly don't know what I would've done without you right now. Just... thank you."
Summer watched him for a moment with a little frown. He looked every bit as miserable as yesterday, yet somehow even more spent. Could it be this whole thing with Nick that was bothering him as well? "Is Nick, uh... is he going to be okay? Has he always had a... a..."
"A drinking problem?" Jack finished for her and tilted his head sideways to glance at her. "No, no. It's only around Christmas he sometimes gets a little too carried away," He said and shook his head. "His firm gets so busy and the workload falls onto him, so he has a beer to take the edge off. Sometimes that beer turns into eight."
"Right," Summer nodded. She guessed they all had ways of dealing with stress. If he had Jack as his friend, at least she knew he had someone who was looking out for him and helped him through it. At least until he got too busy for his problems as well. "Well, we should probably get going then. Where is he staying?"
"The only hotel in town," Jack sighed and ran a hand through his silver locks before he straightened out. "I'm assuming you know where it's at."
With Whitefish being so small, she knew where every tree and rock was. "Of course. Let's hit the road, then."
They both climbed in, Jack taking the seat next to her on the front seat, and then they pulled onto the road and started driving. It was only a five minute drive, but somehow, those five minutes seemed like an eternity.
When Summer finally parked outside the only small, modest hotel they had in town, none of them had spoken a word. She knew what she wanted to say, but it would make her the most pathetic creature alive if she did.
I miss you.
"Thank you for the ride," Jack finally said after a moment wherein they both sat quietly. Nick was sawing logs in the back, occasionally mumbling something neither of them could understand. Jack unbuckled his seatbelt and gave her a glance. "I guess I'll see you around."
"Will you?" Summer asked, not meeting his eyes. "Or will you be avoiding me until you leave Whitefish to return to whatever place you came from before?"
Out in the corner of her eye, she saw Jack close his. "Probably the latter one."
She gave a light scoff. "I figured."
"Summer, I—"
"It's like I said last night, Jack, it's fine," She broke him off. She had only helped him tonight out of kindness. There was no point in taking it any further. "Make sure Nick drinks plenty of water when he wakes up. It'll help with the hangover."
Jack sighed and clenched his jaw. He suddenly seemed angry now. "Fine. Thanks again."
With that, he got out of the car, went to the backseat, opened the door and begun dragging Nick out to his feet. He was barely standing and groaned when Jack forced him to walk.
Summer watched from her car as they stepped into the hotel and disappeared. When she was certain they were safely inside, she started the engine again and drove off.
She hated that feeling in her chest right then. The one that made her want to turn around, run after him and never let him go.
• • •
Hit the road, Jack. Anybody caught that one?