Note to Readers: The story is fictional and all subjects are well over 18. A big thanks to my friend and inspiration, Miss Veronica, for her editing and encouragement. I appreciate any feedback you might have. Thanks for reading. CanadianM
Blizzard Conditions
Rick gripped the steering wheel tight as he tried to see the road ahead through the blowing snow. He was driving slow and sometimes had to almost stop when the storm caused a complete white out.
He was pissed off. Pissed off at his new boss who had sent him out in February on this waste of time trip to meet with one of their long time poultry producers. Rick had been managing that account for years and a phone call or a video chat would have sufficed. But the new boss was all for the touchy feely person to person contact, so here he was out in the middle of fucking nowhere in a blizzard.
His flight had been late and by the time he got the rental it was after 5 pm. He was pissed with himself for deciding to drive the 100 km and not taking a hotel by the airport and heading out in the morning.
He was pissed off at the company policy on rental cars that only allowed a compact car, when he should have gotten a SUV for the winter weather. And he was pissed off at himself for not turning around when the main highway had been closed because of a semi trailer that had jack knifed and blocked the west bound lanes.
So here he was on some side road with hardly any visibility and not knowing exactly where in hell he was. "Only 9 more years to retirement", he thought as he inched his way along the snowy icy road with the local radio station reminding him that this was the worst storm of the year so far. "Great!"
All of a sudden there seemed to be a break in the storm and the visibility improved dramatically. Rick increased his speed, unaware that it was only a large stand of trees beside the road that had momentarily blocked the wind. Before he knew what was happening he was back in a white out. He hit a patch of black ice and the car was going sideways down the road. He tried turning into the skid as he had been taught those many years ago, but it was too late and the car did a 360 spin and the next thing he knew he was sideways into a big snow drift.
The car was sitting on an angle, rear end down in the ditch and the passenger door jammed up against the drift.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he screamed at no one as he slapped his palms against the steering wheel.
He sat there for a moment, calming himself down. He had a phone, and could just make a call for help. Pulling out his iPhone, he quickly saw that there was no service. And he hadn't seen another vehicle in the last half hour, so his chances of flagging someone down were slim to none. He thumped the steering wheel again, cursing himself for not stopping when the storm began to intensify. He looked out and all he could see was the swirling blowing snow.
But then a flicker of light caught his eye. He strained his eyes and sure enough there seemed to be a house or some building with some lights on just up a hill from where he was stranded. Perhaps a farmhouse and they might have a landline phone where he could call for help. He had no other options so he pulled his coat tight around him and stepped out into the storm. Following the road a short distance, he found a mailbox and the entrance to a driveway. The snow had drifted and the going was slow, but he managed to slog his way up the hill until he was standing in front of a big log house.
He knocked on the door, saw some movement of the curtains of an adjacent window and then the sound of the door unlocking and opening a crack. A soft female voice saying, "Who are you, what do you want?"
Rick explained his dilemma. And then, "I just need to use your phone to call for a tow truck, there doesn't seem to be any cell service out here."
The door opened and he saw a stunning woman. Dark hair in a pony tail with just a few streaks of grey, bright brown eyes, and a curvy figure under the jeans and plaid shirt she was wearing.
"Come in, you are shivering."
Rick stepped inside and immediately felt the warmth from the big blazing fire across the huge great room.
"Lets get you warmed up and I will call my friend John who runs the local garage."
"I don't want to impose, but I feel better already. I was not prepared to be out slogging through the snow drifts."
He took off his wet coat and she hung it on an old fashioned coat stand that stood by the doorway.
"Take off those wet shoes and socks and go over and warm up by the fire."
He thanked her and did as she suggested and then walked over to the huge stone fireplace.
"I'm Victoria, but everyone calls me Vicki." she said as she picked up a piece of firewood and placed it on the fire.
"Sorry, I am Rick White.) How rude of me not to introduce myself."
"Well, welcome Rick," she replied with a smile, "I don't get many strangers coming to my door in the middle of a blizzard, nice to meet you. Now let me make that call."
As he warmed himself, Vicki went to a phone on a desk in the far corner of the room. After a few minutes she came back and told him that it would be morning before John could come and pull his car out of the ditch. "He says they are swamped with calls and you are way down the list. He figures it will be 8:00 am before he can get here."
"Damn, can I make a couple calls to let people know I'll be late? I'll pay you if they are long distance."
She pointed at the desk and said, "Go ahead, and don't worry about the tolls, I have a long distance plan that covers North America,"
While Rick made his calls, he watched Vicki take a seat on the big overstuffed sofa and pick up her iPad. After a couple calls he was able to let the motel where he was booked know he would not be arriving and he got in touch with the client and let him know he would not be at the plant first thing.
"Thank you, Vicki, I feel a bit better knowing everyone is aware of my dilemma."
