pulls into the gas station, right into a parking spot in front of the store.
“Why don’t I see if they have anything for us to eat, grab a few drinks, and you can see about finding us somewhere to crash for the night?” His voice softens.
Maybe my comment did the trick, or maybe he’s resigned himself to the fact he’s stuck with me alone for the night. Either way, I’m grateful because while we can’t change the circumstances, we can at least get through it without the added frustrations.
“If they have pizza by the slice, I’ll take two.” Merric turns to look at me, his hand on the door.
“Really?”
“I’d never joke about pizza!”
“It just doesn’t sound appetizing.” His lip curls in disgust.
“Gas station pizza is where it’s at, Merric. You should put those suits away and live a little.”
His eyes narrow, his jaw set, shaking his head as he steps out of the car. I’m close to telling him to be careful, those dress shoes won’t be forgiving when he’s traipsing through the snow, but I don’t.
We’ve done nothing but bicker back and forth this entire trip. The sooner we can get something to eat and find a place to stay, the sooner I can crash. I’m hungry, tired, and ready to call it a night.
I pull up the Airbnb site and scroll through available places near us. I’m not sure what I expect to find, but there are only a few close by on such short notice. The first one is a no-go with only one bed, but the second looks promising and is only ten minutes away.
It’s a small log cabin located on the edge of town. Judging from the pictures, it’s nice and quaint, but the selling point is the fact we’d have our own rooms. Without waiting for Merric or his input, I put in a reservation. Thankfully, the owner lives next door and can leave the keys in a lockbox outside the house for us.
I’m about to head into the gas station in search of Merric when he walks out with a couple bottles of water, two sandwiches, and chips.
“Hate to break it to you, but no pizza. Guess you’ll have to settle for this instead.”
I thank him, not caring in the least, as long as I have something to eat. I change the subject and tell him about the place I found. I’m relieved he doesn’t complain when I add in how I went ahead and booked it for us. I plug the address into the GPS, and a few minutes later, we’re back on the road.
The snow is still coming down in flurries, the roads are slick, making it harder for us to travel, and I’m grateful we end up agreeing on staying somewhere close by for the night.
When the GPS signals for us to take a right turn, Merric curses under his breath when the car fishtails again.
“Where the hell are we going?”
“We’re almost there. It’s only about a half a mile down this road.”
When we finally reach the cabin and pull up, there’s a small light on the front porch, illuminating the house. The sidewalk leading to the door hasn’t been shoveled, and my feet disappear into the snow with each step we take. We each grab our things from the trunk before Merric waves me off, mumbling for me to unlock the door, and he’ll get the bags.
The smell of wood and fire hits me the moment I open the door. A small light above the stove illuminates the kitchen in a soft glow.
“I’ll check out the bedrooms,” Merric says, kicking off his shoes near the door, carrying our stuff to our rooms.
I toe off my fleece boots, regretting my decision not to wear any socks when my cold feet pad on the hardwood floor. Two leather couches face the fireplace positioned in the middle of the room. A flatscreen TV is mounted above it, with a fluffy white rug and a coffee table in between. It’s warm and cozy, and all I want to do is start the fire and curl up while watching a movie.
A small note welcoming us sits on the counter, letting us know the food and drinks in the cabinets and fridge are included in our stay. I tiptoe down the hall in search of Merric, hoping to find my things. I want to change out of these jeans and into something more comfortable.
Judging from the sliver of light visible under the door, it looks