Mistletoe Motel

4. Holly

Chapter 4

Holly

H olly had just finished lighting candles when Mack walked in with a smug smile, her arms laden with bags.

“Honey, I’m home,” she called, her voice tinged with humor.

Holly laughed. “Welcome back. The Wi-Fi is still down, but I found a blurry TV channel that plays Christmas music. It drowns out the noise of the storm and the neighbors, who just woke up. They’re currently having a row over who drank more of the vodka and should therefore go out in the storm to buy more.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Mack set the bags down on the small table by the window and began unpacking their makeshift dinner. “Did you do that for me?” She gestured toward the candles Holly had placed around the room.

Holly rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth tugging up into a smile. “Sorry to disappoint you, but no. I went to call my family and asked Maude for candles. That flickering bedside lamp was driving me crazy, and the overhead light is bright enough to perform surgery under, so I figured we needed something more subtle.”

“Good call. I’m not a fan of bright lights either.” As Mack continued to unpack, Holly watched with growing amusement. Out came crackers and cheese, a pot of raspberry preserve, two wilted ready-made salads, two slices of old pizza, salted pretzels, a candy bar, two bottles of red wine, water, napkins, paper cups, air freshener, and two wooden forks.

“Quite the feast you’ve assembled there,” she remarked, eyeing the spread.

“Only the finest dining for the princess who gave me a bed for the night. Oh, and I got us this too.” Mack pulled out a deck of cards. “In case you’re up for some entertainment that doesn’t involve staring at that ‘don’t fall asleep’ message all night.”

“That’s really sweet of you. I do enjoy a game of gin rummy.”

“Excellent. So do I.” Mack smirked. “And I promise I’ll stop calling you princess now. Unless you want me to?”

Holly felt a sudden warmth creep up her neck at Mack’s playful comment. Was she flirting with her? She took a moment to really look at her, taking in her teal-dyed hair, her infectious smile, the humorous sparkle in her blue eyes, and the confident set of her shoulders. Mack was attractive and Holly suspected she was gay; her radar was rarely off.

It had been a while since she’d allowed herself to flirt with anyone, but then again, this whole situation was far from normal, and a little harmless flirtation might not be such a bad thing. After all, they were stuck here together, and it could be a fun way to pass the time and take her mind off the fact that she couldn’t get home.

“Well,” she finally said, “I suppose I could get used to being called princess. As long as you don’t expect me to wear a tiara to bed.”

Mack’s eyebrows shot up, a grin spreading across her face. “No tiara required. Though I bet you’d look good in one.”

“Careful now,” Holly teased as she pulled back one of the seats at the table, “or I might start to think you have ulterior motives.” The chair wobbled as she sat down and she almost fell off, eliciting another burst of laughter from both women.

“Oh yes, because nothing says romance like a dingy motel room with questionable wall art and a peephole to the next room.” Mack folded one of the paper shopping bags and wedged it under Holly’s chair leg to stabilize it. “I’m so sorry I’m not living up to your romantic expectations, princess.”

Holly felt a flutter in her stomach at her new nickname and focused on opening the wine. “Well, you did bring me wine and pretzels. That’s a good start.” She poured them both a cup and opened the bag of pretzels.

“Don’t forget about the wilted salad and the pizza that’s been sitting under a heated lamp for most of the day.” Mack sat opposite her, topped one of the salads with a slice, and scooted it across the table.

Holly picked up her slice and attempted to take a bite. The crust was so hard she winced as she took a bite, then struggled to chew it.

Mack, watching Holly’s struggle, picked up her own slice and tapped it against the table. The sound it made was more akin to a rock than food. “We’re going to need a Christmas miracle to eat this,” she said humorously. “But thankfully, I brought two bottles of wine, so we can use that to wash it down.”

They both laughed, clinking their paper cups together in a mock toast to their culinary misfortune.

“So, Mack, what were your plans for tonight before you ended up here?” Holly asked. “Did you manage to get in touch with your family?”

Mack nodded, taking a sip of her wine. “Yeah. My sister was pretty disappointed, but she understands. It’s not like I can control the weather.”

“You were visiting your sister?”

“She’s due to give birth tomorrow, on Christmas Eve,” Mack explained. “That’s why it was so important for me to get home.”

Holly winced. “Fuck. I’m so sorry.”

Mack nodded, taking another sip of wine. “Yeah, it’s…it’s not ideal. This is her first child, you know? I promised I’d be there for her.”

“You could still make it. The weather might clear tomorrow and?—”

“But it’s not going to clear, though, is it?” Mack interrupted. “Maude told me the weather forecast is getting worse by the minute.”

“Hmm…” Holly sat back and sighed. “Yeah, she told me the same.”

“What about you?” Mack asked. “You seemed pretty desperate to get on that flight. Family waiting?”

Holly hesitated, swirling the wine around in her glass. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to share, but something about Mack made it easier to open up. “Yeah, family,” she finally said. “My parents. We’ve had some…issues lately. This Christmas was supposed to be about reconciliation.” She took a deep breath. “I came out to them in January. It didn’t go well.”

Understanding dawned on Mack’s face. “Oh… That must have been really hard.”

Holly shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant despite the ache in her chest. “We’re getting there. They’re trying, and Mom has asked me to spend Christmas with them, which makes me think they’re willing to talk about it and maybe even accept it now.”

“That’s really positive,” Mack said. “Do you have siblings?”

“No, it’s just me and my parents.” Holly sighed. “The thing with being an only child is, the expectations are enormous. In my case, their expectations were for me to get married to a man, buy a home, have babies, and meet them at church every Sunday. It’s unlikely any of that will happen, so needless to say, they need some time to get used to the idea. I don’t understand why they were so surprised in the first place. I’ve never shown any interest in men, and they even caught me kissing my best friend when I was twelve.”

Mack chuckled. “Ah…the best friend. Haven’t we all been there? My parents were very accepting when I came out to them, though. I was lucky that way.”

Holly felt a blush creep up her cheeks when their eyes met. “You too, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m gay too. But don’t worry. I’ll stick to my side of the bed,” Mack joked.

“So will I,” Holly quipped with a wink. “So do you have a girlfriend? Wife?”

“No, I’m single.” Mack ran a hand through her hair, leaving it tousled. “You?”

“I’m single too. I was seeing someone, but she left me right before I came out to my parents. She didn’t want to date someone who was in the closet. She’d been through that before with her ex and didn’t like that we always had to spend the holidays apart.” Holly shook her head. “I was so hurt, but it also gave me the courage to come out to my parents. I knew I had to if I wanted to win her back.”

“But that didn’t work out?” Mack asked.

“No. A month later, I called her to tell her the news, but by then, she was already seeing someone else. Considering how fast she moved on, it clearly wasn’t meant to be.”

“So you’ve been struggling with your breakup and your parents,” Mack said.

“Yes. I’m over my ex, but I want my family back. I need them in my life.”

Mack reached across the table to squeeze her hand. The gesture was simple, but it conveyed a depth of understanding that Holly hadn’t expected from someone she’d only met hours ago.

A gust of wind rattled the window, drawing her attention to their reflection in the glass. The sight made her chuckle softly.

“What’s so funny?” Mack asked, tilting her head.

Holly gestured toward the window. “I was just thinking about how we must look to anyone passing by. Two women sharing a candlelit dinner of convenience store delicacies in a worn-down motel room. It’s like the setup for a bizarre indie film.”

Mack grinned as she turned to look at their reflection. “Oh yeah, I can see it now. Stranded at the Mistletoe: A Christmas Tale of Dental Hygiene and Unexpected Friendship .”

“Starring two lesbians who started out as enemies and ended up sharing a bed,” Holly added, laughing.

As their laughter subsided, Holly realized she wasn’t all that miserable. Yes, she was stuck in a questionable motel room with a stranger. But somehow, it didn’t feel as dire as it should.