13 Chapter 13: carol of the Bells, Part 1

Henry drove down the tree-lined back highway on his way home like he did every night.The snow clouds blocked out any of the night sky above and the light flurries that slid off his windshield on the interstate now started to come down a little thicker and began to stick to the glass.Listening to a holiday radio station to put him a good mood after a long day at work, his favorite Christmas song was just coming on.

Hark! How the bells, sweet silver bells

All seem to say, "Throw cares away."

Henry turned the volume dial up and flipped the lever under his steering wheel.The windshield wipers slowly began to sway against the glass, pushing the snowflakes out of his view.

Christmas is here, bringing good cheer

To young and old, meek and the bold

Ding, dong, ding, dong, that is their song,

His fingertips danced on the steering wheel as he sang along to the radio.The snow fell even harder and began to stick to the branches of the surrounding pine forest.

With joyful ring, all caroling

One seems to hear words of good cheer

From everywhere, filling the air

Oh how they pound, raising the sound

O'er hill and dale, telling their tale

A grey fog hugged the highway and break lights from the cars a few feet ahead of him flashed their red tail lights, slowing down to deal with the weather.The silver Buick in front of him moved over to the right lane.Henry sped up and passed the car and driver, his favorite song motivating him and putting him in a happy holiday mood.

On, on they send, on without end

Their joyful tone to every home

Hark! How the bells, sweet silver bells

All seem to say, "Throw cares away."

The traffic thinned out as more and more commuters found their exits.10 more miles to go.The snow came down harder and began to cover the road.The weather report called for evening snow showers but not until much later.The front obviously moved in much sooner than he expected.Henry was beginning to rethink that staying a bit later for a last-minute meeting was not such a good idea.He could have taken the conference call on his mobile phone while driving home on time but he hated doing work in the car.He suffered from a bit of road rage and didn't want to call out his favorite profanities while talking to his best customer.

Christmas is here, bringing good cheer

To young and old, meek and the bold

Ding, dong, ding, dong, that is their song

The car slid a little and Henry felt the car give way a bit under his heavy foot.He looked down as his heart sank for a quick moment and realized the speedometer at 80mph.55mph was the speed limit and with the snow falling even harder, he pressed on the break peddle a little to slow his car down.He then turned the knob a half turn to control his wipers and they sped up, now sprinting back and forth against the glass.The snow was wet and heavy and had begun to gather in the upper corners of the windshield where the wiper blades couldn't reach.He looked in his rearview mirror but he couldn't see out as the snow blanketed the back window.He couldn't believe how quickly the snow picked up.Henry turned on the rear window defroster and soon could see only darkness behind him as the snow melted and slid off the glass.No headlights behind and no red brake lights in front of him.He still sang the words to his favorite song but held the steering wheel a bit tighter, no longer tapping his fingers to the melody.

With joyful ring, all caroling.

One seems to hear words of good cheer

From everywhere, filling the air

O, how they pound, raising the sound

O'er hill and dale, telling their tale

The cell phone nestled in the center console lit up and Henry grabbed it.A text from his wife- Almost home?Leaving the pet store now.See you soon.He pressed the top button on his phone to turn off the light on his screen and placed the phone back into the cup holder.There was no way he could send her a text message now.He had to concentrate on the road.Just a mile or two more and he would be at his exit, almost home.The snow was really falling now, heavy and thick, overtaking the sides of the highway.Henry found himself driving in the middle of the two-lane highway, the reflection of the yellow lines against his headlights acted as his guide.He flipped the wipers up as high as they could go and they raced against the glass, chasing each other and doing their best to keep up with the snow.He passed a large green road sign but couldn't see into the fog and snow to read it.He knew he was close and the overpass had to be coming up soon.

Gaily they ring, while people sing

Songs of good cheer, Christmas is here!

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

The overpass was finally in sight and he could see the orange glow from the familiar street lamp.He slowed down a bit more and turned his right blinker on.Henry looked in the rearview mirror and still did not see any lights.He slid his car fully in the right lane, slipping and sliding in the snow.A brief reprieve from the snow, he drove under the overpass and followed the curved road up the ramp, a 180 degree stretch of road, fully engulfed in snow.He wondered where the snow plows were all at.Not one in sight.Not one spreading salt anywhere to help drivers stay on the road.No flashing yellow lights from their trucks.The storm obviously took them by surprise too.The plows will be out soon but already behind the eight ball.