Page 55 of The Holidays with Dr. Mitchell
“That’s what they have the tarp for,” my father-in-law stated.
“Tarp?” Jim asked, taking his arrogant tone down a notch since he was speaking to Ash’s dad, who was currently as jolly as Old Saint Nick.
“Yeah. When the boys asked me how we could get the tree back to the house, I mentioned that if we wrap it in a tarp, it will help it slide smoothly over the snow,” Mark proudly proclaimed.
“So, you knew about this, Mark?” Spencer added.
“He found out the same time you two did,” Collin said, cracking the reins like Santa, leading the sleigh through the starry night sky on Christmas Eve. “We just hadn’t worked out that detail until right before we left. When Jake and I discussed it, Mark offered invaluable advice.”
“And I said it would be too heavy for the reindeer,” John added.
“Yeah, you did,” I smiled down at my son. “Hey, Collin, why don’t we let this kid take the reins for a minute or two?”
“Why the hell not?” Collin agreed. “Now, hold tight to the reins. You don’t want to lose them, or we’ll really be in trouble,” he advised my giddy son.
“How do I make them go faster?” John questioned like a chip off the old block when it came to cranking up the speed.
“We’re at a decent speed. If we go any faster, we’ll be too cold to cut down a tree,” Uncle Jim said from the back seat, trying not to be a dick but being a dick, nonetheless.
“I’m nice and toasty,” I said, knowing the faster the sleigh went as it cut smoothly through the snowy forest, the more uncomfortable my brother and Spence would be. “You okay with going a little faster, Grandpa?” I glanced back at Mark, not wanting to subject an innocent man to the bullshit I was happily putting my brother and Spence through.
“I’m great. This is a hoot,” Mark chuckled.
“Then, let’s get these reindeer in another gear,” Collin said, smiling at me and knowing that Jim and Spence were probably ready to murder us in our sleep. “Just give the reins a little smack. You don’t want to hurt them; you just need to tell themyou want a little more,” he instructed John while placing his hand around John’s shoulder to keep him focused and steady.
“Christ almighty,” Jim grumbled when John snapped the reins softly, and the reindeer jolted into a faster prance.
“Shall we sing a carol?” Collin asked, knowing it would antagonize the living hell out of Jim and Spencer.
“Dashing through the snow…” John busted out in an excited laugh.
“In a one-horse open sleigh…” I laughed, not feeling soamused by the simplicity of life for too long.
I hadn’t thought about work, surgeries, or science all week. I’d been fully immersed in my plans to torture Jim and Spencer, and because I’d planned a Christmas-themed revenge plot, I was focused on the holiday more than I’d ever been.
Bringing in all these traditions and making everything we did relate to a Christmas song made this time memorable. I was almost glad my brother and his idiot buddies tried their hand at fucking with me and Collin. Because of their antics, I’d inadvertently become the King of Christmas, and I was thoroughly happy with that.
“Oh no,” John said when the sleigh unexpectedly dipped to one side while the reindeer continued at their fast pace.
“Here,” Collin said, taking the reins to stop them.
The sleigh dipped harder on my side, forcing me to grab the wooden rail to keep from falling out. Once Collin managed to stop the reindeer, we got out to check out the sleigh and quickly realized the snow went up to our knees.
“Snowshoes would’ve been something?—”
“Relax, Jim,” I stopped his griping. “They’re behind you. I just didn’t think to strap them on before getting out to find out what happened.” I reached my hand up to him, “Give me a pair. They’re in that open area behind your seat.”
“Meh, I don’t know,” Jim said, eyeing me humorously. “Having you buried to your waist in the snow is something I find rather gratifying at the moment.”
“This is a sight I’ve been waiting to see all week,” Spence humorously added.
While Jim and Spence took joy in my predicament, Collin, Mark, and my son got the snowshoes from the back and placed them on to assess what happened with the sleigh.
“Goddammit. It looks like the runner broke loose,” Collin said.
“How did that happen?” I questioned, virtually stuck to my waist in the snow. “John wasn’t going that fast.”
“Well, we weren’t driving the sleigh on packed snow,” Mark offered. “So, it’s more of a chore for the reindeer.”
