Holiday Memories

788 Words

         "Dad? Dad? DAD!" A teenage girl screamed to her father as her knuckles turned white from gripping the leather seat she was sitting on. Her father had drunk too much at their family Christmas party, and now he was dangerously speeding down the asphalt roads. The smell of beer and vodka hung thick in the air and the sound of clattering beer cans would occasionally break the heavy silence.
Her father still hadn't answered her fearful screams and his glazed eyes still remained fixed upon the road.

         "Dad, would you please slow down? PLEASE?" The girl pleaded with her father again as she felt the car lurch forward with another burst of speed. They were now going 80 miles per hour in a 45 mile zone, and with each passing yellow dotted line on the black road it seemed like the speed increased even more. But, her father still didn't listen to his daughter, and merely pressed his foot harder on the accelerator.

         "Your mother ... she loved Christmas time. We bought things, we fought occasionally, and then she died. She died on this cursed day. Damn holidays, I hate them." The man finally spoke with slurred speech and jumbled words. The girl's head shot up as her father's words immediately sank in. Her father had never spoke a word about her mother's death up until now, and she had left the subject untouched also. The car sped forward even faster after he said this, and she bit her tongue to stop herself from screaming in fear. The girl could no longer see the speed limit signs as they appeared into focus and then whizzed past her before her eyes could register the numbers on them. Luckily, there were no other cars on the street besides theirs. But still, her heart refused to slow its fast beat as terror held it within its iron grip.

         "Steve, please, pretty please, slow down. You don't have to speed, please slow down for me. I'm begging you!" Her voice pleaded as it broke with emotion and the fear of her father loosing control of the car upon the ice covered roads. This time he seemed to listen as his upper body relaxed somewhat and she watched as the speed slowly decreased. She could hear her father's heavy breathing and smell the liquor which filled the air whenever he exhaled. The girl breathed out as she felt as if she hadn't released her breath for what seemed to be an eternity. She felt the familiar weaving sensation of the drive down the road that led to their country house-the house that she was born and raised in. She knew it was their road when she recognized the picturesque view of the snow-capped mountains that rest in the background of their home. Her daydreams of their perfect past were stopped short as her father
halted the car within their driveway. Her body jumped forward and then stopped moving as her seat belt caught her sudden movement and threw her back within her seat.

         "I'm such a terrible, awful father. Can't even taken care of my only daughter without my wife. Everything is useless without your mother by my side. I'm so sorry Angela, I'm sorry that I can't take care of you as well as your mother could. I don't know how we can stay a family without her; she was like the glue that held us together," Angela heard her father in a disgusted tone as he placed his head on the steering wheel. His muffled crying came to her ears as she watched his large body violently shake. The girl did the first thing which came first to her mind, and she immediately consoled her father as she placed two small hands around his neck and gave him a hug. They sat there for several minutes, and neither said a word within that time. As they broke their embrace she wiped the last of his tears and gave him a smile.

         "You aren't an awful father dad. I love you, and I know that we both miss Mom a lot, but we can make it through this together. I just know that we can," the girl said as she smiled and opened the car door to leave. She helped her father walk to the door and opened the door to their home. As she cautiously watched him lay himself on the couch the girl placed a fleece blanket on her father and eased herself into her own bed. She knew that the night had taken a lot out of both of them, and she only hoped that he would be able to recover from this day by tomorrow. The holiday season was not an easy time for them; their gifts were always sorrowful. But, she thanked God that this holiday season, her father still remained with her, and that she still had family to celebrate the holidays with.

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