The Cabin

The Cabin

By Kristi Wester

The car jolted and shook Connie from her slumber. Opening her eyes she could see that they were now on a different highway. Leaving her to wonder how long she had been out. From the corner of her eye, she could see that her husband, Major, brandished a tightlipped cocky smile. Did he do that on purpose?  Instantly, she was disappointed that she had not slept through the entire trip.  She distracted herself by staring out her window. Giant trees towered overhead as their trunks whizzed by. The ground was dusted with an opaque blanket of white snow that had just started to fall. It was all very magical and for a moment she allowed her imagination to drift away from the cold reality inside the car. Her imagination had always been her saving grace, especially, when she felt as uncomfortable as she did today. 

She pictured herself in a carriage in some far off time long ago, traveling through the forest on her way to...hmm...on her way to...her own castle. Yes, that was it, her own castle where she did not have to feel the pain of…

Ca-chunk. Ca-chunk. Major had failed to miss another pothole causing both the front passenger and back tire to dip into it. Pressing her palms to the dashboard, Connie regained her balance but her stomach was a little uneasy due to one too many glasses of Pinot the night before.

“Sorry,” Major muttered, gripping the steering wheel but didn’t turn to look in her direction. There she was again, back in the icy presence that had become the permanent condition that was now their life. Angry words echoed in her head from last night when she had initially refused to even go on this trip.

“Why on earth would you want to celebrate this miserable marriage? You don’t care what I think, do you? You don’t give two shits about how I feel?” Connie accused him.

“Oh come on! YOU ARE SUCH A CHILD CONNIE!!! All I have EVER done is care about how you feel! I have worked day and night to give you everything you wanted! How DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME!” Major screamed in her face, his eyes wild with anger, but Connie didn’t back down. From somewhere deep in her throat stirred a burst of manic, mocking laughter that poured out into Major’s face.

“You’re a liar! You tell yourself that all you want to but don’t pretend this is about me.” The words seethed from her with pure hatred. The memory of her words brought forth a chill from deep within her bones. Her intention had been to hurt him and she knew she had. When had she become so hateful? It was only when she woke up this morning covered in guilt for her wine-soaked words that she agreed to come, but she still wasn’t happy about it, and by the look on Major’s face as they passed in the hallway, neither was he.

The snow was gradually falling heavier and heavier making it appear as though they were at warp speed, the large snowflakes whizzing past like stars. When the temperature suddenly dropped, both of them reached for the knobs of the heater at the same time, awkwardly bumping the back of each other's hand. Connie jerked her hand back as if stung and Major cranked up the heat too high.

“Do you think it is wise to keep going? It looks like it is getting pretty bad? How much further is it anyway?” Connie said, trying her best to keep a less than critical tone, but obviously, she remained unforgiven. 

“The exit is not far and then it is only eight miles after that. We will be fine.” His tone was more arctic than the winter storm that had turned the skies above them dark.

Connie rubbed her hands together then retrieved her cell from her purse on the floor at her feet. Preoccupied with her Facebook, she didn’t even notice when Major had exited until they came to a stop sign and took a right moving away from the highway. It wasn’t until she saw the little convenience store that her bladder tugged at her.

“Oh, hey, do you mind stopping? I really have to go!” Connie announced. Major let out an annoyed sigh but pulled in any way. 

As the car eased into the parking lot, Connie marveled at exactly how long the little store had been in business. A large sign across the front said Willis Grocery, Bait & Gas. Major pulled right up to the door and parked in front of it. There were no other cars to be seen. The bitter winter wind slapped her in the face when she opened the car door and stepped out. The engine was still running and she realized that Major had no plans of getting out of the car. Wrapping her coat tightly around her she carefully made her way to the heavy glass door, blinking against the large flakes that hit her face. An old silver bell attached to the door rang out announcing her entrance. The place was warm and smelled like an odd mix of dust and vanilla sugar cookies. At first, she saw no one but then she heard a rustling from behind the counter. A little old woman with silver hair pulled up into a bun, twinkling blue eyes, and a warm smile appeared behind the register.

“Oh my, you're a brave lady to be out in this weather.” The old woman said looking her up and down.

“You sure are a pretty little thing though, aren’t ya?” Connie wasn’t sure if this was a question or not but before she could contemplate long the old woman continued.

“The name is Opal Willis. What can I do for you?” Her voice was like a warm hug dipped in honey and her eyes twinkled as if she could grant wishes. 

“Oh well, thank you, Opal, it is nice to meet you. I was wondering if you had a restroom?” Connie said with a shiver, the need to relieve herself was quickly moving into urgency. 

“Oh, you poor thing, sure, sure right down that aisle and take a left, keep going straight and you will find the powder room.” Opal gestured toward the back of the store.

“Thank you,” Connie muttered as she shuffled quickly in that direction, resisting the urge to press her hands between her legs. She found a little door marked restroom and opened it rushing inside. The door instantly closed behind her before she could locate the light. A long, cold string smacked her in the forehead. She grabbed for it and when she pulled on it, the light came on. Looking up she saw that it was connected to a single, dusty light bulb that hung in the center of the ceiling. Huh? How antique, she thought to herself. She hovered over the low set toilet seat. It was very low to the ground, but she didn’t care. The relief was glorious. 

After washing her hands, she made her way slowly back up to the front.

Maybe she would pick something up last minute while she was here. The shelves were very neat and organized as she passed cookies and crackers. What about some chocolate? She was getting hungry. But realizing that she had left her wallet in the car, she decided, if she needed anything she could always come back. After all, Major had said they weren’t very far and she really thought she had packed plenty of food for the next few days anyway. She had just made it to the door when she heard Opal’s voice behind her and there was a gentle tug at her elbow. Connie spun around to find Opal staring up at her with a worried look on her face and the twinkle gone from her eyes. 

“Be careful, dear. Things aren’t always what they seem you know?” Opal said but she was looking through the foggy glass door at their BMW. She gave Opal an uneasy smile and then hurried back outside, but when her feet hit the cement her heel found a patch of ice. An arm reached out to steady her and she looked up to find herself face to face with Opal.

“See what I mean,” she said. Then turned and went back inside. Taking each step a little more carefully back to the car, Connie pulled the handle threw open the door, and dived into the passenger seat, spinning around to reach for the seat belt.

“That was weird. I really hope we have enough food because I don’t want to have to come back here.” Goosebumps raised up on her flesh but she dismissed it to the freezing weather.

“Why? What happened?” Major asked with an actual look of concern, to Connie’s surprise. 

“Oh, there was just this weird old lady in there. She gave me the creeps. Let’s just go.” Her voice shook a little and she felt silly for letting that little old lady get to her. After all, she had kept her from busting her ass on the pavement. 

Major eased the car back onto the road. He sped up slowly. Twenty minutes later, they took another right onto a winding road. 

“It should just be up at the end of this road. The guy said it was just a little drive that turns off to the right up here.” Major informed her. 

They were coming up on a curve when Connie caught a glimpse of something moving from the corner of her eye. What came next happened so fast she couldn’t do anything. By the time Major saw the large buck, it was too late and he jerked the steering wheel hard. The car spun wildly in circles. Connie could see the terrified look on Major’s face. It was all in slow motion until she heard the crash and everything went dark. 

Her head was pounding before she even opened her eyes and she felt something wet dripping down her face. She could hear the engine still running but there was a loud clanking metal sound that played over and over. Running her palm over her cheek. She opened her eyes to see that her hand was covered in blood. Scanning the rest of her body she couldn’t tell where the blood was coming from. She must be in shock. 

“Major!” She looked over to see his body twisted and mangled with what was left of the driver's side door. Her stomach wretched and she threw up all over herself. There was blood everywhere. She was grateful that Major’s face was turned away from her. There were wet naps in the glove box. She tried to open it, but it was jammed. She hit it with the side of her hand as hard as she could until it gave way and finally opened. Something fell out but it wasn’t wet naps. She read the package, Fentanyl? Well, that’s weird what is that doing in here? Underneath that, she found the wet naps she was looking for. Unable to stand the putrid smell any longer, she was starting to heave again. Reaching down she pulled the door handle afraid it wouldn’t open but it did. She fell out of the car and onto her knees the cold air now felt good against her skin as her stomach turned over and over. When she finally took a breath she looked up to see the buck staring at her from the other side of the road. For a moment they just stared at one another then he bowed his head at her, turned, and disappeared into the woods.

Wanting to believe her stomach was now stable, she reached back into the floorboard of the car where the contents of her purse were scattered everywhere. She found her phone. No signal. 

“Dammit!!” She cried out in frustration. She had to get out of the cold. Still afraid that shock was hiding some injury she knew she had to get to safety. Major had said the driveway to the cabin was at the end of this road. Surely it wasn’t far. She stood and saw that the other side of the car and the large trunk of a tree were now one. But this side of the car was fine. The back door easily opened, keeping her head down she tried not to look at Major’s mangled body. She grabbed her duffel bag. Put on her coat and started walking. It wasn’t long before the road came to an end and just as Major had said there was a private drive off to the right. Her toes were numb and she couldn't feel her fingers but she could smell a warm fire and that encouraged her to keep walking. Just when she thought she couldn’t go any further the little cabin came into view and from the chimney there was smoke. Moving faster she made it to the front door that was unlocked. Tears stung her eyes when she opened the door to find a quaint love nest. There were rose petals, candles, a warm fire, a bottle of champagne on ice, and a note on the table that read:

We arranged the cabin just as you requested. You will find all the supplies you asked for. Happy Anniversary to you and the Misses!

Her hands shook as she fell to her knees in front of the fireplace, large tears fell on the little piece of paper smudging the blue ink. He had done all of this for her. He had planned this romantic weekend just for the two of them and she had been awful to him. She cried until she could cry no more her body was sore, although, she still had not discovered any major injury. 

Before getting to her feet she tossed another log onto the fire, she didn’t want it to go out. The wind howled violently outside. The blood on her hands was sticky and now had dirt stuck to it from the log. Grabbing a candle she went in search of the restroom to get cleaned up. Turning on the faucet, watching the water pool into the clawfoot tub almost hypnotized by the steam that floated up. When it was full she undressed and stepped in gently lowering her now aching body into the hot water, which instantly turned pink, washing away the dried blood. 

Tears flowed again as she thought of the tragic scene and Major’s mangled body. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had said ‘I love you’ to him and now he was dead.

When the water started to get cold she rose and used the removable shower head making sure to rinse away all of Major’s blood. Wrapping up her hair with a towel she returned to the living area. Her stomach turned again when she saw all the roses. He had put so much effort into this. 

It was then that she noticed the duffle bag she had taken from the car, it wasn’t hers. In the midst of her shock, she must have grabbed his bag instead. Maybe there was a t-shirt she could put on. Placing it on the little loveseat she unzipped the top. Surprised to find that there was only one change of clothes. That was odd since they were supposed to stay for the next four days. A rustling of paper came from beneath. She pulled out the clothes. There was a small pharmacy bag. Inside were two more fentanyl patches just like the one she had seen in the glove box. There was a label on the bag that clearly said: Connie Fergueson, but she hadn’t been to the doctor. She placed the pharmacy bag on the coffee table in front of her. Then pulled out a folded piece of paper. At the top, it read “Signs of a Fentanyl Overdose.” She placed it on the table next to the patches looking from one to the other. No, surely not...he wouldn’t. If there was anything more to find she couldn’t bear it. Her mind raced back over the last year. The late nights at work. The constant fighting. She had suspected he was having an affair but...this? When she looked back in the bag she found a man’s watch with an inscription. 

Yours forever, Love Sarah. 

Who the hell was Sarah?

She put the watch on the table next to the patches and the informative page about overdoses. There it was all the evidence that her husband had planned to kill her, probably collect some insurance money and runway with, whoever the fuck Sarah was. Obviously, he had planned to make it look like suicide as if she would ever kill herself! Somehow she had been saved.

Angels maybe? 

She thought about Opal's warning and the buck that had watched her from the other side of the road. Her body exploded into laughter. She laughed so hard tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She wiped them away and got up. She went to the cold bottle of champagne, popped the cork, and poured herself a glass. She felt like a survivor, no a champion! She crossed to the window and peacefully watched the snowfall. She was going to get her castle after all. She raised her glass and looking up said, “Here’s to fate.”