Ly Faulk

The old man pulled hard on the reins to stop his sleigh and stepped down with a groan. Bracing his back with one hand, he reached into the sleigh and picked up his sack. The bag dragged through the snow as he hobbled to the motel door. Rita didn’t look up as he entered the room without knocking. She was lounging on the bed wearing only a tank top and her underwear, smoking a cigarette in the dark. The room was stifling hot and the air stank of sweat, smoke, and sex. The dancing light of the television cast strange shadows on her face. 

“Hello, Rita.” He stood by the door, bag in hand. Rita coughed and scratched her leg before gracing him with a brief glance.

“When are you going to leave me the hell alone?” 

“I can’t. You know that.”

Rita coughed up a dry, bitter laugh and crushed her cigarette in an overflowing ashtray on the nightstand.

“Look, you coming here isn’t going to change anything. It’s just a waste of time.”

He shifted the heavy load of his bag.

“Believe me, I’d forget all about you if I could. I wish every day of my life that I’d never walked in to find you in our living room that night. But you’re always there. No matter how drunk or high I get, I can feel you in the back of my mind, watching me, judging me.”

“No, not judging. Watching, yes, but never judging.”

Rita pulled out another cigarette. She twirled it in her fingers a few times before raising it to her lips and lighting it.

The old man took a step toward the bed. Behind him, the door opened. He turned to see a young man in jeans and a flannel shirt already unfastening his belt buckle. He started when he saw the old man.

“Jesus, Rita, I thought you locked the door when you already had someone in here. I’ll wait outside until you’re done.”

“No, it’s ok. We’re done,” she said, turning her face to the wall.

The old man reached into his sack and pulled out a brown box. He laid it on the nightstand next to the ashtray and let himself out.

“Merry Christmas, Rita,” he said as he pulled the door closed. A moment later, there was a soft click as the lock turned.