Finally, she gave in and climbed into the passenger seat. After all, she didn’t want to be rude to the kind officer who offered to drive her home. The other option was slowly freezing into a Frozen Charlotte.
“Thank you so much.” The warmth of the car’s heater seeped into her body, and one by one, her appendages magically regained feeling.
“No problem. Where am I taking you?”
“Blueberry Bush Road. If you can just drive to the beginning of the road, I’ll walk the rest of the way. I don’t want to keep you from your job. I know you’re not a taxi service.”
He pulled onto the road, and crept along the icy street. “Believe it or not, this is a part of my job. I can’t just drive by when I see someone walking in an ice storm.”
“I appreciate it. I thought I was going to turn into, at best, one of those pretty antique Frozen Charlotte dolls.”
“And worst?”
“That I might be mistaken for a very large frozen fish stick in the gutter.”
He laughed, and for some reason, it put Maisey at ease. It was a hearty, genuine laugh. She liked that.
“Both images are bad, but I seriously doubt anyone would mistake you for a frozen fish stick.”
“So, you know what a Frozen Charlotte is?” Maisey liked trivia, even if it was just idle trivia with a stranger.
“If I remember correctly—and I’m not sure I do—there was once a lovely young woman named Charlotte who was going out for the evening with a group of friends for a sleigh ride in the snow. Her dress was so beautiful, she refused to put a coat over it. Somehow she became separated from her group of friends, and was found sometime later frozen like a doll in the snow.”
“Wow, you’re correct! I’m impressed.”
“Well, if that impresses you, doll factories, especially European ones, mass-produced Frozen Charlotte dolls throughout the nineteenth century. From my understanding, there are tons of these scary dolls of all sizes still being unearthed on the grounds of long demolished German doll factories.”
Now that was impressive.
“That’s also correct. I actually collect them, and use some of them to make cool jewelry when I have the time. I’m always on the lookout for them to come onto the market, especially the really tiny ones. Like you said, most come from the ruins of doll factories in Germany. I’d love to someday go there and see if I can find any. With my luck, when I got there, the land would be barren.” She paused and then turned to him. “How do you know so much about Frozen Charlotte history? I thought I was the only one who cared about it.”
“I read a lot. Too much time on my hands, I guess. Especially a while back. I was in the hospital for a long while, then on to a rehabilitation facility for an extended period of time. Nothing to do most of the time but read. It’s better than thinking about your circumstances when you’re stuck in one of those places.” He paused, then quickly added. “Not that I’m ungrateful for all they did for me while I was there.”
Rehabilitation facility? Drugs, alcohol? Probably not, she realized. More likely physical rehabilitation after a bad accident. She was curious, as she was a curious sort of girl. But it wasn’t her place to ask this stranger she?d known for less than ten minutes, to spill his story. So she chose to say nothing more about it.
“This is your road?” he asked as they came upon Blueberry Bush Road.
“It is. I don’t think there are too many roads called Blueberry Bush.”
“Probably not,” he said as he turned the car to the road.
“Oh, you can drop me here. I live all the way at the bottom of the road. I can walk.”
“Nonsense, I can safely deliver you to your doorstep.”
Who was she to argue? He was a nice guy. Friendly, sociable. Probably a married father of five. “Thank you. It’s number -forty-four. Way at the end.”
“A quiet little road, isn’t it?” he asked. “Nice place to live.”
“So far, so good. I’ve only lived here a few weeks. I used to spend summers here with my Aunt Rose. Not for a long time, though.”
He pulled the car to a stop in her driveway and looked up at her home. “Great house!” he exclaimed.
She tucked her clutch under her arm and prepared to get out of the car. “It needs a lot of work. But it’s big and it’s warm, and pretty much perfect to me.” When she opened the car door, she was surprised that he got out of the car as well.
“I promised I’d deliver you to the doorstep,” he said. He was a nice guy, she pleasantly confirmed to herself. There were no weird or creepy vibes coming off him. Her walkway was covered in a sheet of ice and absolutely treacherous. With every step in her heels, she was sure she would fall. Fall in front of this lovely man. Before the worst could happen, he took her arm and led her to the front door. “There you go, all safe and sound. Just as I promised…ah…what is your name?”
“Maisey.”
“Sweet name,” he said with a smile. “I’m Sean.”