New Year, Nowhere

Winona Desjardin had slumped down as far as she could in the passenger seat of her boyfriend Tyler’s pick up. There was no sugar coating it; Tyler was being a total dick. In truth, he had been a total dick for some time, but it had only recently become impossible to ignore or make excuses for. Winona was done with him and with his family. They were coming back from the worst Christmas vacation ever and stopping for gas in the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan. It was literally a place called Nowhere on New Year’s Eve. On another day she might see the humour in that. It was a sweet little roadside stop that consisted of the quintessential gas, food lodging of charming works of literature and film. To avoid a fourth argument in two hours Winona jumped out of the truck to pump the gas. Tyler sulked silently and didn’t even turn his head when she exited the vehicle.

Winona pulled the nozzle from the pump roughly and muttered “Fucking freezing out here…”. They were old pumps and she’d have to pay inside. She thought her fingers might fall off inside her gloves before the gas pump clicked off to indicate the tank was full. Every breath just hurt going in when it was this damned cold. Winona screwed the cap back on and shut the hatch. She was tiredly reaching for the door handle when suddenly the engine started up and to her horror Tyler peeled out of the gas station parking lot and sped off down the highway without her. Winona’s jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out of her head in disbelief.

Snapping out of her stunned moment she had a flash of fury and tore off after the car “You stupid sonofabitch! You can’t just leave me here! Fuck you….fuck you…I hate you Tyler Spencer!” 

A semi truck wizzed past her and honked loudly as it swerved around her. Winona gasped and jumped back to the icy gravel shoulder, tripping falling right into the ditch. She had to work to catch her breath and try futilely for some semblance of calm. Fighting against tears she looked around her; highway in both directions, the gas station, small café and motel, a farm just beyond it with lights on in the house. That might help. She didn’t even know where to start but she could see lights on in the café too and convenience store so she began to walk that way, across the highway. All of her belongings had driven off down the highway. She had no phone, bank card, clothes, or hope in hell tonight.

Breathing deeply and deliberately she read the sign; The Prairie Moon Café and Motel. Happy Fucking New Year from the middle of Nowhere.