Christmas or Bust Read online

  Christmas

  or

  Bust

  by

  A.M Burke

  Text Copyright © 2017 A.M Burke

  All Right Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  Dedications:

  I always thought that when I finally came to the dedication portion of writing a book it would be the easiest part. I’d graciously thank my family and friends, somehow encompassing each individual in one sweeping remark so each family member and friend would know they were appreciated and thanked from the bottom of my heart. Unfortunately coming up with that single sentiment is a lot harder than I would have thought so I’ll go with a classic:

  For my family and friends, you know who you are, for supporting me and encouraging me and making this all possible when I didn’t even believe it myself.

  Thank you

  Chapter One

  “It happened!” Nora exclaimed as she burst through the door of her shoebox sized New York apartment. Claire McGuffin looked up from her laptop, perched on her bent knees, a ballpoint pen clenched lightly between her teeth. She stared blankly at her roommate for a moment, trying to process what had her normally, and rightfully so, exhausted roommate suddenly energized. As a brilliant young doctor finishing up her second fellowship Nora often functioned on less sleep than Claire believed humanly possible. But then she wasn’t the doctor so she guessed Nora knew the limits of the human body better than Claire. At the moment Claire was worried Nora had finally snapped. She was literally bouncing up and down like a child on Christmas morning which was appropriate since the two had decorated the apartment for the holiday just last week.

  “It happened?” Claire repeated confused and Nora nodded energetically, waiting for her friend to catch on. “It happened,” Claire repeated and then understanding dawned on her. “It happened!” she shouted pushing her laptop gently away and jumping up to celebrate with Nora. The two squealed like they were eight, grabbing each other’s forearms and jumping up and down like fools until their downstairs neighbor began banging back.

  “So you’re sure this time?” Claire asked when they finally separated and Nora nodded empathetically. “You’re sure?” Claire asked again skeptically. “Because I remember this time last year you had your hopes up and then you ended up here alone, on Christmas.”

  “I wasn’t alone,” Nora corrected. “I managed to make dinner with my cousin and her family.”

  “You had to work, you got screwed over,” Claire huffed, still indigent on her behalf. Nora rolled her eyes as she went into the tiny kitchen and helped herself to a bottle of water, practically drinking it down in one gulp.

  “I know, I know but I knew there was a very good chance that with my career choice I’d be working every holiday for the rest of my life,” Nora said pulling out a Tupperware of leftover meatballs in sauce. Without bothering to heat them up Nora speared one and ate it off the fork. Claire watched her with a look of exaggerated disgust.

  “You know those things taste even better warm.”

  “Matter of opinion and besides microwaving takes time and I’m hungry now,” Nora told her but let Claire take the container from her and stick it in the microwave before pulling a bag of rolls from the breadbasket.

  “The second I start suspecting you’re eating candy bars without taking off the wrappers I’m having you committed,” Claire warned but she was smiling while she said it. Nora smiled back doing a little jig as she finished off the water. “Someday you’re going to choke and you’ll be in trouble because you’re the doctor, not me.”

  “Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat,” Nora sang instead of acknowledging her friend’s quip.

  “That’s right,” Claire said looking up suddenly from where she was slicing the roll up for her friend’s meal. “Christmas is only, what? Two weeks away? How the hell are you going to get home?”

  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  The moment she decided she wanted to be a doctor Nora Ellis knew there were going to be a lot of sacrifices to be made. Friends, family, and many of the normal day to day happenings were going to be out of her reach for a long time, maybe indefinitely. Still, it was a decision she made and one that, at least the majority of the time, she was content with. Or at least she’d made her peace with it. It sucked working holidays, being exhausted, and living with her nose in medical books every free chance she had but she had to hold onto the hope that it would all pay off someday. There were moments, like when she was literally asleep on her feet or feeling so lonely she thought she might break, that she wondered if it was worth it but nothing was worth having without shedding some sweat, blood, and tears. Or so Nora liked to believe.

  And now, after years of study and hard work Nora was finally going to be able to go home for Christmas. For years between finals and work shifts, and paying her dues Nora had been missing a lot of holidays or having abbreviated versions with her parents. She’d been fortunate enough to attend medical school close to home but when she’d moved to New York for her residency and subsequent fellowships it became harder to spend time with her small family. As an only child it was hard for Nora to be away from her parents and knew they felt the same strain. They flew into New York as often as possible to be with her but Nora knew it wasn’t always easy.

  The year before Nora had been hoping to finally make the trip out to California and had even bought a plane ticket for the trip only to be dragged back to the hospital at the last moment. She’d been devastated to spend the holiday alone but had done her best to convince Claire and her family she’d been fine with it but the truth was she wasn’t. The expense and the short notice had been too much for her parents to swing and even though they’d arrived in New York a few days later for a belated holiday Nora knew it had been as hard for them as it had been for her.

  But that was changing this year. Only problem was, as her roommate pointed out immediately bursting her bubble, was that she had no way of getting to her parents’ home in California.

  “This is a manageable problem,” Claire tried to sooth Nora as she sat dejectedly on the couch. “You have time to figure it all out and make it home and back in plenty of time.”

  “Killjoy,” Nora grumbled.

  “Realist,” Claire corrected as she patted Nora on the back. “And as a staunch realist and your friend I’m telling you that this is manageable.”

  “How so? I’m broke, I’m short on time, and did I mention I’m broke?”

  “I’m guessing your parents would lend you the money,” Claire suggested and Nora shook her head.

  “I hate asking them for money and I’m guessing they don’t have it or else they would have already offered.”

  “If you need a loan you know I’m there for you,” Claire said softly and Nora immediately declined but made sure her friend knew she appreciated the offer. Claire came from a family with a good deal of money and although Claire worked for a living Nora knew there was a large trust in her name that Claire had only ever touched for school and in a few emergency situations. Last year Claire had offered to pay for Nora to fly out and back to California for the twelve or so hours she had free on Christmas but Nora had declined then as well.

  “I’ll rent a car,” Nora declared standing up.


  “Across the country?” Claire asked skeptically. “It’ll cost you more than a plane ticket.”

  “That much? You think?” Nora asked and helped herself to Claire’s laptop and plugged her information into a few websites and grimaced at the costs. “Ok, so that’s out of the question.”

  “Train?” Claire suggested and Nora did a quick search on that as well.

  “Yikes, why is everything so expensive?” Nora groaned. “And even if I could it looks like it might be a hard trip to coordinate.” Nora rubbed her temples and tried to concentrate. Her second fellowship had just come to an end and Nora had become a huge asset to the hospital. In an effort to keep her on staff they’d offered her some time off for the holidays. It wasn’t a huge amount but Nora was determined to use it to make it home. She was in dire need of a break and some distance.

  Claire took the laptop from Nora and put it on the coffee table in front of her. “Go take a nap, you’re clearly exhausted. How long have you been awake anyway?”

  Nora glanced at her watch. “Twenty-six hours give or take.” Nora watched Claire shake her head in disgust. “What?” Nora asked indignantly. “You want me to walk away from an emergency surgery because I’m a little tired?”

  “You have a warped sense of…well everything if you think that what you just said is remotely ok.”

  “I’m a surgeon,” Nora reminded her. “I took an oath and all that jazz.”

  “Yes but what good will you be to all of your patients if you keel over from exhaustion?” Claire asked.

  “Zombie Doctor?” Nora guessed.

  “Sounds like the makings of a bad sitcom or a really good B movie,” Claire said and then pointed in the direction of Nora’s bedroom. “You need to sleep, now,” she added when Nora looked like she was going to protest.

  “I’ve got to figure out this ‘home for Christmas’ thing,” Nora insisted.

  “You can figure it out after you get some sleep,” Claire advised. “Sleep. Now.”

  “If you weren’t my friend I’d hate you,” Nora grumbled but smiled as she did so. “I suppose you want me to take a long hot shower too?”

  “Couldn’t hurt,” Claire said dramatically pinching her nose and ducked when Nora chucked a pillow in her direction. “Ooooh, someone is angling to get no dessert after dinner. Now, shower and bed missy.”

  “Yes Mom,” Nora said sarcastically as she smiled gamely at her friend as she made her way towards a well-deserved shower. Claire waited until she heard the water running for a minute before she grabbed up her cellphone and punched in a number she knew by heart. As expected it went almost immediately to voicemail but Claire wasn’t put off. She knew that Elliot, despite his somewhat hermit-like tendencies, was religious about checking his messages. Whether or not he determined if the messages had any sort of validity and worth a reply to was a whole other story but Claire knew he’d see her name and call her back.

  “Hey Elliot, it’s me Claire,” Claire spoke into the phone once the recorded message stopped playing. “I need a favor, call me back as soon as you can.” Claire hung up, and placed the phone back down on the counter. She’d barely pulled out a pot to make a batch of rice to go with the chili she had simmering in the croc-pot when her phone buzzed back with an answering call. Claire smiled to herself.

  Problem solved.

  Chapter Two

  “Problem not solved,” Nora protested the next morning.

  “Problem completely solved and you would do well to thank me for it,” Claire replied.

  “You want to put me into a car with Elliot Grimmald for a week and you think this is a good idea?” Nora asked exasperated.

  “A damn good one actually,” Claire said sipping her coffee and receiving a death glare from her roommate which she brushed off. “Admit that it is a good idea. Come on, I know you want to.”

  “With anyone else but Elliot Grimmald, yes it would be a fantastic idea,” Nora relented.

  “And what’s wrong with Elliot?” Claire asked.

  “He hates me, in case you forgot,” Nora reminded her and Claire rolled her eyes.

  “Elliot doesn’t hate you.”

  “I beg to differ,” Nora said with a shake of her head. “Last time I saw him I’m pretty sure he tried to push me into traffic.”

  “If I recall correctly, and I do because I was sober and you were the one stumbling about,” Claire said and barreled on when it looked like Nora was about to protest, “he pulled you from traffic. Not pushed you into it. And afterwards you kicked him in the knee for his trouble.”

  “Random guy I barely knows manhandles me,” Nora argued back. “Of course I’m going to react. And he was a jerk to me all day.”

  “Elliot can be a bit…abrasive,” Claire agreed. “But he really does have his heart in the right place.”

  “Surrounded by a black cloud of despair and nastiness,” Nora grumbled and then glanced at her watch. “I have to go so tell Elliot thanks but no thanks, I’ll find another way home.”

  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Nora groaned as she stood on the sidewalk in front of her apartment building a few weeks later.

  “Drama queen,” Claire told her dropping Nora’s second bag onto the sidewalk as she glanced up and down the street. “He should be here soon so you should cut the whiney crap.”

  “You are a heartless individual,” Nora accused as she hunkered down deeper into her coat. Though she’d been raised in Northern California where it could get downright cold, in her opinion, dealing with the cold was something she’d never quite acclimated to. She seemed to be constantly chilled the moment the temperature dipped below seventy. Her mother called her ‘thin blooded’ and encouraged her to live in a warmer climate, pointing out not so subtlety that California, even Northern California was warmer than New York. Her mother seemed desperate to get her back on the West Coast but Nora had no clue what she wanted beyond the day to day. Coming east had seemed like a good idea at the time, some space from her parents was due. She’d gone through medical school without too many aches and pains but when she’d decided come to New York for her internship and residency her parents had started making noises for her returning back west. With her specialty training finally coming to an end Nora would soon be free to move wherever she wanted. Her mentor, despite trying to convince her to stay on at the hospital, assured her she would have no trouble finding work within her chosen field.

  “Yes, truly,” Claire agreed and then shot her friend a worried look. “You do have me a bit concerned,” she admitted. “Are you sure you’re ok with all of this? I mean, I think it is a great idea and solution to your problem, but I can tell you’re stressed about it and I’m worried you’re going to have a coronary before you reach Ohio.”

  Nora pulled her scarf up over her nose to keep from answering because she was afraid her honest answer might hurt Claire. When Claire had made her suggestion to Nora she’d seriously considered it for a moment before turning her friend down. Turns out it wasn’t an offer easily refused. Claire had called in a favor that apparently couldn’t be ‘uncalled’ if that was even a word. Nora had had her roommate explain her relationship to Elliot Grimmald more than once but Nora had never full wrapped her brain around her normally levelheaded friends utter devotion to a person that, through their few encounters, Nora had determined was the epitome of a jerk.

  Claire had told Nora that she’d grown up ‘well’ which was really short for well off. Elliot had been her neighbor but while he also apparently came from wealth his home life had been far from idyllic. A few years older than Claire Elliot had been, in her words, like the older brother she’d never had and had watched out for her despite his own juvenile problems. At seventeen he’d dropped out of high school and vanished with only a letter left behind explaining he was joining the Marines and they shouldn’t come after him. Claire had received a letter from him not long after which confirmed he was in boot camp but when
Claire had presented the letter to Elliot’s mother she’d been shocked by the lack of concern, compassion or even interest. After that point in time Claire became Elliot’s only point of contact and it was only because Claire hounded him obsessively while he was serving in the Corps.

  Nora had been a bit taken with the story when she first heard it. She was convinced that Claire harbored some deeper emotions for Elliot and in Nora’s own romance-less life, well not so much romance-less but too busy to maintain, Nora had built a nice little love story around them. That notion had been shattered soon after meeting Elliot and seeing the two interact and finding that they truly were more like siblings than anything else.

  There was also the fact that Nora considered Elliot to be a giant jerk that had dampened her fantasy. Blowing out a breath and watching it cloud in the air in front of her Nora tried to look at the bright side. By agreeing to work New Year’s Eve and Day she’d secured some extra time for travel and to save some time Nora had managed to find a fairly cheap one-way flight home so she’d only have to suffer a cross-country car trip with Elliot once.

  And suffer she would. Nora had no illusion that this trip was going to be anything but miserable. If it wasn’t for the promise of a few days off, seeing her parents for Christmas, and her iPod loaded with new music she’d be hiding up in her apartment and hoping that Claire didn’t try to physically drag her out. The girl was freakishly strong for her small stature.

  “I think this is him,” Claire said peering down the street at a car that had slowed for the stop sign at the corner. The two women waited with baited breath but the car rolled on without turning left. Both then blew out heavy sighs; Claire with exasperation and Nora with relief.

  “Can you do me a favor?” Claire asked still watching the corner.

  “I’m still confused on whether or not what I’m about to do constitutes as a favor,” Nora admitted.