Winter Road

A distant moon, behind ominous clouds, painted the night; snow falling in thick clumps upon the houses in Birmingham. Kate knew this would happen. She whisked around her small apartment, hopping over the clutter on the carpet to switch off her electrics. But she always forgot something, perhaps this was why there was a familiar tightness in her chest as she reached her dimly lit living room.

A car horn sounded from outside and she reluctantly left the house, finding a woman leaning against a black Peugeot 206 white with snow. The woman was kissed by heaven's flakes, an arm wrapped around herself, a cigarette at her lips. Kate's eyebrows knitted together; the ghostly figure stood before her looked like a stranger.

'I didn't know you smoked,' Kate said, doing a little dance on the spot to warm herself.

'There's a lot you don't know about me, Sis,' the woman replied, dropping her cigarette to the white ground and crushing its ashen tip with her boot. 'Let's get a move on.'

Kate looked down the quiet, blackened street before crossing to the passenger side of the car. With a slam of the door, her sister plonked down beside her, the smell of wet smoke lingering on her person. Kate rolled down the window, before a glare from her sister forced her to shut it again.

'Cold out, isn't it?' Kate asked, strapping herself into her seat then holding her hands in front of the heating vents.

'Well yeah, it's winter, ennit?'

The car's air freshener smelled fruity. It reminded Kate of the lost summer as they set off along the icy road. Outside the window was peaceful, Christmas lights and headlights adorning the darkness. There was a stiff silence between the sisters for a while; Kate regretted not bringing her 90s Hits CD. Her sister reached across her into the glove compartment, taking out a packet of mints. She held it Kate's way after popping one into her mouth.

Kate grinned, 'Saying my breath smells, Olivia?'

'It's just a mint, not a dig at you.'

Kate took one, bypassing the urge to explain that it was just a joke. The mint was too strong, though. It called attention to the air around her, clearing a pathway.

'So... I'm surprised you came.'

Olivia frowned.

'I just mean, I assumed you'd spend Christmas Day with Harry and the kids.'

The space between them solidified with the heavy pause that followed. Kate wanted to break the silence, fix what she said, except she didn't know what her mistake had been.

'Well, assumptions get you nowhere.'

Kate sat in Olivia's words, feeling taken aback.

She sighed, changing tact, 'So you left the kids with him for the day? Don't blame you!'

She laughed but her sister didn't join her.

'What's that supposed to mean?' Olivia rounded on Kate fast, her black eyes reflecting the rear lights of the cars in front. Kate couldn't meet the hard gaze directly; it was too difficult.

'Nothing, Liv. Can we not fight, please? I was just asking a question.'

'You love to ask silly questions, though, don't you? I'm not asking why you've got nothing better to do on Christmas Day, am I?' Olivia scoffed, 'Silly me, but I thought maybe we'd just appreciate being together – after all, it has been, what, four years?'