Baby, Slow Down

    The temperature had dropped considerably as the frigid winds that had swept out of the northeast brought the first big blast of whitestuff for the year.  Visibility was hardly thirty feet, but Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" was blaring from the speakers and Mick felt pretty damn fine.

    - Baby, slow down. It's too dangerous to be going this fast.

    Mick turned and looked at Loretta, who looked a little worried. She was bundled up warmly and had the heater blasting directly on her. She was also eight months pregnant and due right around Christmas. There had been much joking about an "Immaculate Conception".

    - I don't wanna scare you, darlin. Of course.

    THUNK!

    Loretta screamed as Mick jammed on the brakes and began to slide. He turned into it and came to a stop in the oncoming lane of traffic. He held the wheel and stared out into the howling storm.

    Jingle bell time is a swell time 

    To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh 

    He was still breathing a little heavy as he eased the car onto the shoulder. As best as he could determine where it was anyway. He put the car in park.

    - Baby, what'd we hit?

    - I don't know, Loretta. Lemme go check.

    Mick opened the door and an icy blast came tearing into the coupe. He moved quickly out of the car, slammed the door shut behind him and walked to the front of the vehicle. Standing in the headlights he could see a sizable dent on the passenger side of the front fender. Dammit, he thought. Mick really loved his Pontiac. He'd bought it while still in high school and had only completed the restoration this past summer. Ten years spent fixing everything that was wrong with this old girl to make her perfect and he'd now gone and fucked it up. With a new baby on the way, there wouldn't be money to replace the fender and on a line worker's salary he couldn't afford full-coverage insurance.

    Mick looked a little closer at the dent. What was that? Blood? Ah, crap. He'd hit an animal. But, what the hell was it? Had to have been a pretty good size to make a dent like that. Moose weren't unheard of in southern Pennsylvania, but that would have had to have been a fairly small moose for him not to have seen it. Maybe a calf?

    - Mick, what is it? Is it bad?

    Loretta had gotten out and was walking towards him.

    - Get back in the car. It's cold out here. I just crunched the fender a little.

    She came beside him and viewed the damage.

    - What did we hit?

    - Maybe a moose or deer calf I think.

    He began to walk back the way they had come.

    - You think it's okay?

    - I'm gonna check. Baby, get back in the car.

    - I hope he ain't hurt bad.

    She came up beside and walked with him. They could see nothing but empty road and swirling snow ahead of them. They stood still for a moment and Mick listened to the night. Nothing but the howling wind.

     - Is it okay, baby?

    - I probably just clipped it and it took off.  If it was laying out there, it'd be wailing up a storm. Now get back in the car. It's too nasty out here for you and the baby.

    - I told you not to drive so fast.

    - I know. I'm sorry. Get back in the car.

    Loretta walked back and crawled into the Pontiac. Mick walked a bit further down the road, looking for any sign of the animal. He thought he might have heard something about ten yards up.

    - Ahhhhhh! Help me!

    It was faint, but it was definitely human. Mick ran quickly, slipped a little on an icy patch, jumped into his car, threw it into drive and sped away.