Free Ex-mas by Kate Brian

wanted to kiss his grizzly cheek, or the gross pavement of the parking lot beneath her feet.
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    "But it'l cost you double," the man continued.
    "No problem," Lila said, even though she could probably buy Beau's car for that much money. Or, realistical y, for much less. Wasn't that why her dad had given her his credit card, with al those dire warnings about emergencies only and blah blah blah? If this wasn't an emergency, what was?
    "It's fine," she said to Beau's pale, questioning face. "I have a credit card."
    "That'l have to be cash only," the mechanic said. He shook his head and blew out his cheeks, as if he regretted the necessity.
    Lila felt her mouth drop open, but no sound emerged.
    "Thanks," Beau said, smiling politely at the mechanic. "If we can just talk for a minute...?"
    "No worries," the other man said. "But let me know what you decide in the next ten minutes or so, 'cause I might close down and get some dinner."
    "Sure," Beau said weakly.
    The man walked away. Beau and Lila stared at each other. Somewhere in the dark, Lila could hear waves crashing against the rocky shore below,
    again and again.
    "You have a credit card?" Beau asked.
    "It's my dad's, obviously," Lila said. "For emergencies or whatever."
    "Okay." Beau shrugged. "But how would you explain an
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    eight-hundred-dol ar charge in Big Sur if the point is never to tel them about any of this?"
    Lila blinked. She hadn't even considered that. "Whatever," she said after a moment, not wanting to admit her mistake. "The real question is, how are we going to come up with eight hundred dol ars in cash in the middle of nowhere?"
    "We could be in the middle of Hol ywood Boulevard and I still have no idea how we'd come up with that much money" Beau sighed. He wandered over to the curb and sank down on it. Lila found herself trailing after him. For a moment they just sat there, dejected.
    There was only the sound of the wind through the towering pine trees. The clouds scudded across the night sky far above. The air smel ed clean and
    sharp and piney, like salt and Christmas. Lila hugged her knees to her chest and tried to imagine how she would even start to have the inevitable conversation with her parents. Don't worry, I didn't throw a party, she could say. But don't get too excited--Cooper is on a train to the North Pole. Not alone! With Tyler!
    Nausea settled in her bel y. The hands on her watch seemed to speed up, tick-tocking their way toward her doom. Seven twenty-three. Seven twenty-
    four. Seven twenty-five.
    "I guess we have to cal the police Lila said with a heavy sigh. "Right? I mean, we can't catch the train. And we can't let them go to Alaska or wherever they're headed." She rubbed at
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    her temples. She couldn't even bring herself to imagine what this would mean for her life. Or for her mythical car. "My parents are going to kil me," she whispered, more to herself than to Beau.
    "My mom won't love this either," he said darkly. "Believe me." He fished his phone out of his pocket and looked at it, then made a scoffing sound.
    "What?" Lila asked. She felt a sudden surge of hope. "Did they text again?"
    "Wel , they could have Beau said in a clipped voice. "I wouldn't know." He held the phone up so Lila could see. "No service."
    "Of course not," Lila said, her voice tight. "Why should there be cel phone service? Why should anything about this day be anything but horrifying?"
    "This is happening to both of us, you know," Beau said, his blue eyes narrowing. "Not just you."
    Lila was more than ready to unload the entire terrible day's worth of frustration and fury al over him. But she was stopped by the sound of yel ing from nearby.
    Who could possibly be more angry than she was? She twisted around, trying to locate the source of al that fury.
    "What do you mean you can't make it?" a man was howling into the pay phone attached to the wal of the convenience store. "You're the wedding band!
    You have to make it!"
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    Beau and Lila stared at each other for