Fuck the Holidays

Audrey Rose – Fuck the Holidays
By: Dagny McKinley

Zog stood in front of his canvas. The brush moved softly, gently across the canvas, no indication of the raw emotion behind what he was painting. Framed against a window were his mother’s cowboy boots, the only memory he had kept of her after she passed away. Every detail became every memory, with thick and thin strokes. When he was finished, when the canvas had dried, he painted a thick layer of white paint over it, then began painting another image. As his brush began to move he sneezed.
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Audrey Rose was so excited to be back in Steamboat all she wanted to do was hug. She contacted Guinness World Records to see who held the record for most hugs in a 24 hour period. It was Ireland with 5,000 hugs. Knowing she could beat it, she called the only organization in town that could help her to see if she could hug at the base of the mountain to spread some holiday cheer. She got in touch with Wren in PR who said it sounded like a great idea and would get back to her. Next call was to Colorado Event Rentals who immediately agreed to donate two heat lamps for the day. This was the spirit Audrey Rose remembered from Steamboat and the day seemed glorious. Next on the list was one of the outdoor clothing stores to see if they would donate a day’s worth of warm clothes for the hugfest. Audrey Rose was used to moving barefoot across the landscape, keeping herself warm, but to stand for so long, she figured she might want some boots or a jacket. The woman said it shouldn’t be a problem and Audrey Rose let excitement tingle through her body thinking about all the strangers she would meet.
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The sneeze was more than a sneeze and moved quickly through Zog’s body, turning into phlegm, into fever, building into pneumonia. Zog lay in bed, his friends bringing him soup, checking in on him, while disease overtook him.
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The next day the outdoor retailer called her back. They would be unable to donate a jacket or boots because they had to hold clothes for the airlines if people’s luggage didn’t arrive. Audrey Rose thought it was a mistake. They couldn’t afford to give clothes for one person? The woman assured her it wasn’t a mistake and sounded apologetic, so Audrey Rose asked if she could rent a piece of this limited supply of clothing and the woman said of course. So the clothes that were unavailable to donate were available for payment. A dark cloud began to creep through Audrey Rose’s soul. She called Wren for confirmation that she could stand with a sign and some support to try to hug the world. There was no answer. Another call and no response. Finally she got Wren on the phone who promised an answer the next day, saying it was a great idea. For some reason the shadow in Audrey Rose’s soul was growing, covering corners of her heart.
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The pneumonia wasn’t content to stay in Zog’s lungs, it continued to spread to his sinuses then up to his brain creating an abscess. His friends worried more. The laugh that had once pulled up the corner of everyone’s mouth was quiet. Zog who had been like a father to some, a friend to all, who brought cheer just by being in a room by hugging and talking and understanding, was struggling.
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The 23rd was the day set for hugging, the last day of the Olympic trials, the day of the Big Head Todd concert. Audrey Rose’s friends at TV 18, Harper and Andy had agreed to have her on to help promote the hugs. Even the paper was willing to do an article on it. And yet Wren didn’t call. Audrey Rose left a message asking for an answer either way, then she emailed her and nothing, simply nothing. Audrey Rose’s heart was was leaking blood, fading from bright red to grey.

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When his friend stopped by to check on him, Zog was unresponsive. Conscious, but unresponsive. 911 was called, then a helicopter and soon Zog was being flown to Fort Collins with an abscess in his brain and surgery required. His friends filled beers with salty tears for him, others waved good-bye not knowing if he would be back. His future stood on the edge.
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The 22nd came and passed and no word from Wren. Community began to seem like some bullshit that was made up to bring tourists to Steamboat. Audrey Rose who had nothing but love for this town, was starting to turn sour. The day of the concert came and Audrey Rose went on TV 18 to talk about the importance of touch, of hugging of spreading love. She decided to hug the next day anyway, if not at the base of the mountain, then around town. But her heart wasn’t into it. Her spirit felt as if a foot were pushing it further and further into a black pit. A few hours later, she got the news. The most beautiful laugh in Steamboat had been silenced forever. Audrey Rose took off her sparkly skirt, stepped into a burning hot shower and scalded her skin but she felt nothing. She scrubbed her skin but felt only something dirty and angry about her, something soap wouldn’t wash away. She turned off the shower and stepped into her closet where she shut the door, covered her head with a blanket and closed her eyes.
There was no sleep, no peace. Her heart pounded, filling her veins with ice. Long after dark the door cracked open and her husband Mitch stepped in.
“I heard. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care. I just don’t fucking care about anything anymore,” said Audrey Rose.
“Come here.” He gathered Audrey Rose into his arms. “I know it’s only one hug, it’s not 5,000 hugs.”
Audrey Rose started crying. She cried for the town that had betrayed her, she cried for feeling like a failure, but most of all, she cried for Zog, wondering why such a beautiful man was taken while all these bitter souls still filled the earth. Then she realized she was turning into one of those bitter souls.
She let her arms wrap around her husband, holding him as tight as she could. He picked her up like a child with her legs wrapped around him. Just like that, he carried her down to Sunpie’s Bistro, where no matter the day, there were always hugs. Even though that night, the drinks were filled with tears, counters covered in puddles, and cheeks stained, despite the empty hole Zog’s friends felt inside, they still hugged. This was the community that Audrey Rose knew. This was the Steamboat she had fallen in love with. Maybe some day, this love would spread back out to the rest of Steamboat. For now it had begun to worm its way back into Audrey Rose’s heart.

Please do not attempt to recreate the events of Audrey Rose’s life. They will result in internal/external death or at the very least, a yeast infection.

Check out other works by the author at www.DogSleddingTheRockies.com, UndiscoveredEarth.com, Alternative-Lawncare.com & for more Audrey Rose, visit SweetAudreyRose.com