And Dependency
an excerpt

“Are you having second thoughts?”

“No.”

“No? No. Good. Neither am I.”

Unchallenged silenced filled the whole of the vehicle. Both of its occupants claimed to not be experiencing doubt or uncertainty, but there were signs indicating otherwise. Namely, that even though they were at their destination and were expected to go inside the house in front of them, neither person had gotten out of the car.

It wasn’t as though the vehicle itself was so enchanting – in fact, with the heat off they were likely to freeze, and with no music playing they would have to attempt conversation with one another. The trunk was nearly full to capacity with presents, even after the back seats had been taken out – removing their only other method of vehicular recreation, should the mood have struck. The only thing keeping the two people in the vehicle was reluctance to go into the house what was expecting them; a reluctance neither of them would admit to.

The same thing happened every year when Christmas came along. No matter what pace they moved at, no matter how many verbal confessions were acknowledged and subsequently knocked down, they always ended up in the house at the end. The fellow in the passenger seat, a blonde man named Charles Kane, was fully aware of that. He was also aware of the growing chill inside the car, his ultimate lack of foresight in thinking to bring gloves, and the fact that the lady in the driver’s seat was completely unaffected by the bitter frosty weather. The same lady who had refuted his query about having second thoughts without a single moment’s hesitation but had yet to either move from the car or turn the car back on.

“Paris?” he tried again.

She only looked at him through the corner of her eye.

“It’s really, really cold.” He rubbed his hands together in demonstration, cupping them together and breathing into them.

“No, it isn’t,” was her succinct response.