Shiny Medals, Cold Comfort

I wrote a little fiction for today...

Medals hanging from a rear view mirror

I set the defrost on the highest setting, scraped the windows, and eased onto the stiff, frigid leather of the driver's seat. Fortunately, the car is a hybrid. Even with its economic use of fuel, there was barely enough money in my checkbook to cover the gas for this trip.

At least I wouldn't be spending as much at the grocery store this month, thanks to the generous food donations in the trunk. It seemed feasible that my finances would at least break even. There were Thanksgiving leftovers for at least two meals. The gelatinous casserole which Mary (my stepmother) had bestowed upon me should feed me for at least three days. She always tried to win me over with food - but like her personality, her cooking just always fell a little short of the mark. Beggars can't be choosers though - and at least I would have food to eat when the bank account was drained.

I had chosen to compete in this meet because it was only fifteen minutes from my Dad and Mary's house. Kill two birds with one stone, as they say. A perfect opportunity to have Thanksgiving turkey with my dad (fortunately he always insisted on cooking the holiday meal); and a chance to prove that I am still the competitor I used to be.

I hadn't planned on the Arctic front that had moved in suddenly. It was so cold it made me squirm in my seat; waiting for the seat warmers to do their job and the heater to begin to blast warm air. Good think I had been keeping up with the car maintenance - not a good day to break down in the middle of North Dakota! Hopefully too cold to snow, but I regretted not getting my snow tires put on last week.

The meet had gone well. Dad and Mary had been there, spectating. Somehow though, happiness was elusive. Hanging from the rear view mirror now were shiny medals, cold comfort for the feelings of inadequacy I had been experiencing over the past year. Becoming a champion again helped me believe in myself. It lacked the thrill it used to have, however, when Mom was there clapping and cheering as I received my awards.

This fiction story was written in response to the Words for Wednesday word prompts, provided by Delores at Under the Porch Light.  This week the words were:

gelatinous, feasible, hybrid, squirm, maintenance, casserole
AND / OR
shiny medals, cold comfort

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