The Snowman

Dr. Jay Hedley walked wearily towards the soiled linen bin where he tossed his scrubs from his last operation at the Yellowstone General Hospital.

He signed off for the holidays and started thinking about spending Christmas with his parents who lived four hours away in Madison.

Calling his pregnant wife Mattie, he told her he was on his way home.

"Do you need me to pick any food up, darling?"
"Jay, if you buy more food the car will be overloaded. Come home, be careful of the slippery roads, and see you in an hour, love you."

Jay and Mattie were expecting their first child within the month. His parents lived in a low-set home in Madison and were looking forward to seeing their son and daughter-in-law plus Benny the Golden Retriever. Benny had been bounding around their house for days, he knew something was afoot. Finally, Jay's Rav4 pulled into their driveway.

"Hello Benny, don't jump up you'll put your paw in the ice cream!"
"I knew you would bring something home Jay." Smiled Mattie.
"Well, you had a craving for ice cream and pickles lately. Not together. I thought we could all dig in before Benny licks the plate."

Jay and Maddie met at the hospital when Jay was an intern and Mattie on the nursing staff in pediatrics. She loved children, especially babies. After they were married they decided to wait to start a family. The neat little house needed to be paid for first.

That night, Christmas Eve, they sat watching the weather forecast for Christmas Day.
"Hmm, not good, heavy snow forecast. Oh well, maybe I better fit the car's snow chains." Jay shook his head. He was so tired after a twelve-hour shift he had just finished. I'll do the chains in the morning."

Christmas Day arrived with a flurry of snow. Benny tried his best to help Jay jack up the Rav 4. to fit the snow chains.
They packed the car, leaving the back seat free so Benny could stretch out, he was a large dog.

Mattie stood in the garage, hand on her lower back, feeling the weight of the soon-to-be new member of their family.

"House locked, alarm on and I think we are ready to rock and roll." Jay leaned over giving Mattie a peck on the cheek.

As they headed for Madison, the snow became heavier. The traffic was gridlocked on the bridge. Cars were slip-sliding and banked up for a mile.

"Only three more hours to go." Jay thrummed the steering wheel.
"Don't be impatient, why don't you call Olive? Let her know we are stuck in traffic." Mattie grimaced with pain that she wasn't going to mention to Jay. She hoped against hope the baby wouldn't make his appearance until after Christmas.

Finally, the traffic thinned out and they were able to make up the time.
Jay punched in his mother's cell number and was grinning from ear to ear when she picked up.

"Oh, Jay, where are you? I'm worried about the heavy snow we are experiencing here."
"We're about..." the signal died.

Benny started barking, he needed to pee.
Jay pulled off the road and let him out. Benny started frolicking in the piles of snow, hunting for critters hiding.

"Oh, well, may as well have something to eat. Do you need a pee, my darling wife?"
"No, I need a midwife."
"What?"
"My waters just broke!"

"What a time and place for that to happen. Don't fret we are only an hour away from Olive and Henry."

Benny came bounding back to the car and jumped in. He was soaking wet. He picked up the scent of food and sniffed as Jay opened the picnic basket.

"You have to laugh, Mattie. Here we are on Christmas Day. Your waters have broken and I just opened the picnic basket!"

"Ha, Ha, very funny. It's not you giving birth."

They tucked into the cold meats they had brought for the in-laws and Benny could smell the roast chicken. Mattie just picked at the cherries.

"C'mon Jay, I don't want to give birth on the side of the road," Benny whined in sympathy.

They traveled slowly, Jay was glad he fitted the snow chains. He was too impatient. Suddenly, the car lost grip and went into a tailspin.

He had lost control as the vehicle spun madly toward the other side of the road, at speed. Instead of rolling down the ravine, a large Snow Gum tree stopped the spinning car.

The rear of the car slammed into the tree and the airbags exploded in their faces.
The rear door of the car sprung open. Benny took the chance and dived out into a pile of fresh snow.

They both pushed the airbags away and Jay looked at the trickle of blood running down Mattie's face. His foot was jammed under the accelerator. Food, gifts, and clothing were thrown together in the tail end of the car.

"Are you OK Mattie?"
"Just hit my head on the windscreen. What are we going to do? There's no signal for the phone. No houses and no traffic!" Tears ran down and mingled with the blood on her face.

Jay tried desperately to free his foot. He was free after ten minutes and pulled his foot out of his shoe.

Meanwhile, Benny had taken off at top speed, heading back the way they had come before the accident.

Charlie Snow was driving the huge, four-seater snowplow. Charlie was singing along to the Christmas Carols on his radio.

"Driving through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh." Well, Lady, don't think we are driving a sleigh with one horse. We got lots more horses with this monster snowplow." He patted Lady his dog all tucked up in her winter coat.

"Whoa! What the..." Benny stood in front of the plow, not willing to move.
Jumping out of his driving seat, Charlie went over and could see Benny was exhausted.
"Hey, where did you come from boy?" Charlie picked Benny up and put him inside the warm cabin of the snow plow.

"Hmm...you don't belong around here. Let's have a look at your collar. So, you live in Yellowstone, eh? I have a feeling your family is in trouble."

Charlie worked as a paramedic when he wasn't driving the plow. He revved the engine and headed for where the dog had come from. He opened his Sat Nav and called headquarters.

"Charlie Snow here, got a possible accident at Madison, over."
"OK Charlie, will get the first ambulance out to you, snow is holding everything on the road at a standstill. Over?"
"10. 4 Going to the scene. Out."

Charlie pushed the vehicle hard. It still was taking too long for his likes.

"Pedal to the metal, wish I had my V8 under my foot." Lady and Benny had cuddled up together. Charlie smiled and said, "Don't get too comfy you two."

"I'm so cold, Jay." Mattie was shaking under her blanket.

"I've got the heater going full blast, can't see a bloody thing, all the windows are iced up." He grabbed his medical bag that went everywhere with him. He checked Maddie with his stethoscope and saw Maddie was going into shock.

Suddenly Jay heard the blast of a huge horn. He rolled down his window in time to see a gigantic snowplow with flashing orange lights, he heard a big motor noisily idling.

Then he saw Benny rushing towards him. Followed by a tiny red dog making hard going in the snow, her legs were too short. Charlie picked her up, unzipped his jacket, and popped her next to his heart.

"Charlie Snow, they call me the Snowman. You sure wrapped the car around the tree. Wife OK?"

"Jay Hedley, a surgeon from Yellowstone. How did you find us?"
"Your special dog came and told me. He was tuckered out from running a mile. Damn lucky Jay."

"OK, Jay we need to get help for Mattie. The ambulance could take up to four hours. How about we take you all in the plow to Olive's house? It's not that far from here."

"Sounds like a good plan, Charlie. I don't know how far along Mattie is."

"Jay, I didn't say anything to you when we left home but the pains were starting then. I'm in labor now. This baby isn't going to wait for an ambulance."

Charlie lifted Mattie like a paper doll. He carried her over to the snow plow. Jay opened the back door.

"Just as well I'm 6'4 and built like a brick outhouse." Charlie laughed.

Once aboard, Benny and Lady cuddled next to Mattie as she squirmed with labor pains. At least the back of the plow was fitted out with a bed and Charlie had wrapped her in a special blanket for hypothermia.

Thirty minutes went by and then they saw Olive and Henry waving from their small home.
Jay limped up the front steps followed by Charlie carrying Mattie in his beefy arms. Both dogs shot through the front door, cavorting around the kitchen where the smell of cooking wafted through the house.

"Howdy folks got a live one or, maybe two for you. Where do you want me to lay her down?"

"Take Mattie through to the spare bedroom, I'll get some towels."
Olive had been a midwife back in her younger days. When she saw Mattie she remembered how many babies she had delivered.

"Howdy son, you sure were lucky Charlie came along when he did."
Henry poured three whiskies. That should calm you both down. What a day we are having. Christmas Day, sort of special with a babe on the way."

Mattie lay back on the bed as Olive put a plastic sheet under her.
"Good Lord child, you are 3 centimetres dilated. Push!"

Jay came into the room and was quickly short-shifted by Olive.
And so the men sat by the fire talking as men do.

Charlie bandaged Jay's foot, it was badly bruised. Henry kept the whisky coming whilst the dogs tried taking the baubles off the Christmas Tree.

"Got a damn fine ham in the fridge, how about I make some sandwiches?" Henry rose and tottered over to the kitchen.
"You sit Henry, we can help ourselves." Charlie used a loaf of bread and smothered the ham with homemade pickles.

After three hours, Olive held out her gloved hands ready to receive the newborn boy. "One more push Mattie."
The baby slipped out easily into Olive's waiting hands. She cut the cord and wrapped the boy to place him on his exhausted mother's chest.

The crying brought the men to their now unsteady feet. Jay laughed with joy, Henry said he was a grandfather and Charlie said congratulations family.

"Now you can come and see your son, Jay. A 7lb baby boy, yes I did weigh him. I kept all my midwifery implements including the baby scales." Olive beamed with pride.

"What are you going to call him?" Jay's face was red as a beetroot, from the whisky and the excitement.
One by one the men filed into the room to see the new edition to the family.
"Jay kissed his wife and put his arms out to hold his son."
"Sure is a good-looking fella." Said Charlie.
"I'm a grandpa, my first of many." Henry beamed.

Mattie said to them all, "We should call him Charlie." And promptly fell asleep from exhaustion.

Charlie was lovingly placed in Olive's washing basket.

"He'll want to feed as soon as he wakes up. His birth went smooth, no hiccups, and I remembered the old days when I delivered so many,"

"We should wet the baby's head." Henry smiled his toothless smile.
"Looks like you've been doing enough wetting already." Olive tut-tutted.
"I gotta get going and plow those snow piles." Charlie smiled a crooked, drunken grin." Am I the only sober one here? Said Olive, you are not driving anything, Charlie.

The men all sunk in armchairs and were soon asleep. A blast from an ambulance woke everyone, including the baby.

Olive let the Ambo in and gave them some punch, there was no whisky left and they were so happy to see mother and child safe and well.

Happy Christmas folks, nothing for us to do here.

Benny and Lady had smelt 'Charlie' and decided to make a nest under his mother's bed. Kinda reminds ya of a manger and a baby boy born long ago. And how the animals gathered all around the Christ Child.