"Well it isn't totaled, but it's banged up pretty good," Greg the tow truck guy said after assessing the damage on my car. My interview with the police was short since the couple who hit me were clearly drunk. The tow truck arrived just as the paramedics were finished checking me out so I rode with Greg to the body shop.
"Is it drivable?" I asked.
"Oh, definitely not. There's a few days worth of damage to repair here," he said and then looked at the luggage resting by my feet, "I take you were on your way some where?"
I nodded. He winched, "I'm awful sorry about this. Listen I tell you what, I've been closed this week so I don't have anything else to work on right now so I can get the repairs done for you probably by Christmas day but that's the earliest possible."
"Thank you," I said simply. Wonderful. Apparently my life sucked so much that even the tow truck guy pitied me, but he had just offered to work overtime for it so I wasn't about to complain.
"Listen would you happen to know of a hotel in town?" I asked.
"Well there are a couple but I think they're all full." he said thoughtfully, "There is this bed and breakfast about a few miles north of here. I don't know if they're taking guests this time of year but I could drive you up there if you want."
"Thank you I appreciate that," I said.

I climbed up the steps of the house and knocked on the door. After a few minutes some lights came on and a woman who looked to be in her early fifties opened the door.
"Yes?" she asked tiredly.
"Hi, I'm sorry to come by so late but I was in a car accident so I was wondering if you were taking guests?" I explained.
"Sure, come in," she said. I waved Greg off and followed her inside. The house was old Victorian style with some tasteful Christmas decorations in each room. She lead me up the stairs and unlocked one of the rooms.
"Here you are," she said. I thanked her and began looking through my purse for a credit card. "Oh no it's too late for that tonight. We'll take care of payment in the morning," she said.
"Thank you," I replied gratefully.
"Don't mention it," she started to walk away then turned back around, "Oh just one thing though. What is your name?"
"Sydney Bristow," I responded.
"Okay very good," she said and jotted my name down on a notepad from her pocket, "You have a goodnight Ms. Bristow."
"Thank you," I smiled faintly and went turned inside.
The room was small and cozy. Normally I would have loved it but right then I was too tired to care about anything. I dropped my luggage onto the floor, changed into my pajamas, and got into bed without even bothering to brush my teeth.
My body ached all over and I felt even worse inside. Instead of gracefully dealing with holiday angst like the intelligent rational woman I was supposed to be I decided to drive up to my friend's parent's house when I didn't really even want to. I just got tired of being bored. So now I was stuck miles from both L.A. and Sacramento until at least after Christmas and once my car was fixed I had nothing to go home to other than a big hassle with the other driver's insurance company.
I sniffed softly and brushed a tear off my cheek. I knew it was foolish but I felt like crap at that moment. Holidays were not supposed to be this way. Holidays were supposed to be a time when you invited your relatives over and listened to them complain about each other, decorated Christmas trees, stressed out about finding the perfect gift, and spent hours making a big lovely dinner. However it hadn't been that way for me since before I was six years old. It had been twenty one years since the last time I had just a normal Christmas. But Bristows didn't do that, Bristows either spent their lives isolated like my dad or did stupid, pre-teenish, things like me.
I drifted off to sleep wondering if next year I could get Marshall to make me some drug that would make me go to sleep until after New Year's Day.