Deadly Secrets

13.

America's POV:
I looked up from my paperwork to check the time, 3:10 was displayed on the clock sitting on my desk in big red numbers. I should probably start getting around to drive to the airport, after all it should take around twenty minutes to get ready and an hour and a half to get there.  I set down my pen and got up with a sigh, turning the lights off and locking the door on my way out of my office, I can't have any of the younger kids playing in there.
I walked down the stairs to find Dixie and saw him trying to help Oklahoma with his math homework.
"Here, you just do it like this-"
"No I'm not supposed to do it like that, we have to use the method Mr. Smith taught us or we won't get full credit."
"Well that way doesn't make any sense! Math is math, why do they have to keep changing how you do it?!"
I giggled at the exchange and peaked over my brother's shoulder to view the screen of the computer which displayed the dreaded math problem, and then the scrap paper in his lap that they had been doing the work on.
"Well I think the reason you can't get it is cause you flipped a sign, both the methods look like they would work fine if you correct that," I told them.
"What? Where?" Okie asked, seemingly in disbelief that he could make such a simple mistake.
"Right there," I said, pointing to the number five, "that should be a positive five, not a negative five."
They both stared at the paper.
"I can't believe I did that," Okie said while his uncle looked like he had just been freed from hell.
"Well at least you're done now," he said.
There was a moment of quiet while my son finished his math problem, grinning triumphantly when he entered the answer into the computer and submitted his assignment.
"You need something, Ame?" my brother asked, turning his head to look me in the face.
"Yeah," I began, "it's about time to go to the airport, I need volunteers to drive... ones who won't intentionally crash the car."
His face fell almost immediately after I mentioned the airport, "Yeah, alright... how many vehicles do ya suppose we'll need?"
"Well..." I said, mentally counting up all the people and then all of seats, "I'd say... five, though I'm gonna drive the van so I doubt that the fifth one will be full."
"So we need three kids to help drive everyone."
"Yup," I responded, looking around the room for sacrifices, "Hey Tex, wanna drive to the airport with us?"
My daughter looked up from trimming her nails with her pocket knife and made eye contact with me, an indifferent expression on her face, "S'long as I don't have to drive Britain I don't mind," she said.
"Don't worry," I responded, "he'll be riding with me, can't have anyone doing something drastic 'cause he said the wrong thing."
She nodded before getting up and walking to the mud room, presumably to get her truck keys off of their hook on the wall.
"Okay, any volunteers or do I have to start picking people?" I asked everybody in the room only to get no response, I sighed, "Yaknow you'll only be driving your cousins and maybe your uncles."
This seemed to make them less uncomfortable about the idea of driving their extended family to our house. After a few seconds of hearing them murmur between themselves I got two volunteers: Ohio and Tennessee. They went to go get their keys and Dixie and I began to follow suit but were stopped by Hawaii.
"Makuahine, can I come with you pleeeease?" She said.
"Why would you wanna do that," I asked as Dixie gave her a confused look.
"I just really wanna meet grandpa, please?"
I looked at Dixie, unsure.
"Well," he said, "she'll just be with us and them, it won't really be dangerous or anything, at least, not any more than being here is."
I sighed, he's right, she won't be in much more danger there than she would be here, assuming she stays close, I guess I don't really have a good reason to not let her come other than the fact that the idea of her getting too close to Britain makes me nauseous with worry.
"Alright," I said after a moment of silent deliberation, "but, you have to stay close at all times, got it?"
She nodded vigorously and held my hand as we walked into the mud room to get the keys and out of the house.
We got to the mini parking garage that was next to the house and I stopped everyone for a moment to get a few thing straight about how we were going to go about this. I noticed my older children raise an eyebrow upon noticing Hawaii beaming up at them but offered no explanation, they seemed to figure it out rather quickly so none was needed.
"Here," I said as I gave them each a handheld radio from their place on the counter next to the garage's entrance, "we might as well get these set up so we can talk to each other in case something happens, or in case we just get bored." My suggestion was met with a few nods and noises of agreement before they all took their radios and got into their vehicles.
I could tell that they were nervous about this entire situation they were almost never this quiet about things. I don't blame them for being nervous, of course, I am too. I have no idea how this is going to turn out.
I started the van, made sure that Hawaii was in her booster seat behind me, and drove out of the garage before the others, we have a system for going out in larger groups like this, it's always in order from oldest to youngest. I saw Dixie drive out after me in his large truck, then Tennessee in his smaller pickup truck, Ohio in her jeep, and finally Texas in her truck that was almost as big as Dixie's. Man, how I miss my truck, I left it at the Virginia house because it couldn't fit as many people as the van but I miss feeling like a total badass driving my truck, you can't feel like a badass in a freakin soccer mom van.
We drove for about a half hour on backroads without speaking over the radio, Hawaii and I talked occasionally but the radio was silent. Eventually, though, we crossed over a set of railroad tracks and I just had to say something. I turned off my music and picked up the radio, pressing down on a button as I spoke.
"Hey, how do you know a train has went by?" I said, pausing a moment for effect, "It left its tracks."
I giggled at my own joke and Hawaii giggled with me as we waited for a reply.
"Really, Ame?"
"Har, har mom."
Dixie and then Ohio's voices cut into the silence over the radio in mock annoyance but I could hear amusement in their voices. I always made that joke when we crossed railroad tracks, it's almost a tradition.
We continued on driving and I told jokes periodically over the radio, I wanted to try my best to relieve some of their stress and make them laugh a little, it's the least I can do given the situation. It isn't fair to them and the only thing I can think of at the moment that would help are corny jokes. When we passed a graveyard I said, "Wanna know why they put fences around the cemeteries? It's cause people are just dyin' to get in." We passed a pizza place so I said, "Yaknow, I have a pizza joke but— nah, it's just too cheesy." We passed someone driving a Tesla so I said, "Have you heard that Teslas don't have a new car smell? They have more of an Elon Musk." We passed a Toyota dealership so I said, "Hey, what kind of car does Yoda drive? A Toyoda." We passed a farm with cows so I said, "Hey, how do you count cows? With a cowculator." And so on and so forth until we finally reached the airport.
I pulled into a parking space towards the back of the lot, about a row away from other cars, and waited for the others to pull in next to me.
"Makuahine, do you think grandpa will like me?" Hawaii asked from the back seat.
I grimaced to myself and tried to reply as positively as I could, "Of course, sweetie. What kind of grandpa would he be if he didn't?"
I turned around to face my daughter.
"Are you coming in with me or are you going to stay with you siblings?"
"Can I come in with you?"
"Of course, come on," I said as I got out of the van and walked over to open her door and help her out of the child's seat. She bounced out with plentiful energy and took my hand as we walked over to the others who were still getting out of their vehicles.
"Well, let's head in," I said to Dixie and my youngest, "I wrote down their flight number, so we should be able to find out when they are supposed to land."