Running from Wolves | Sally Face

Prologue: Another Move

September 14th, 1994

I rested my forehead against the window, staring idly at the passing scenery while my mom fiddled with the radio. So far all the channels were blasting static garble, barely drowning out the very interesting argument between the two children in the backseat.

"Jay you're making her ugly!" An indignant shout from the seat directly behind mine.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Glitterpie would definitely wear blue instead of yellow."

"No she wouldn't! Jay you're dumb."

"I know you are but what am I?" A mocking retort followed by a loud raspberry.

This is riveting.

"Settle down you two, and don't call your brother dumb." Our mom gently scolded while gazing into the rear-view mirror, fixing both the kids with a stern look. "Besides, Miss Glitterpie would only be seen wearing red, anything else would be far too garish." She continued with a wry smile.

"Personally I think she's a pink kind'a lady." I added, looking over my shoulder and grinning at the two. My younger brother, Jay, was smiling until his eyes met mine. The smile fell off his face as he looked out the window, his stare hard.

Ouch.

"What does garish mean?" The youngest, Maria, questioned while studying the glitter pony in her hand. She was rubbing the pony's sparkly skirt between her fingers, undecided what new clothing she wanted to dress it with.

I smiled at her fondly, "it means ugly, sweetheart." Maria looked up at me and considered the new word for a few beats. "Ohh.. Okay!" And immediately she turned towards Jay and yelled to my ever-growing delight, "Jay you're garish!"

"Maria!" Mom scolded as I burst out a laugh that was damn-near a cackle, closing my eyes as I hit my head against my seat.

"What the hell! Maria take that back!" Jay yelled back, fighting off a laugh of his own. I laughed even harder as our mom started to scold Jay for his language, the sounds of their argument drowning out as I clutched at my stomach.

As my laugh subsided I focused in on the radio, picking up where Mom left off as I tried to find a channel that had somewhat of a decent connection. Several channels later I was blessed with coherent sound, finally getting close to whatever frequencies worked here.

"Oh Rowan, get some good music playing!" Mom glanced at me without moving her head from facing the road, a smile on her face as she whispered conspiratorially. "We can enjoy some tunes while those two play ponies."

I felt a smile creep on my face, I could tell she knew I was nervous about this new move. We all were, except for maybe Maria who seemed to go with the flow despite her being only seven. Jay was... Upset, to say the least, and I couldn't help but feel guilty for this move.

If only I was more careful we wouldn't-

My mom quickly reached over and flicked me on the nose, making me yelp as I recoiled back, nearly hitting my head on the window. "What- What was that for!" I held my hand over my nose in disbelief.

"Because I know what you're thinking, and what you're thinking is wrong." Her voice was firm, sure of herself in a way that only a mother could be, but her tone was lowered so the kids wouldn't hear. "Everything is going to be okay, we were going to have to move anyway so don't mope."

She flicked her gaze to the rearview mirror again before adding softly, "I hate seeing you sad."

Her right hand rested on my, apparently, clenched fist, gently prying my hand open and rubbing her thumb across my knuckles.