Of Wilderness and Wolves

1. New City, Old Habits

“Are we there yet?” Devon whined. 

We weren't even close to our destination. Honestly, I couldn't blame him for getting tired of staying still in a seat for hours. I glance at the GPS directing us to our new home in Emerald View. 

“We have a lot more drive, bud, but it'll be all worth it once we get to the house.” I reminded Devon.  

Akari shifted over in the passenger seat, wearing an irritated expression. “I still don't see how accepting some job here will pay you better than any other back in LA.” She grumbled. 

I shook my head, wearing a small smile in spite of her mood. “This position is for an up and coming tech company, so I'm almost guaranteed a longer career here.” 

“I know the move is drastic, but the neighborhood is amazing, the school district is rated really high, and this job is easy money!” I explained. 

Things had been rough these past few years for Akari. I knew that while she was okay with the move, she sincerely wanted to stay in LA for obvious reasons. She grew up there; it's where she made her life-long friends and where we buried her mom. 

I gave as much support as I could following the funeral, but Maria's death and Devon's needs had made Akari understandably bitter.

She buried me in mountains of flak for accepting the job offer and gave me so much more sass for going through with the move to Oregon.

“How much could they possibly pay for you to move us here?” Akari scowled, keeping her focus on the road. 

I took another look at her, noting how her folded arms made her look more prickly than usual. That was always a sign of her debate team habits coming to bat in an argument.

Oh, she's ready to battle, huh? 

I straightened up in my seat, confident in my argument abilities. “To answer the question, this gig pays me ninety-six grand a year, with a ten grand sign-on bonus.” 

“Ten grand? That's just over ten percent of your salary.” She scoffed, glaring daggers at me out of the corner of her eye. 

“Baby, that's still 10 grand in my pocket! I didn't take this job in particular for no reason.” I rebate, checking on Devon in the rear view mirror. 

He was starting to doze off, which gave me a little peace of mind for the drive ahead. 

“Ten grand isn't even a month's worth of expenses in this economy.” Akari retorted, staring ahead at the road with contempt. 

“Ma'am, do you pay bills?” 

“...No.”  

“Do you buy groceries?” 

“No…” 

“Do you pay for gas to put in a car?” 

“I used to. Back when I had a car.” Akari hissed, cutting her eyes at me.

I shake my head, scoffing at my daughter and her attitude. She may have been born with her mother's features, but she definitely had my mouth…

It's wonderful that I contributed something, at least.

“The point is, you don't quite pay for enough stuff to know our expenses, Akari.” I sigh, chuckling more now that her words sunk in. 

The car is silent for a moment, with the only sound coming from the car as we drove down the tree-lined road. 

Akari broke the silence with a question. “Ten grand… it'll cover us?” She asked in a small voice. 

I want to laugh because it seems like a stupid question. Yet, I knew that for a while, Akari grew up in an environment where we lived paycheck to paycheck back then. She wasn't asking out of fear but out of experience.