Ali and the Forty Butterflies

The road was dark, despite the fact that it was a highway, and Ali squinted at the pinprick of light in the distance and pushed the accelerator down a little more. The response from the back of the car was immediate.

"Ali," his wife whispered firmly, "Slow down. We have at least an hour more until we get to Chicago, right?" she glanced to her left at the little bundle of blankets, rising and falling steadily, "You'll wake up Liam if we hit a pothole."

Ali glanced back guiltily and relaxed his foot, "Sorry."

A moment of silence passed between the two before she broke it, big green eyes shining in the light of the few streetlights they did pass, only for a moment each time, like flashes of lightning.

"Ali, are we really going to be okay there? Are you sure that your brother can help us?"

"Sarah..." he trailed off for a moment. The only sound was the car rumbling beneath them and the road flying by outside the window. "It's going to be better here. And it's only temporary. Just until we save up enough to get our house back, back in Springfield—"

"I know," Sarah cut in, "I know, Ali. But your brother, he doesn't work in such a good part of the city, does he?"

Ali took one hand off the wheel and rubbed his brow before letting it fall back to its prior place and when he spoke his voice was lower and breathy, "He's got his own restaurant, love. And he said he'll let me work there for as long as it takes. That's all that matters."

Sarah sighed, "I know, hun, I know. It's just, for Liam..." She reached out and tucked a tuft of wavy black hair behind a small ear, "He's so little. It'll be hard to teach him to be...careful."

Ali took a slow breath and exhaled, a lump in his throat. He focused his gaze on the growing speck of light, ignoring the only other car on the road as it overtook him from the left.

"Yeah. I know."

---

It was easily 2AM by the time they pulled up in front of the small restaurant crammed between dozens of other small restaurants, neon sign blazing proudly the words "Cass' Chorizo House" and under that in smaller, but nevertheless fluorescent words, "Closed." The lights inside were still on though and Ali parked on the curb and beckoned Sarah to pick up Liam and follow him, his phone already out of his pocket and against his ear. They stood out in the cool autumn air and waited as the dial tone rang over and over, Sarah holding Liam, who yawned and hugged her neck tightly, burying his face in her long brown hair. Ali craned his neck to try to see inside the glass door, see whether his brother was truly at the restaurant like he had said. Cassim wasn't always very good about holding up appointments and keeping times straight in his head. He never had been.

Sure enough the restaurant seemed to be empty. The dial tone pattern didn't change and Sarah was looking at him with worried eyes now and Liam was slowly waking up a little more, eyes alert. Far off, something that sounded like a firework echoed, bouncing off the taller buildings. He tried again, dialing the number for Cassim's wife, Maya's cell phone and Sarah stood patiently by his side, speaking to Liam in hushed tones. Another cracking sound echoed in the night and Ali tapped his foot nervously, running a hand through his hair. No response from the other end of the phone, but a movement within the store caught his eye, and when he looked up, he could see a young woman with black hair in a low ponytail mopping down the stained linoleum inside. She didn't look up, committed to her task.