The Child

Marie “We are almost there,” I look back in the review mirror at the toddler in the car seat screaming his head off. “Momma promises we are almost there.” Boy, is that a lie. We are probably 6 hours away from our destination. I sigh and turn on “wheels on the bus” for the thousandth time. I try not to hit my head on the steering wheel because I loathe the song. But Oliver loves it so I endure the torture. Oliver slowly stops crying and starts bouncing in his car seat. I smile at him, enjoying his goofiness. This sweet little toddler is the love of my life, my everything. I look for a rest area while we drive, wanting to get out and stretch my legs. I look at my copilot, Brutus, reaching over to scratch him under his chin. Brutus is my best friend and most trusted companion. He is a German Shepherd, the biggest one I have ever laid eyes on. He is easily 130 to 140 lbs and all muscle. Bru (the nickname I came up with) looks intimidating as hell, but has the sweetest disposition. He is gentle and goofy, yet fierce when he needs to be. He is amazing with Oliver. They are thick as thieves. They easily outsmart me with their tricks, working together with some unspoken communication. I look out the window searching for anywhere to stop for a rest. I see a road sign and sigh again. 10 miles till rest area, the sign reads. “10 more miles, boys!” I try to sound as cheery as possible. We have been on the road for hours, with nothing but flat land and corn fields. Man, Ohio is boring. I am so glad to be leaving that Godforsaken state. Our destination, the mountains of North Carolina. I was ready for a change. I found a beautiful cabin for sale in the mountains, spending most of my money on it. Thankfully I had enough left over to live off of for a couple months without needing a job. I plan on finding one as soon as possible though just to keep myself sane. “Yum yums!” Oliver yells from the back seat and gives me an expectant look with his big blue eyes. I look in the review mirror and smirk, flicking my finger. It starts raining Goldfish into Ollie’s lap. He loves that trick and giggles uncontrollably, trying to catch them in his hand. I smile, watching the child entranced by my magic through the rear view mirror. “Yum yums!” He shouts again while giggling. At least that will keep him occupied for a while. Brutus jumps to the back seat and waits for Ollie to hand him some of his goldfish as always. I sit there running my fingers through my curly platinum blond hair, feeling the need to shower desperately. Sadly, it will be a while before I can fulfill that need. I finally see the off ramp for the rest stop, smiling. We pull up to the rest stop, and I park my Subaru. I get out and stretch. I go get Oliver out of his car seat then let Bru jump out to take care of business. Thankfully we are alone so I don’t leash Brutus. He is hard to manage with a wiggling toddler on my hip. Bru sniffed around a tree, then does his thing. It is bright sunny and warm out. Perfect for having lunch on the grass. I grab a blanket from the trunk while balancing Oliver. Brutus seemed to have scouted out the perfect spot and was laying down patiently waiting for us. I swear sometimes he is human, he almost always knows what to do without being asked. I guess it’s comes with the breed. I lay the blanket down and set Ollie down, “Bru, watch him, I’ll be right back.” Almost as if he understands, he gets up, sitting right next to Ollie, watching his every move. I run back to the car, grabbing the bag with our lunches and Brutus’s water bowl. I get back to the blanket, and Ollie is sitting there grabbing Brutus’ ear gently. I give Oliver his lunch and fill up Bru’s water bowl then grab my cellphone out of my back pocket. I dial my dad to let him know where we are and how the trip is going because he is a worrier. “Hello?” My dad says. “Hey dad, I just wanted to let you know we stopped at a rest stop and are about 6 hours away.” “That’s great! How is the drive? Is Ollie doing alright? How’s Brutus handling the trip?” He fires off question after question. “The drive is boring, thankfully we are starting to see some hills and should be getting to see some mountains in about an hour. Ollie is restless as usual. He really doesn’t like long car trips. I swear if I hear another child’s song for the rest of the trip I am going to lose my mind. Brutus is handling it well, he is enjoying all the fresh air and has behaved the whole time,” I reply. My dad chuckles. He knows how it is with Ollie and Bru. “Well dad, I am gonna let you go, I just wanted to check in and let you know we are fine. I’ll call you when we get there.” “Ok honey, I love you so much and be safe.” “Thanks dad, we will.” I hang up and look out at the scenery. Someone pulls up to the rest stop. I watch them get out of their car. I can tell it’s a man, but the sun is blocking his face. I shiver and turn my head away from the stranger trying to hide my face. “It can’t be!” I say to myself. I peek again to make sure the stranger isn’t looking at us. But he is, he is staring at us. “Ok guys, time to get moving.” I take Oliver back to the car with Brutus close behind, almost sensing my fear. I go back and grab everything as fast as I can, hurrying to the car, throwing everything in the trunk. I’ll deal with it later. I buckle in then pull out of the parking spotlight. We drive past the stranger. I laugh, all fear leaving me. I thought my ex, Damion had found us! The stranger looks almost identical to him, but I could tell it was a different person. We get on the highway and I turn on some music to feel better. But why was he staring at us? Ollie and Brutus are deep asleep in the back seat with Bru’s gigantic head on his lap. Ollie is holding his ear delicately in his little fingers almost like a security blanket. I look in the mirror, smiling. My perfect little family. I have everything I want and need in this car. The my thoughts turn to Damion, and I shiver. I knew I had to get away from him. I had to keep him away from Oliver. Damion is Oliver’s father, but I like to call him a sperm donor. We were madly in love, but then things got bad. Really bad. He would beat me, verbally abuse me, cheat on me, the list goes on. When I found out I was pregnant with Ollie, I moved back in with my dad. Pregnant at 21, broken to the point I thought I would never be whole again. All that changed when I gave birth to Oliver. The second I saw that little baby, I felt complete. He was perfect. He is the complete opposite of his father. He took after me, thankfully. The only thing he inherited from Damion were his eyes. The eyes that captivated me from the moment I met him. I sigh and try to stop thinking about him. We were headed to a new life, a new adventure. (Several hours later) We made it! I let Brutus out to go investigate our new home. Next I take Ollie out and walk up the steps of our log cabin. I am in heaven, breathing in the fresh forest air, savoring the feeling of connecting with nature. My magic starts to stir in me. I set Ollie down on the front porch which runs the length of the cabin, with a picturesque porch swing. He stands up and shakily walks to the porch swing. He pushes it, giggling. I have a feeling this is going to be one of his favorite spots. Brutus comes out from behind the house, looking proud of his inspection. He walks up the steps and sits next to me as I watch Ollie explore the front porch. The sun is starting to set, casting a beautiful warm glow around the forest. “Ok boys, let’s go see our new home!” I smile and open the front door. I grin like a little child on Christmas, so excited and proud of my purchase. I was lucky it came completely furnished since I left almost everything with my ex. The cabin had an open living room to the left and a kitchen with an island and stools to the right. Next to the kitchen were the bedrooms and bathroom. In the living room there is a gigantic fireplace surrounded by a overstuffed couch and on either side were arm chairs. In the back, a deck that overlooked the mountains with a small table and two chairs. Perfect! I couldn’t wait to drink coffee in the mornings there. I carry Ollie to the living room and set him down to check everything out. Brutus is hot on his tail make sure he is safe. I run outside and see a few logs in a pile and carry them to the fireplace. I set them in the hearth and flick my finger. The logs instantly catch and burn, leaving a warm, homey feeling. I always enjoyed feeling of my magic. Thankfully here I can practice with out interruptions. I sigh as I realize I still have to unpack and get our rooms ready for the night.