The boys were already loading the rented SUV with our meager belongings. Maze took up the entire back of the vehicle even with the third row seats folded down.
I was the last one out of the house. I locked the door behind me, climbed into the SUV full of Y-chromosomes and took one last hard look at my home. Would I be back soon? Will anything have changed in my absence? Did I leave the light on in the pantry? Ugh. I had to force myself to stop worrying about every little thing.
One step at a time, Meg. First we get to town, and I get on the plane. That was scary enough because A) I’d never been to town and B) I’d never been on a plane. What if I hurled? I looked back at the boys. They were both staring out their windows with their arms crossed and faces skewed with worry. I imagine they’re just as anxious as I am. They’ve never done anything like this before, either. We were all taking a huge leap of faith.
As for Maze, he was sound asleep, snoring. On one hand, I was glad he was handling the car ride and the stranger so well, on the other hand, his nonchalance was getting on my nerves!
The look on the ticket agent’s face when he saw Maze was priceless! I seriously had to stifle my laughter because the poor fellow looked as though he added some decorative spots to his shorts. All Maze did was yawn in the agent’s direction. So he has a lot of teeth! He’s a coyote, for goodness’ sake!
That scene finally broke the chip that had been hanging out on Alik’s shoulder since morning. He was laughing so hard he got hiccups.
Evan wanted desperately to read the pilot’s manual while we were in the air. At first the pilot thought he was a quirky smart little kid, so he handed over the four inch thick guide with a shrug and a smile. He didn’t find it nearly so cute when Evan walked into the pilot’s cockpit and informed them that their dials weren’t all indicating the precise readings they ought to be and in essence, they were doing it wrong.
All I’ve got to say is, maybe we should rent an SUV from Dallas on the return trip. I’m pretty sure this small commuter airline would remember us—what with our huge coyote and smart-alecky brainchild.
I had never seen so many people in one place as I did when we walked off the plane and into Dallas Fort Worth International airport. It was huge. People swarmed everywhere! And all the different kinds of people, too! There were so many hair colors and styles, clothing, languages and accents.
And the smells! I didn’t even know what all of them were, but the aromas wafting from all the different shops, restaurants and vendors were dizzying! I was on some kind of sensory overload.
I kept looking over at my brothers desperately needing to exchange sympathetic looks of “Oh my goodness, what is all this!” But they were too engrossed in their own sensory overloads to notice boring ol’ Meg.
I’ll tell you what people noticed about us, but I bet you can guess.
Yep, Maze. I sat with him on a little golf cart-like thing and held his kennel while we zoomed past pedestrians. It was good someone else was driving, because by the time we stopped I was completely lost. If someone told me they would give me a hundred dollars if I could point to where north was I’d have to walk away empty handed.
I said as much to Alik and he looked at me like I was nuts. “What do you mean you don’t know which way is north? It’s over there.” He pointed casually toward what looked like a random wall. Sure it was, I thought. And how would I prove him wrong, I ask you? My point, exactly. I couldn’t.
Chapter 11 Some Q and A
The flight from Dallas to Kansas City was on a much bigger plane. Quieter too. I finally had time to try to get some answers from the good doctor. I knew we were strapped into these seats for the duration, so I started firing away. “How well do you know my mom?”
A shadow moved across his face as his eyes darted down. “She was my best friend for a long time. We met in college, she told you that much. Then we got hired by the same company after graduation. We were still friends for several years, but eventually we fell out of touch. She knew I would always be there for her, and she for me. Time just started slipping by too fast and our lives got busy. Then she moved away, and I focused on my medical career. We lost track of each other.” He sighed deeply and kept looking at his hands as if there was some clue to life buried there. I felt a wave of pity for him, but didn’t know why.