The Broken Road

I looked at the rear view mirror at my sleeping brother, slumped in the car seat asleep with drool at the corner of his mouth in the back of our Ford Escape.  The drive from Albany, New York to Bridgeport, West Virginia was long, and a six year old could only be entertained by I Spy and “Are we there yet” for so long. I was proud of him though, eight hours in a car is a long time and we were at the home stretch, almost though Maryland. Six o’clock traffic was slow, and we were making good time.

“Gilly, I have to potty” Came Tyler’s groggy voice.

“Next exit buddy, okay? Are you hungry? “I looked at the rear view mirror again.

“Otay, McDonalds? “ Tyler had recently started a phase when McDonalds was his go to place.

 I changed lanes and got off of the next exit, following the signs for McDonalds and the Mobile Station and luck was on my side, they were in the same rest area.  Pulling into the parking lot and snagging a spot in the front I parked and unbuckled Tyler from his car seat. As I carried him into the building it was refreshing not to hear whispers or see those looks of sympathy. I went to walk into the ladies room when Tyler tugged my hair.

“Gillian!” he whined” I’m a boy; I can use the big boy potty!” He stated firmly with a pout, little arms crossed. It was hard to suppress a laugh.

“Okay Ty, I will wait for you right here, go do your business.” He grinned and walked into the bathroom as I propped myself against the wall. After a moment two elderly women exited the ladies room and by the way their expressions changed I knew they recognized me. They both shot that look of pity that I was growing to hate before they walked away, but I was still in ear shot for part of their conversation.

“Wasn’t that Gillian Sullivan, the daughter of those two lawyers in New York who were hit by that girl texting and driving? “ The graying brunette said to the woman with salt and pepper locks.

“yes, the poor dear, I read she is taking care of her brother as his guardian now, the girl has her whole life ahead of her and is now practically a mother.” The other woman replied as they walked to the coffee dispenser.

This is why I made the choice to move us to the vacation home mom and dad bought and fixed up when I was young, thankfully they both had life insurance policies and trust funds, so Tyler and I weren’t buried under debt, we could live comfortably and I didn’t have to touch my, or Tyler’s college funds to move, or handle funeral arrangements. It helped that both sets of grandparents were sending me money monthly, wanting to help, but understanding that I wanted to raise Tyler myself, like my parents had stated in their will. I was broken out of my thoughts by a small hand tugging me towards the golden arches.

“I want a happy meal, and a chocolate shake, and French fries, and onion rings, and chicken nuggets, and a hamburger” Tyler was rattling off just about everything on the menu.

“Ty, if you eat all that you’ll get sick. How about a chicken nugget happy meal with a small chocolate shake, apple slices and we can share an order of fries?” Tyler absently nodded his head as he stared at the toy display, there was Power Rangers for the boys, and My Little Pony for the girls. I ordered a ten piece nugget and water for me, as well as Tyler’s happy meal, and a medium order of French fries. We ate in silence on those colorful plastic chairs as I watched Tyler eat and play with his Green Ranger. Before we knew it Tyler and I were back on the road, almost home, the sun was setting and the summer air was slowly cooling. I pulled into the driveway, not yet having the automatic door opener for the garage and parked.

“Tyler, we’re he—“I stopped, looking at the very tuckered out boy in the backseat and smiling softly. Car rides knocked me out too when I was young. I got out of the car and stretched, my shirt riding up my mid-section slightly, startled when I heard wolf whistles. Rolling my eyes I opened the back door and the wolf whistled soon turned into hushed talking as I pulled Tyler out of the back seat and carried his into the house.

Let’s just hope they all aren’t neighbors I thought to myself as I watched what I counted to be five guys around my age, between seventeen and twenty jump off the porch and head into the woods. Pushing those thoughts aside I walked into the three bedroom, two bath Cape Cod, walked up the stairs, and tucked my brother into his bed, making sure to bring his shoes downstairs with me. All the time oblivious to the many pairs of yellow eyes watching the house.