Page 13 of Slayer Mom
“What was that for?” Wat yelled, rounding around on him.
Hazen sighed and the other first-class passengers pretended not to notice us.
“Keep it down, Wat. Lock, shall I sit between the two of you? That does sound companionable. I won’t get any father son bonding for a few months. Wat, move.”
Hazen stood, and so did Wat, taking the seat on the aisle across from me. He shot me a sullen look that sent a pang through my chest. He’d gotten so difficult seemingly overnight.
“Are you still excited about boarding school?”
“Not that you care.”
Hazen put his arm around Wat’s shoulder and squeezed. “You will be polite.”
Wat sighed and some of the anger eased out of him. “Sure. It’ll be a lot of fun, but I’ll miss you.”
It sounded so rehearsed. Had Lock or Hazen coached him on what to say? I almost reached for his hand, but then adjusted my jacket instead. He did not need zombies at his new school. “I appreciate that. I hope that you feel better about things.”
“Are you going to keep hiding in your closet?”
“Maybe.”
“Why?” He turned his big blue eyes on me, piercing.
I was glad I had the sunglasses on. “Sometimes when things are changing too quickly, it’s nice to have a small space to stay in where you can brace yourself against each wall. Maybe I’ll build a closet in the closet. It’s still too big.” That was an idea. How much would a steel cage cost? I could lock myself in at night. Maybe silver would be better, but just imagine the expense. Would it be more or less expensive than a car?
“Dad is worried about you.”
“That’s strange. He doesn’t usually worry, just moves us to a more secure location.”
“You could move to the boarding school with us, work in the cafeteria or something.”
I shook my head and pulled out a romance novel I’d grabbed in the shop where I’d gotten the pumpkin spice chai. “I’d like that, but I’m sure all the people there have cooking degrees. I could go to cooking school.” I opened the book to the first page and stared at it while my mind spun. It would be too awkward to stop at the hotel for a shower before we went to the school, but I should bathe every twelve hours. The plane ride was three and a half, then driving from the airport to the school… I calculated in my head and tried to relax. I should be fine. Everything should be fine. I was just stressing out a bit.
“Do you want to have dinner with the headmaster?” Hazen asked, leaning forward to look at me past Wat.
“That might be a good idea. Maybe after we get the boys settled into the school, and then get into the hotel, then we could go out for dinner with him.”
“If you’d like.” He sat back and I exhaled the breath I’d been holding for some reason.
“I thought you hated romance as much as horror,” Wat said after a few minutes.
That reminded me to turn the page. “I’ve been trying new things lately.”
“Shouldn’t you wait until after we’re gone to have your midlife crisis?”
“Probably, but no one thinks to schedule these things in advance. Also, that was rude, Wat. Don’t be rude. Last warning.”
He rolled his eyes and flopped back in his seat, stretching out his legs as far as they could go and dislodging the bag of the passenger in front of him.
I closed my eyes and tried to relax, but I couldn’thelp but go over worst-case scenarios. What if zombies were on this plane? Where would they hide? How would they strike? How could I save myself and my children without any weapons? Maybe I could break off the folding tray in front of me. That would provide a good blunt side and a narrow edge that would work for decapitation. How would I hold it? I’d need something to grip it with. I ran my hands over the metal, checking it for tactile grip, and passed the rest of the incredibly stressful plane ride in a similar way.
By the time we came down for a landing, I was mostly hyperventilating, but quietly. We got off the plane and exited through the airport, which was very small, and did not have any seasonal pumpkin drinks. Good thing I still had half of my first one.
“Can I take that?” Hazen asked, like he’d heard me thinking about it.
I put it to my chest protectively. “I’m fine.”
Hazen gave me a look that I tried not to really take in. It helped that I was wearing sunglasses. “All right. I’m sure we can find you more pumpkin spice something while we’re here. You don’t need to carry around the cold one.”
