The Smile Express
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I was a little surprised to find that the first thing I did when we got back from our trip to the mall took a shower. It wasn’t like I hadn’t had one since we’d gotten home, but it was still nice to have one now. The water felt good on my skin and washed away some of the dirt and sweat from the day before.
After all that time in the sun, my hair looked even more ridiculous than usual—it was almost as if someone had given me an afro made out of straw. When I stepped into the kitchen after drying off, I found Dad sitting at the table with his laptop open, looking over something. He smiled up at me when he saw me, then went back to whatever he was doing.
“What’s going on?” I asked him. “Did you get any work done while we were gone?”
He shook his head. “No,” he said. “We’re not supposed to be working today.”
I frowned. “Why not? We just came back from being out all day yesterday, so shouldn’t we be able to do stuff today too?”
Dad shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter what we do,” he said. “But we’ve been told that we should try to spend most of this week resting up for the next big push.”
“Oh,” I said. “So we can go back to school tomorrow?”
My dad nodded. “Yeah, probably. But don’t worry about your homework or anything like that until Sunday night. You’ll need to focus on getting better rested instead.”
That sounded reasonable enough. So much had happened lately that I could see why my parents might want us to take a break. They didn’t seem worried about me though; they seemed more concerned with everyone else.
As long as I took care of myself, they wouldn’t worry about me either. That was fine by me. If I was going to make it through everything we needed to accomplish, I would need to be strong.
When I finished my shower, I changed into fresh clothes and headed upstairs to check on Mom and Molly. My mom was lying down in her room, reading something she’d brought from downstairs.
She glanced up when I opened the door, but she didn’t say anything. Molly was sitting in the middle of the floor playing with one of those dolls that talked. She turned to look at me, then went back to making funny faces at the doll.
“Hey,” I said. “How are you guys feeling?”
Molly shrugged. “Okay,” she said. “A little tired, maybe.”
She always acted like she couldn’t understand questions like that. Like she thought we were asking how many times she’d been sick recently or something. At least she wasn’t acting weirdly strange anymore. Maybe she was finally starting to feel better.
“You know,” I said. “If you think you’re ready, we could go outside again today. Just for a little while.”
Molly smiled. “Sure,” she said. “Can we ride bikes?”
I nodded. “As long as you promise to stay close to me, yeah. And no running around without me.”
“Gotcha,” she said.
I picked up the bike that had been leaning against the wall near the stairs. It was pretty beat up, but I figured it would do the job. Molly ran over to me and held onto the handlebars as I pushed her toward the front door.
Once we were there, I locked it behind us and walked down to where Dad was standing. He handed me a helmet and I put it on. Then we both climbed on our bikes and started pedaling.
There weren’t too many people out on the street yet. Most of them were probably still sleeping off their hangovers. A few others were walking along, but none of them paid any attention to us. There were two girls riding bicycles ahead of us, but we passed each other without any problems. The rest of the neighborhood was quiet. We rode past the park and kept heading north.
After another half mile, we reached the end of our block. The road curved left and then led right into the woods. We followed the path as it twisted its way between the trees. The forest was mostly dark under the canopy of leaves, but the sunlight filtered through here and there, casting shadows across the ground.
Birds chirped in the branches above us. Squirrels scurried from tree to tree. All of it felt peaceful.
We rode for a couple miles, following the trail until it ended at a small clearing. The grassy area stretched out before us, surrounded on three sides by thick green bushes and trees. In the center of the space stood a large oak tree. It looked old and sturdy, with gnarled roots spreading out beneath it.
The air smelled clean and crisp. It made me smile. This was exactly what I needed after all that had happened. After all that we had lost.
I stopped my bike in front of Molly. “This is it,” I said. “Welcome to the new home of the Fowl Manor.”
Molly hopped off her bike and ran to hug me. She buried her face in my chest and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and squeezed back.
“Thanks,” she said. “For bringing me here.”
“Of course,” I said. “You deserve it.”
Molly pulled away and wiped some tears from her eyes. “Do you think this will work?” she asked. “Will we be safe here?”
“Safe from what?” I said. “From the bad guys?”
Molly shook her head. “Not just the bad guys,” she said. “Everything. From the monsters and the demons. From the Dark Ones. Even from the gods themselves.”
“Well, we can’t really stop them from doing whatever they want,” I said. “But we’ll be able to protect ourselves now.”
Molly frowned. “Protect yourself?”
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s not like we have any weapons to fight them with.”
“Weapons?” Molly repeated. “What kind of weapons? What about your bow and arrows?”
I grinned. “That’s right. You remember.”
Molly gave me an uncertain look. “Um… yeah.”
“And your swords,” I continued. “Those were pretty good, too.”
“They were?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “You used them well.”
Molly smiled. “Really?”
“Definitely,” I said. “So did you bring them with us?”
She nodded. “In the backpack.”
“Good,” I said. “Then we should get going. We don’t want to waste any time getting settled in.”
***
By the time we got everything unpacked and organized, it was late afternoon. I set up the tent in the middle of the clearing and then laid out the sleeping bags inside. Molly helped me carry in a couple blankets and pillows so we could sit comfortably while we talked.
I also brought in several books from the library, including one of those big illustrated encyclopedias. We sat on the blanket and read for a bit, but the sun soon began to sink behind the trees, making it hard to see anything.
We decided to call it quits early. I packed up the encyclopedia and the books and stowed them in the backpack. Molly grabbed her stuffed animal and tossed it into the sleeping bag with her. I crawled inside mine and lay down on top of the blankets.
Molly snuggled in beside me and rested her head against my shoulder. She closed her eyes and leaned closer. Her breath tickled my neck.
“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered.
“Hi, handsome,” she replied.
I kissed her forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” she said. “A little tired, though. And hungry.”
“Me, too,” I said. “Let’s go find something to eat.”
Molly nodded but didn’t open her eyes. Instead, she pressed herself close to me. We stayed that way for a long moment, listening to the wind rustling through the leaves overhead.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Molly finally asked. “With the whole camping thing?”
“Sure,” I said. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because…” Molly hesitated. “I mean because it feels different than before.”
I stroked her hair. “Different how?”
“Like it’s more real,” she said. “More important.”
“Important?” I repeated.
Molly sighed and turned over onto her side. She curled up against me again, resting her cheek against my chest. “Just promise me you won’t leave me alone here,” she said.
“Never,” I promised.
“Okay,” she said. “Now let’s sleep.”
I held her tightly until she fell asleep. Then I put my arm around her and drifted off myself.
***
When I woke up, I found Molly sitting on the edge of our sleeping bags. She was staring at the woods beyond the clearing.
“Something bothering you?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not acting like yourself.”
“I am,” Molly insisted. “I’m just thinking.”
“About?”
“The future,” she said. “I know we haven’t been together very long, but I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
“Same here,” I agreed.
“You understand me,” she said. “And I can tell you things. Things no one else knows.”
“That’s true,” I said. “But there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“There might be,” she said. “If you ever decide to move away.”
My heart sank. “Move away?”
“Maybe when you grow up,” she said. “Or if you fall in love with someone who doesn’t live nearby. Or maybe even if you meet a girl or guy and get married.”
“Married?” I repeated.
Molly nodded. “It would make sense, right? If you lived somewhere far away, you’d need to take care of your own family someday. You couldn’t always rely on your parents. So you’d have to start your own. That’s what they do in fairy tales. They get married, and then their kids come along and they raise them.”
“Right,” I said. “That makes perfect sense.”
“Yeah, but I worry about you being gone all the time,” Molly said. “I don’t want you to forget about me. Not ever.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “I’ll never leave you. No matter where I end up, I’ll be coming back home.”
“Promise?”
“Absolutely,” I said. “I swear it.”
“Good,” she said. “Now let’s go find some breakfast.”
After we ate, I took us back to town. It was still early, and the streets were mostly deserted. The only people I saw walking by were a few teenagers hurrying past the shops. I parked the car near the grocery store and carried our supplies inside, leaving Molly in the car with the doors locked.
She must have woken up while I was carrying our stuff inside because as soon as I returned, she jumped out of the car and ran toward the grocery store.
“What are you doing?” I called after her.
“Going shopping,” she yelled. “Come on!”
I followed her into the store, which was almost empty. A couple of older women sat on a bench across from the entrance, talking quietly among themselves.
“Do you think anyone will notice?” Molly asked.
“Probably not,” I said. “We’re the first customers since yesterday. Besides, everyone’s probably busy preparing for tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“Yes,” I said. “It’s Halloween.”
“Oh,” she said. “Cool.”
“So, what kind of candy should we buy?” I asked.
“Anything chocolate,” she said.
“Sounds good to me.”
As we made our way down the aisle, I picked up several boxes of chocolates. When we reached the check-out counter, I paid for the items and left the store. Molly had already disappeared ahead of me.
“Where did you go?” I asked.
“To look at the toys,” she said. “Remember, I told you about the toy shop?”
“Uh huh,” I said. “Which one?”
“The one next door,” she said. “I thought we could stop in and see if they have any new dolls.”
“Dolls?”
“Yeah, dolls,” she explained. “They sell all kinds of different ones here. Fairy tale characters, movie stars, and historical figures. And sometimes they have special limited editions. Like this one.” She held up the doll she was holding.
It looked like a little girl, dressed in an old-fashioned dress. Her hair was dark brown and curly, and her eyes were blue. “This is Cinderella,” Molly said. “From Disney.”
“Cinderella?” I repeated. “Is that really the name of her character?”
“Yep,” she replied. “That’s how they spell it. But my mom says she used to call her ‘Kitty.’ Because she was such a klutz.”
“Your mother knows about these dolls?”
“Of course she does,” Molly said. “Who wouldn’t know? My grandma has a whole collection of them. There’s Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. And Belle from Beauty and the Beast. All of the princesses. Plus all the other fairy tale girls. And there are all kinds of movies too: The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. We’ve got everything.”
“You’re kidding,” I said.
“No, seriously,” Molly insisted. “All of the major characters. Except for vampires, because they don’t exist. They’re just pretending.”
“But you believe in them?”
“Sure,” she said. “Why shouldn’t we? People have been making up stories forever. Why should we assume they’re all wrong?”
“Because we can prove some of them aren’t true,” I reminded her.
“Well, yes, but we also have proof of things that are real,” Molly countered. “Like the dinosaurs. Or the pyramids. Or the Loch Ness Monster.”
“Okay, so you believe in those,” I conceded. “And fairies and unicorns.”
“Not unicorns,” she corrected me. “Unicorn. One letter is different. A unicorn is a mythical creature. Fairies are real.”
“Fairies?”
“Yeah, fairies,” she confirmed. “There are hundreds of books written about them. You should read them sometime.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “In fact, maybe I will.”
“Really?”
“Maybe,” I said. “If I get bored enough.”
Molly smiled and turned around. “Let’s go then,” she suggested. “I’m getting hungry again.”
We walked back to the car, and Molly opened the trunk. She took out the groceries and laid them on the ground. Then she grabbed a few bags of candy and handed them to me.
“How many do we need?” she asked.
“A lot,” I said. “Take your pick.”
“Pick?”
“Just choose whatever looks best,” I said. “Whatever strikes your fancy.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll take this one.”
She held up a bag with a picture of a witch on the front. I’d never seen it before.
“What kind of candy is that?” I asked.
“It’s called a Snickerdoodle,” she replied. “My dad likes them.”
“Snickers,” I said. “Same thing.”
“Nope,” she disagreed. “These have nuts in them. And caramel. And peanuts. So they taste better.”
“Oh,” I said. “Right.”
“Do you want to carry one?” she offered. “Or would you rather hold onto it?”
“Hold onto it,” I decided.
Molly put the bag into my hand, and we climbed inside the car. I started driving us home.
The End