Snow Dance

We drive so slowly. Rhythms of sleet and snow whirl past the windows, created by passing semis to the thud of windshield wipers. Adrenaline constantly leaks into our systems and provides an intense clarity we need. I'm the AI, reponsible for keeping Bec focused as she slowly changes our position in relation to home; Amanda watches movies in the backseat

-I really, really hate night driving in snow-

not paying attention until there's a tap of the brakes, and the momentum changes. It's a macabre dance rhythm for a car, this sudden fishtailing motion, and it instantly triples our adrenaline. There's only so much you can do and suddenly the car catches and begins to spin, white darkness flying past

-it's a lot smoother than I thought it would be-

and we're unexpectedly calm--thank God, I cannot abide screaming, it makes everything worse. A bitten-off exclaimation from the backseat; I think Becca may say "oh no" as she grips the wheel and I watch the guardrail pass me on the wrong side going the wrong way

-Oh God if we go off she's the first to hit-

so I turn my head to the back and quietly snap, "Amanda, hold on." For a moment the swirls of snow appear stationary as our rotation matches their velocity, and then we stop crossways, not quite back where we started

-stopped but not safe yet what next-

and we're all in motion. I twist to look up at the semi lights flying down the hill towards us

-what are these idiots thinking, going so fast?-

and Mandy says, "They're not going to stop, they can't stop." Bec snaps "I know" and throws the car in reverse, then forward and all I can do is pretend for her that we have all the time in the world, and quietly tell her to take her time and not spin out

-c'mon Bec, gently now, good girl just like that-

and my eyes are still on the semi and he's on us, his shift into the other lane completed just as he thunders past in a spray of snow. And we're moving again into the blizzard, shaking out the adrenaline

-dang, wish I had something to do with all of this-

and off again...going home.

-thanks, Abbi, you kept them safe. I owe you my life--guess nothing's changed. I'm ok with that. Love you.-