Luna frowns, squinting out the front window of her miserable minivan.

Too bright.

Autumn in Alaska- it was always too bright outside.

Cotton clouds drifted before her, framed by an arctic blue sky. Bright beams of the golden sunlight shone down through Luna’s front windshield as she sped along the two lane road that spanned the entire town of Birch Run. A kaleidoscope of colors flashing by in a blur of tree trunks, leaves, and branches.

Luna reached for a pair of sunglasses, her eyes catching a glimpse of the time.

3:42.

She pressed her heeled boot down onto the gas pedal and pulled the sunglasses on with a curse.

“Shit.” 

She’d promised Allegra, promised her a dozen times, that she wouldn’t be late again…

“Well,” Luna thought encouragingly as she choked down a deep calming breath, “the school is only ten…maybe five minutes away…”

She wouldn’t be that late.

Luna’s phone rang from where it sat in her cupholder- the vibrations rattling the phone violently against the hard plastic siding. She jumped in her seat at the sound, then scooped down a hand to quickly glance at the caller ID.

Landon Klein.

Landon?

Why would he be calling right now?

Luna answered with a flick of her finger; her phone’s Bluetooth connecting immediately to her minivan’s sound system and filling the car with Landon’s deep, strangely muffled voice.

“Luna…? Where are you??”

Luna’s throat tightened.

Had Allegra’s school already called him?

Why would they do that?  

Luna gripped the wheel. It was that new front desk person, the one who’d chewed her head off for forgetting to fill out the online volunteer form for the fourth time since Allegra had entered Kindergarten. She’d had it out for Luna this whole year, calling in “concern,” anytime Luna was the teensiest bit late.

Luna fought to keep any hint of frustration out of her tone.

“I’m almost to the school, I’ll be there in five minutes at the-”

Landon interrupted, his voice ringing with blatant irritation.

“Ok… but did you forget to get Calvin? His daycare has called me three times and I just had to step out of an appointment…”

Oh God.

Luna slammed her hand on the steering wheel as she cursed out loud.

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit!”

Landon’s disappointed sigh filled the car.

“Ok, got it. So you did forget him. Again.”

Luna pressed even harder on the gas, bringing her speed from fifty to sixty as she rushed to explain.

“I’m so sorry. Seriously, Landon- so sorry. It’s just that my last showing was with a new client and first they wanted to meet at two, but then two became two thirty and then two-thirty became three…”

Landon interrupted.

“Ok, but Lu- this is the third time this month. We can’t keep paying the late pick-up fee. It’s three dollars a minute. Last month we paid over four hundred in late pick-up fees for Calvin’s daycare.”

 Landon was silent for a moment, then continued.

“Maybe we could just sign him up for after school care too.”

Luna shook her head to no one.

She couldn’t do that, anything but after school care. Not when her sister managed her restaurant full time while being mother of the year.

What would everyone think?
What would their mother think?

“No!” Luna yelled out, then stopped and started again. Calmer this time.

“No. I can get him. I’ll be better about my time. I’m five minutes away from Allegra’s school now so could you maybe just call the daycare and tell them I’ll be there in twenty minutes?

The line was silent again.

Luna’s shoulders slumped. She knew Landon was thinking of his waiting patient.

She bit her lip and went on.

“Will that give you enough time or-”

Landon spoke up.

“No, no it’s fine, I’ll call the daycare and then head back in. And I can explain to my patient. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

Luna frowned.

Her hands tightened on the wheel.

Yes, they would understand…whoever they were...

Everyone was always so understanding of brilliant, local legend Landon and his fluttery, absent-minded wife Luna.

Luna smiled weakly as she came to the stoplight before Allegra’s school.

“Ok, well I’m just about to pull in. Again, I’m sorry Landon.”

Fatigue lined the edges of Landon’s voice as he interrupted again.

“We can talk about it later Lu. Just…slow down…ok?”

Another pause on his end.

Landon’s voice was cautious now.

“And are you sure you can handle getting Calvin today?”

Luna nodded as she took her turn to interrupt, her too large sunglasses bouncing on her face.

“No, no I got him. You just call the daycare, and we’ll see you when you get home tonight.”

Landon interrupted again.

“You remember about tonight, right? No problems there?”

Luna gritted her teeth.

Of course, she remembered.

How could she forget?

She was always being forced to celebrate her perfect sister.

Perfect Vanessa and her perfect…

…everything.

Luna forced her face into a smile- a trick she’d learned in real estate. Somehow, smiling on the phone translated to a friendlier tone of voice.

It worked every time, and Luna did it a lot.

“Yes, of course I remember. I’ll get the kids ready, and we’ll be all set to go when you get home.”

The light changed to green, and Luna turned left into Allegra’s school’s parking lot.

Birch Run Elementary.

The same elementary school Luna had attended, and Landon, and Vanessa and…well, everyone in this one school town.

Luna paused with a huff at the parking lots stop sign and watched as a woman in her mid-twenties use the crosswalk in front of her, the woman’s arms laden with books.

The woman stopped and moved her books to one arm to flex her hand in a brief, staccato of a wave to Luna. The woman smiled broadly.

Luna smiled a forced smile and waved back in exasperation to Marjorie.

Once Luna’s classmate, Marjorie was now Allegra’s librarian.

As soon as Marjorie reached the sidewalk Luna dropped both her hand and smile.

Sometimes Birch Run was such a small town it made her want to scream.

Landon’s voice broke through Luna’s train of thought like an ice pick.

“Luna? Are you still there?”

Luna spoke in bursts as she moved her minivan up to the school’s pick-up curb.

“Yes…sorry I’m here…and I’m just pulling up to the school…so I’d better go…we’ll see you at home, ok?”

Landon’s voice filled the car a final time.

“Ok. See you at home. Love you.”

Luna breathed out a frustrated sigh, then glanced down to her phone, still in its cupholder, her finger reaching to hang up.

Her body lurched- stomach then chest then neck then head- as the sound of impacting metal and plastic filled the air around her.

The din of her minivan crashing into the black SUV in front of her.