A Long Way from Home

 

THEY OPENED ALL the windows as they approached the state line. Dad turned the radio way up—it didn’t matter what song it was, just that it was loud and up-tempo—and as they passed the sign that read WELCOME TO OREGON, Odette’s parents and brother broke into cheers and laughter. Rex hoisted Paul, who had been sleeping in his lap, into the air. He pumped Paul’s tiny ferret fist and yelled, “Freedom!”

Everyone laughed, even Odette, and with the cold fresh air hitting her face, with Rex’s face so full of joy, with her parents’ happiness so palpable, Odette felt happy too, and free, in spite of herself.

And then she turned and looked behind her, out the Coach’s back window, across the highway. There, in the distance, was another sign, meant for the drivers heading the other way: WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA. And Odette watched that sign shrink and shrink until it disappeared.