306: Close Call

“Eyes on the road!” Roman barked.

Ever pulled back on the steering wheel just as he started drifting over the center line of the road. The doppler effect smeared the prolonged beep of the car he had just avoided.

^Whoooa!^ Mimi barked, more surprised than excited, from the inside of a portable transportation box.

“Focus!” Roman shouted. “You could have killed all of us.”

“Sorry.” Ever clenched his jaw, swallowing hard.

“Maybe I should just take care of Zoe myself,” Roman murmured, just loud enough for Ever to hear.

Ever chanced another glance at the rear view mirror; Roman was still holding Zoe’s thin hand and sitting right up against her. His knuckles whitened on the grey, fluffy steering wheel.

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Ever put Mimi’s box outside the car and opened the latch. A brown flash zipped out through the nearly knee-high grass, tongue pasted to the side of her face.

“You should consider mowing your lawn every now and then,” Roman chided as he got out from the back of the car. “It’ll make pushing the wheelchair through it a lot easier.”

Not acknowledging the statement, Ever opened the back of Zoe’s car and pulled the wheelchair out. He managed to set it up after fiddling with it for thirty seconds or so. Pushing it to the side of the car Zoe sat in, he carefully opened the door. Roman withdrew his arm around her shoulder, not in any particular hurry.

“Stand a bit closer,” Roman ordered as he got out of the other side of the car. “I can carry her into the wheelchair.”

“She can try moving onto it herself,” Ever said. “Her legs aren’t jerking at the moment.”

“Are you serious?” Roman said, coming around the back of the car. “She’s pregnant, for God’s sake! If you don’t want to do it, just say–”

“I… try…” the words were a touch above a whisper, but both men fell silent when Zoe uttered them. Ever adjusted the wheelchair so that it was pushed up right up against the car. She pressed her shaky hands into the car seat, slowly shuffling across. Hesitating briefly, she launched herself and landed on her seat, a little squeak coming out of her. Roman’s hands hovered as if he wanted to pick her up by the arm pits and sling her over his shoulder. Ever just watched as she scooted back until she pressed herself against the backrest.

“I knew you could do it,” Ever said gently. He gave her shoulders an encouraging squeeze through her thick jacket. Zoe raised her left hand and after some effort, gently placed it on Ever’s where it rested on her right shoulder. His own left hand went to the handle of the wheelchair to steer. Every time it got caught on the overgrown grass, he thrusted the wheelchair forward with his hips.

“Could you help me get Zoe’s stuff?” Ever called from over his shoulder. Roman might have answered; he didn’t really care for his response. Unlocking and pushing the door open, seeing Mimi panting happily, things felt the rightest that they had felt in weeks.