Snippet #1789568

“Yui, brush my hair please?” Helen Porter crawled across the rocking wagon to the woman. Snuggling into her lap, the five year old giggled. Daiyu smiled down at the girl and slowly ran a brush through her soft blonde locks.

Melanie Porter was attempting to get Patrick to finish putting his shirt on but to no avail. “Patrick, you must put this on...now, please.” The exasperation in her voice made harsher by the woman’s exhaustion. Melanie had spent most of the night in a quiet argument with her husband. Quiet enough that the children did not hear but Daiyu did. Melanie had again been questioning her husband as to what he hoped to accomplish by dragging them all on this journey. Daiyu had been wondering the same thing but it was not her place to question.

The wagon was in a steady rock as Nathan Porter made the horses follow the rest. He was following behind the Reverand’s wagon.
As Daiyu tied the little girl’s hair back with a ribbon, they all jostled. Nathan brought the wagon to an abrupt stop. Melanie, already annoyed, “Why in heaven’s name are we stopping?” Giving up on the half dressed seven year old she climbed forward to see out the front.

Nathan’s calm voice met his wife’s hard stare. “Horse has a stone. It's faltering. Would you rather I leave it and let it make us lag behind more? Or tip us?.” Melanie scowled. "It's always something." Nathan climbed down to check on the state of the horse. It wasn't terrible, pebble and he had caught it early. There would be no damage done but they were a little further behind the rest now.

In the back of the wagon, Daiyu set the little girl to playing with her doll and holding up Patrick’s shirt, helped the boy get into it. Without his mother there nagging him, Patrick quickly dressed and even let Daiyu fix his messy hair. He smiled at the Chinese woman. “Thank you Yu.” Daiyu nodded to him, a small smile on her lips.

She picked up the mending. Threading the needle she began on the task. Patrick had a large rip in the leg of a pair of his pants. With small and graceful stitches, Daiyu worked. She began to sing softly to the children and to herself as she worked on the mending. She had gotten good at doing it while the wagon was moving but it was always easier when they were stopped.

The children were still happily playing and generally staying out of mischief. Nathan climbed back aboard and the wagon began moving again to fall in with the rest. Daiyu sang, her mind on the material in front of her. Her ears were listening though.

“We need to settle someplace, you can’t expect the children to live like this, and what about me? “ Melanie’s voice was a harsh whisper in an attempt to keep the children from hearing. Nathan didn’t keep his voice down however. “It is fine. You think we are the only family? Look at them all. It isn't just us. Mel, love, just a little longer and we can see what comes of this. I promise it’s for the best.” Nathan gave his wife a soft look. The woman scoffed slightly.

Daiyu cast her eyes to the front. She could barely see out the front. Daiyu kept singing. The wagon kept moving.