Chapter 76
— Chapter 76 —
We hold a studio sale the weekend before we leave. Jam brings us burgers and hot dogs from the store. Sam donates a few cases of beer. We invite Hans and the Singhs and everyone from the bar. All of Bee’s teacher friends come by to shop too.
Aubrey and Shray sell their artwork. Sam buys the curtains Aubrey painted that we never got around to hanging up. Dr. Singh buys the photo series of Shray and Aubrey laughing in their party clothes, covered in paint. We tell him he can have them for free, but he insists. And Mr. Gioletti pays well over asking for the old window they painted to look like there’s an ostrich peering through the glass.
Shray tries to give us his share of the earnings, but we won’t take it.
“Fine, Aunt Frey,” he says, hugging me. “But I’m saving gallery fees for you when you get back.”
“I’m sorry we won’t be here for your graduation,” I tell him. “You’re my favorite nephew.” I give him the stars we made on Step’s old scrap wood. “Keep these safe, okay?”
He smiles, trying mask his sadness. “You and Aubrey are going to come visit me in Rhode Island,” he says, like it’s just settled fact. Because it is. I can’t wait to see Shray in the life he’s choosing for himself.
He makes me shake on it, and then he and Aubrey take my bike and Step’s out for a ride around the neighborhood. I watch them climb the hill in big strong strides.
I won’t take money from Carlos either. “You’ve got too many mouths to feed,” I say.
“Oh, Freyalina!” He holds my face in his hands and kisses me on the forehead.
“I’m not going to say goodbye to you,” I tell him.
“Of course not,” he says. “We will sing in the kitchen again.”
I take a deep breath and belt out “Baked on cheeeeese!” in the best opera singer voice I can muster. He laughs and sings it back at me while everyone stares.
We sell most of my books, lots of Aubrey’s clothes, almost all of Step’s tools, and even his transistor radio.
Before Gus leaves, I pull him aside and hand him Vili’s toolbox. I have made my peace with letting it go. When our trip is over, I’ll take what I’ve learned about the balance of a handle and the way wood wears, and make my own tools, like Vili did.
“Can you get your guy to sell these?” I ask.
“Tell you what,” Gus says. “I’m going to buy them from you. And after you finish your trip, if you want, you can buy them back from me.”
When I hug him, he lifts me off my feet and swings me around. “Don’t go falling off any mountains, kid,” he says. “I’d miss you too much.”
Shorty gives me a pocketknife and shows me every blade and what it’s for. Then he takes a deep breath and looks me in the eyes. “All you have to do is get to a phone, and I’ll drive anywhere to come get you,” he says in his sweet, soft voice. “Don’t get me wrong. I think you’re gonna go all the way. But if you need anything…” He wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Thank you, Shorts,” I say.
“You always get to call this home if you want to, you know?”
I hug him and hold on for a little longer than I think he can handle, and then watch him fade into the crowd.
Hans left to put Emmeline to bed before I had a chance to say goodbye again. But he’s the person we’re going to call for check-ins. He has maps and our itinerary. I’ll talk to him in a few days, when we get to Georgia, before we hit the trail.
Bee stays to help me do one more inventory of our gear, our money, and the supply boxes we need her to mail.
“Oh, scarecrow, I’ll miss you most of all,” I say, once we’ve finished packing and it’s time for her to go.
She wipes the tears off my face, looks at me with her clear, steady gaze, and says, “I’m not scared of you.”
“I’m not scared of you either.” I hand her my car keys and stand on the landing, watching until she rounds the bend.
If we stay on schedule, make it to Maine before school starts, she’s going to drive my car up to Katahdin and meet us at the top of the mountain. If we’re running late, Hans or Shorty or Eddie will make the trip.
When I’m cleaning up the driveway after the sale, I find Step’s bolt cutters next to a pile of rusty wrenches that didn’t sell. I go out to the spot in the fence where the hill makes it too easy for deer to jump into the yard, too hard for them to escape. I cut away three panels of chain link so they can come and go as they please.