Chapter 76
All trace of Brandon Barton Buckley has been removed from Bueno Bueno Bueno. We're under new management now, and they seem to care more about improving the recipes. It's a slow day, so I work on my Spanish on Duolingo. Byron's leaving for New York today. He said he'd drop by.
I hear a car drive over the gravel and look out the window. It's him.
When I approach the car, he rolls down his window. He takes off his sunglasses, and tears have welled in his eyes.
“What happened?” I ask.
“I can't go. I'm scared,” Byron says. “I want to stay here with you.”
“Come on out.”
I lead him to the trunk of his car, and we both sit on it.
“I'd love it if you could stay longer. But you need to go flourish.”
“How can I flourish? The second I leave this town, I'm a nobody.”
“It's like that last scene in Pansgender!
with Wendy and Pan. Wendy says she has to leave in order to grow up and become the better version of herself, even though Pan wants her to stay.
But Wendy was right. I'd love it if you stayed, but if you don't leave, you'll never grow into anybody.
You can't let the fear of something stop you from your next step.
Remember what you told me? Accept the chaos.
Don't let it control you. I wish you knew how much that helped me.”
“You'll come visit me soon, right?”
I do have that money I raised for Dinah's plane ticket. Maybe I could stop by New York.
“I will,” I say. “Now go get your shadow, Captain.”
“Okay.”
Byron starts back for his front seat.
“Have a safe trip.”
He grabs my butt. I grip his right back, and he laughs. We kiss, and then he's off. He flits his fingers goodbye as he pulls out of the lot.
I can't believe I'm the one giving advice now. But it's true. We can't let fear stop us.
As my shift ends, I head to the back to clock out. My phone vibrates. Underneath the out-of-state number reads PEACE CORPS.
“Hi, is this Wade Mader?” the lady on the other side asks. “I'm Susan with the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. Do you have some time to talk about your application right now?”
I toss my Bueno Bueno Bueno apron into the trash.
“Yes, ma'am, I do!”
She discusses the program and reviews my essay with me.
“Your experience with theater in high school would fit perfectly here. We're in need of somebody to lead after-school activities in addition to English lessons. Combining that with theater games or skits would be a fun way for the students to learn,” she says.
Goodbye, Oyster Pit.
“What caught my eye was your experience with the wandering spider,” she adds.
“Uh, why?” I ask.
“There's been an influx of Phoneutria migrating from South America into Costa Rica, probably due to climate change.
As you surely know, they have a bit of an attitude and a nasty bite.
Ideally, we'd like volunteers who can spot this kind of animal and know how to carefully remove them from our cabins, especially since they're prone to sneaking in… Hello? Wade? Are you there?”