A Small Gray Dot

“You can try, Tenn, but I don’t think you’re going to reach anybody. Besides, even if you do there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to help us.”

I studied him. I suspected he’d go even if somebody there managed to locate his parents. Understandably, he wanted to be with them, and once he made up his mind to do something he wanted to get right to it. Will wasn’t the most patient of kids so I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d wanted to leave on the spot instead of waiting the two days until the weekend. But, did he really think the colleges would be starting on time?

“Schools won’t be starting right back up, Will. I believe we’d have time to go at the end of August and get back before—”

He sat up and frowned at me. “I think you’re wrong, Tenn. I know primary and secondary schools won’t open but I believe most colleges will, and I want to be back by then.”

He could’ve been right. Some universities had already announced a delay but not the one he would be attending. Still, maybe I could get him to wait until we found out.

“Tell you what, let’s check to see if your college will be opening on time. Then, if it’s not, you can—”

He shook his head cutting me off.

“No, Tenn. I need to go now. If it’s late with opening, that’ll just give me more time in Jamaica.”

I sighed. I didn’t have a good feeling about him going off like that, but he’d made up his mind and talking him out of it wasn’t going to happen. At least he wasn’t planning to make the trip alone.

“All right, but you need to get your car checked out first, and I’ll give you what I can to help. You and Tremaine have your passports? Okay, write down Lowell’s phone number and find a landline when you can so you can stay in contact.”

They left that Saturday morning.

Chapter Nine

THE NEXT DAY, WILL CALLED FROM SAVANNAH, Georgia.

“Shouldn’t you have gotten to Florida already? What are you doing in Savannah?” I asked.

“Car broke down right before we got to the city. Water pump went out, but we got a tow to a repair shop and the guy at the shop says he can fix it but it’s gonna take a couple of days because he doesn’t have the kind for my car so he’ll have to find one first.”

“I thought you got the car checked out before you left.”

“I did, and it was okay but sometimes problems don’t show up ‘til later. Look, I’m just letting you know we’re okay. I’ll call when we get to Miami.”

He called three days later, still in Georgia.

“We’re having to wait until the mechanic can locate the part. Stuff’s kinda hard to find now, but he said it shouldn’t be more than another day or two. We’ll be outta here tomorrow, Friday at the latest.”

“Where’ve you been staying? You need any cash?” I was getting more uneasy about the whole thing and was wishing I’d tried harder to get him not to go. There’d been news on the radio that morning about scattered riots in Florida and something about a bunch of crazies roaming around looting and beating people. Besides, I missed him.

“Nah, we’re good. The repair isn’t costing that much and the guy let us sleep in his shop, so we didn’t have to get a room. Thanks, Tenn, but we’re okay.”

I hesitated but then I said what I knew he didn’t want to hear.

“I think you should come back home, Will, and wait until I can go with you. I… I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Aw, come on, Tenn. We’re doing all right. You know we’ve gotta do this. I’ll call you back as soon as we’re ready to leave here.”

He called me on Friday evening.

“Car’s fixed now and the mechanic said it’s good to go to get us to Miami. Don’t worry, we’ll be okay.”

I sighed. “All right. Be careful out there, Will. If you call and can’t get me, I’ll probably be at work so leave a message with Lowell.”

“Hey, you got a job. Where?”

I didn’t want to tell him I was digging graves. Raised to respect any kind of honest work, it was not because I thought it was beneath me. No, I was afraid he might ask how I found the job and I didn’t want to tell him. I’d found it hard to talk about Zoni or my parents, so I never told him about how I buried them in the backyard.

Getting them dug up and moved was how I got the job. The Monday after he and Tremaine left, I kept my appointment with the funeral home, and even though there wouldn’t be a funeral, they took care of all the paperwork for me, and got the cemetery space.

One of the guys with the grave digging company the cemetery used, told me they didn’t have enough people to operate all their backhoes and I’d have to wait, but if I thought I could handle it, I could dig the new graves myself and save. They would dig them up and someone from the funeral home would deposit them in their coffins and transport them to the cemetery. All I’d have to pay for would be that and the grave liner. I agreed to do it.