Desert Passage Page 6

  “But, Dad, you promised we could stop at the Grand Canyon this time. Why can’t we?” pleaded the smaller boy.

  “I have to get this load to Albuquerque by tomorrow or we don’t get paid. We don’t have time to stop.” The dad waived his hand to the waitress to bring him a menu. “Besides, we can stop on the way back, when we’re not in a rush.”

  His sons stared at the menus and ordered mechanically when the waitress returned. Miguel overheard the boys ordering cheeseburgers and fries, and his stomach began to growl.

  “Ramón, can’t we just eat here? We have some money,” Miguel implored, not realizing that he was speaking loud enough for the other table to hear.

  “We better not. We have to save what money we have in case of an emergency,” Ramón answered, folding the map. “Let’s go, we’ll eat outside.”

  The father in the next booth heard the conversation. He knew what it was like to be on the road without money and hungry for food. “Boys, why don’t you join us for lunch. My treat,” he said, rising up from the bench and telling his sons to scoot over to make room.

  Miguel’s eyes opened wider and he looked at Ramón for his consent to join the other table. Ramón was really hungry too and the thought of eating a cheeseburger sounded great.

  “Are you sure?” Ramón asked the man shyly.

  “Yeah, come on over. These are my sons, Coy and Roy, and I’m Jake.”

  Jake was tall and thin. He wore a a stained trucker’s cap and a plaid shirt over a dull gray T-shirt. His sons were dressed in similar clothing. “Waitress, could we have two more orders of burgers and fries, please?”

  Miguel and Ramón took their places in the booth, sharing the same side of the bench seat. The plates of food arrived quickly and the observant waitress filled Miguel’s glass with more Coke.

  “So, where are you two headed?” Jake asked.

  Seeing that Miguel’s mouth was stuffed full of fries, Ramón answered. “We’re going to meet up with our family.”

  Jake looked at Ramón, then glanced at Miguel. He tried to figure out how old they were. Miguel was tall but had a young face. Ramón was an average size for a boy of fourteen but had an experienced way about him. Jake looked back at Miguel and asked him the question the cousins wanted to avoid.

  “Miguel, you’re older right?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m driving my cousin around, you know, until he can get his license,” Miguel answered quickly. He sat up straight and tried to look sixteen in front of the strangers.

  Ramón sensed his cousin’s anxiety and added, “Yeah, our parents are meeting us in Flagstaff.”

  Jake nodded his head and continued to chew his french fries.

  “It’s a good time of year to be on the road. I remember driving down the interstate into New Mexico one winter. Man, was it cold. It snows out there, you know, and these rigs slide real easy on the icy roads.” He paused and took another bite of the roast beef sandwich. “What are you driving?”

  “A Vespa. It’s been running pretty good,” said Ramón.

  The man smiled and looked outside the window at the blue scooter parked outside. He remembered when he was fifteen years old and drove a dirt bike through the desert to visit his first girlfriend. The memories carried him away while the four boys finished their lunch.

  “Have you guys ever been to the Grand Canyon?” Coy, the smaller boy, asked.

  “We were supposed to go with our grandfather before he got sick,” answered Miguel. His stomach finally felt full but he asked the waitress for another order of fries. “Hey, Ramón, maybe we should stop there on our way. I mean, if we have time.”

  Ramón had always wanted to see the Grand Canyon. He remembered that their grandfather had described it as one of the great wonders of the world and told them how lucky they were to live close by. “It’s crazy that people can live so near one of the world’s greatest treasures and never make the effort to spend time there,” Grandpa Esteban had said. So Ramón answered Miguel, “Coy and Roy have to see it. They need to see how amazing the world can be.”

  Grandpa Esteban had gone into the hospital before they could take the trip to the canyon and Rodrigo had promised for the last two years to take Miguel and Ramón but could never schedule the time away from his business.

  “You should go on your scooter!” Coy said with boyish enthusiasm.

  “Yeah, Ramón,” Miguel added. “Lets go while we have the chance!” Miguel was forgetting that his cousin had told Jake that they were heading to Flagstaff.

  “You just stay on the interstate. The road signs will point the way,” Jake said, placing money on the table for the waitress. “Sometimes you have to take the road that opens up before you, even if you haven’t planned on going in that particular direction.”

  Jake winked at the two cousins and smiled a knowing smile, then added, “You’re only young once. When you get older, adventures don’t come around that much.”

  Ramón considered the thoughtful words of the man. As they left the diner, he thought to himself, “Yeah, we’ll go if the signs point the way.”

  Chapter 20

  Miguel was getting better at driving the scooter. He was careful to turn the gears on the handle slowly and he watched for traffic with a keener eye. Ramón sat behind him. His arm was still sore but he soon forgot about the pain. They were entering a national forest that was filled with aspen trees. As Ramón looked into the immense grove, he saw thousands of tall trees standing side by side with their textured white bark and bright green leaves glistening in the afternoon sunlight. They were clustered close together and the picture they made was beautiful. Ramón thought that it would be great to get lost wandering around the trees.

  When Ramón was younger he painted. Often, after the camping trips with their grandfather, he would draw and paint the impressions that were left with him from the trip. Sometimes the pictures included people, others just the mountains and the sky. His grandmother would say that he could see things that other people couldn’t, that he saw things differently. An art teacher had once commented that Ramón had an “artist’s eye.” Painting made Ramón happy. But he had stopped painting after his grandfather died. Nothing looked the same to Ramón after Grandpa Esteban was gone.

  As the road and the forest passed by, he felt further and further away from home. Everything felt new. It felt like his past was behind him. Ramón envisioned the tall trees on a painter’s canvas. Shades of white and green appeared in his mind. The vision of the tall aspens had awakened his sleeping imagination.

  Miguel noticed the sign for the Grand Canyon first. “Hey, Ramón,” he shouted back to his cousin, “did you see the sign? Let’s go.”

  Ramón was lost in his own thoughts, still gazing at the tall trees. He took a moment then replied, “Yeah, we should stop soon and find a place to camp.”

  Miguel took the road leading to the Grand Canyon National Park. The entrance to the park was unattended and they drove through unnoticed. Miguel followed the road signs directing traffic to the southern rim of the canyon. Driving around the connecting roads, he looked for a place to park and for a safe place to sleep. He noticed that many of the tourists had trailers to sleep in, while an adventurous few camped outside in tents.

  Seeing a public rest stop in a secluded area, he decided to pull in. Both boys were glad to stop for the night. The first day was exhausting and Ramón’s arm was starting to hurt again.

  As Miguel untied the sleeping bag from the front of the scooter, he felt something hit his foot. He looked down and saw a soccer ball rolling on the ground.

  “Hey, sorry about that,” the voice said.

  Miguel looked around and saw a boy his age running toward him.

  “Jason can’t kick a ball straight. I’m surprised he hasn’t kicked it into the canyon yet,” the boy said, laughing. He picked up the soccer ball and looked at the two boys and Natalie leaning on her metal stand. “Hey, are you guys driving that around?”

  Miguel stood up straight an
d was eager to impress the stranger. “Yeah, we’re on a road trip to New Mexico, been driving all day.”

  “No way!” the boy said with surprise, and added, “by yourselves?”

  Ramón jumped into the conversation.

  “Yeah, it goes pretty fast, we’re driving with the big rigs on the highway. Miguel crashed, though. We got pretty banged up,” he bragged.

  The stranger was impressed. He turned to Miguel and said, “We’re camping out along the rim over there.” He pointed behind him. “I’ll ask our adviser if you can join us.”

  Before Miguel or Ramón could reply, the boy ran off with the soccer ball across the parking lot. He returned with a young man who looked about twenty years old.

  “This is Turner, he’s our adviser for the trip. I’m Chris,” the new boy said. Turner was actually in his late twenties but looked young for his age. He smiled at the boys and shook their hands.

  “How are you guys doing?” Turner asked, looking at the scooter from the corner of his eye.

  “I’m Miguel and this is Ramón, my cousin.”

  “Are you guys all alone out here?”

  “We’re on our way to New Mexico. We’re doing all right,” Ramón said, swinging his backpack on his good arm.

  Turner had been working with youth groups since he had been old enough to be an adviser on his first camping trip. He was a good mentor and understood that young men needed guidance through life. He also could accurately detect the ages of the two boys standing in front of him and was perplexed by their travel plans.

  “So, who’s older?” Turner asked, not wanting to reveal the true nature of his question.

  “I am,” Miguel replied. He had become more comfortable with his new identity on the road and could answer the question without hesitation.

  “So, you’re in high school?” Turner continued.

  “Oh, yeah, I’ve just got two more years to go,” Miguel answered, hoping he had calculated correctly.

  Turner smiled at the boys and decided he would make further inquiries later. He could see that the boys were tired and hungry.

  “Why don’t you join us for dinner, and if you don’t have anywhere to sleep, you can camp out with us. We’re sleeping out in the open tonight by campfire,” Turner said.

  Turner had seen their one sleeping bag, which was now lying on the asphalt, and figured that the boys were not well equipped to handle a night alone in the desert.

  Miguel was hungry again and the idea of sleeping around a campfire sounded fun, “What do you think, Ramón?” he asked, looking at his cousin.

  Ramón adjusted the backpack on his right shoulder and agreed to the generous offer.

  Chapter 21

  The boys wheeled the scooter and their belongings to the campsite and met the other boys. The soccer ball was being kicked around on a grassy area nearby and Turner was getting the food out of several ice chests. Miguel saw the boys playing soccer and wanted to join in. His legs were stiff from sitting on the small seat all day and he wanted to run around and stretch out. He approached the game in progress and when the ball rolled in his direction, he kicked it up with the end of his shoe and balanced it on his knee before kicking it up and forward to the other players.

  “Hey, he’s good. You’re with us,” Chris said, running toward Miguel to take the pass. “You play on a team?”

  “Yeah, next year I’ll play varsity.” Miguel spoke with reservation in his voice. After the last fight at school, the principal had wanted to expel Miguel and his dad had threatened that he would never let him play soccer again if he didn’t “straighten up.”

  Not being able to play soccer was Miguel’s biggest fear. He had started to play when he was four years old and was the most outstanding player on every team he played on. He was taller than most boys his age and his muscles were more developed than his teammates’ but that did not affect his speed on the field. The other kids back home used to call him “Tank” because when he had control of the ball no one could stop him. The school coach had been impressed with Miguel and for the last two years had encouraged him to train harder and focus on his natural athletic ability. Deep in his heart, Miguel wanted to play soccer forever. Even if he never played professionally, he knew that playing soccer was his special gift and that he would only be happy if he could play. Now at fourteen, his future was at risk due to his bad grades and his recent bad behavior.

  The boys played for a long time until the inevitable darkness stopped them. Turner had cooked chili dogs over the campfire and was passing around bags of potato chips and plates full of spicy food when the boys returned from the game. Ramón was stretched out by the fire, eating his second chili dog when Miguel saw him.

  “These are awesome,” Ramón said with his mouth full. “Who won?”

  “Miguel beat us all,” Chris said, laughing. “I’ve never seen anyone like him, and I play in tournaments all the time!”

  Ramón knew that his cousin was a great soccer player. He admired his ability and frequently attended his soccer games, especially the championship tournaments. Ramón nodded at Chris’s observation and motioned for Miguel to sit nearby.

  “Turner says you guys are driving to New Mexico on your own. Is that true?” asked another boy.

  “Santa Fe, actually,” Miguel said proudly, feeling the admiration from the group after his dominance on the newly created soccer field. “My mom and dad left two days ago, and we’re meeting them there.” Miguel didn’t mention that they had been left behind and that his father had no idea that they were on the road by themselves.

  The boys were in awe. For the rest of the night, Miguel or Ramón could have told them the most fantastic stories and their newfound friends would have believed every word. But Miguel and Ramón were honest about themselves and soon the conversation drifted to what their school was like and the different activities they were involved in. Turner asked about the classes they were taking and if they liked school. Ramón tried to act like everything was okay but soon he felt like he had to get everything off his chest.

  “Miguel and I almost got kicked out of school last month,” he blurted out while Turner passed around chocolate chip cookies from a box.

  “What happened?” Turner asked. “It must have been serious for the school to want to expel you.”

  Ramón took a cookie and bit into it. “Miguel was fighting this kid. He was winning at first but then two other guys jumped in and started punching Miguel. That’s three against one and I couldn’t just stand there. I had to get into the mix!”

  The others listened and their admiration grew even more. Miguel and Ramón were real heroes in their eyes, tough guys who could make it on their own and fight back if they had to. Chris spoke first.

  “Why were you fighting in the first place? I mean, what started it?”

  Ramón looked to Miguel to tell the story.

  “Well, there was this guy, not really a friend of mine but I knew him from grade school. We played on the same soccer team when we were kids,” he stopped and took the last bite of his third chili dog. “He’s kinda small, he didn’t grow much after fifth grade, and this other guy was pushing him around and it looked like he was going to get real hurt. He was throwing him up against a brick wall.”

  Ramón stayed silent as Miguel continued.

  “I got in the middle of it and pushed the other guy on the ground, when he got up his other friends jumped in and it got rough. That’s when Ramón tried to help.”

  “Did you explain that to the principal, did you tell him why you got involved in that fight?” Turner asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

  “Yeah, we both did,” said Miguel, looking at his cousin. “But I guess that other guy’s dad, the one I beat up, is on the school board or something. He didn’t get in trouble. We did.”

  “What about your parents, what did they say?” Turner asked.

  “My dad was real mad after the principal told him that the fight was my fault. He wouldn’t listen when I t
ried to tell him what really happened. Then it only got worse when I got in trouble the second time,” Miguel explained.

  Everyone was listening with rapt attention.

  “A couple of days later, the guy I beat up jumped me after school in the parking lot, with his older brother. I’m bigger than the both of them, though, so I didn’t get hurt, but his older brother ended up with a broken nose, I think.” Miguel smiled a little when he remembered the older brother crying on the ground with blood coming out of his nose.

  “He had to defend himself, those guys were trying to mess him up. What was he supposed to do?” Ramón asked, feeling his emotions rise as his cousin retold the story. “I even got blamed for the second fight and I wasn’t even there!”

  Turner sat down and faced Miguel. “You did what you had to do, you had no choice. Those boys attacked your friend and could have really hurt him. It was good that you interceded. You did the right thing.”

  “I wish my dad thought so,” Miguel said, mournfully remembering the lost cell phones and video games.

  “Keep telling him the truth. One day he’ll hear you,” consoled Turner. “Your dad just wants you to have a good future. He’s worried that if you get into trouble at school, it will affect the rest of your life.”

  “I remember when my little brother was getting picked on by a bully last year and we had to change schools because my parents couldn’t stop it. Maybe I should have beat him up,” interjected a red-haired boy almost the same size as Miguel. “I could have taken him.”

  “If you get the first punch in you have a better chance at winning the fight!” Ramón suggested eagerly.

  “Beating someone up isn’t always the answer,” Turner quickly stated. “Sometimes, only sometimes, violence is appropriate. I do think Miguel did the right thing. Don’t worry about your dad, Miguel. I’m sure he’ll understand someday.”