Page 30 of The Sun and Her Star

I remember Apollo’s story about the widow’s watch.

“And then, I met Jeremiah.” She says his name with a grimace.

Then she reaches across the table and grabs my hands.

Her eyes grow dark and intense as she looks at me.

“Listen carefully. Don’t forget what I’m telling you. Don’t be in a rush. Don’t share your body with anyone but someone you love. You’re old enough now … and you need to know that sexmeanssomething. It has consequences. Make sure you’ve both finished school and can take care of a family together. Especially you. You’re the man. Remember that. You don’t want to leave your young wife with a baby and no way to feed herself and your baby. It could ruin her life.”

I nod solemnly and make a silent promise to remember that.

Her eyes lose some of their hardness and fill with tears. “I’m so sorry I took you there. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. You almost died because of me.” She strokes my face with a tenderness she hasn’t shown me in years.

“It’s okay, Mama. We’re going to be okay now.”

* * *

We never saw them, but we were told they were brought in. The police found Jeremiah dead in his bed. Mama tells them she thinks when he found them gone he took some of the poison she knew he’d been planning on giving the rest of the town the next morning.

She glances at me after she tells them and the look in her eyes is pleading with me to understand. Our gazes hold, and I understand.She killed him.

I only nod at her. It’ll be our secret. I wish I could run and hug and celebrate and thank her. I know it’s wrong to wish another human being dead. But him? I’ll never be sorry the world is rid of him.

The rest of his leadership council and the other people who helped him keep us all prisoner were taken alive and arrested.

They took statements from us. Mine took a whole day. They took pictures of my entire body. Most of my scars had faded. My head was still nearly bald. I told them everything.

After nearly two days of interviews and doctors checking us out, Mama and I are free to go.

Mrs. Ferguson and Riley are there when we walk out of the station. She and Mama hug for a long time and then we climb into the cab of their truck.

I feel the weight of the world lift off my shoulders as we turn out onto the highway and drive away.

We’refree.

We drive for hours. It’s a bone rattling ride. The warm, heavy East Texas wind whips around us, making it difficult to breathe and impossible to speak. The wind carries with it the occasional pebble or twig. My mother and I huddle and try to shelter each other from the elements.

I’ve never been happier in my life.

We stop for the night at a place called a Motel 6. We get two rooms. I'm sharing one with Riley, and my mother shares one with Mrs. Ferguson.

“Mrs. Ferguson and I have a lot to talk about. You need to get some sleep. Our room is right next to yours. That door connects them. If you need me, I’ll be right through there,” Mama said when I said I’d rather share with her.

We eat dinner together, and we watch television. It’s like a feast for all of my senses, and I stare transfixed as we watch a television show about a guy named Jerry and his weird neighbor and friends. There are commercials for all sorts. I want to stay up all night and watch. Everything looks so clean. Everyone is smiling.

I can’t wait to start living just likethat.

We say goodnight and Riley and I go back to our rooms.

He’s just like he was back in Cain’s Weeping.

He doesn’t talk to me. He just gets into bed. In seconds, he’s snoring. I wanted to ask him about his life and where we’re going. It’s a place called California. Mrs. Ferguson said she had a job lined up for Mama.

Resigned to sleep, I open my backpack to look for my toothbrush. But the first thing I see when I open it is parcel of dark green canvas cloth. The same fabric of my old hammock.

I left it by the lake and was never able to go back for it.

My fingers are trembling as I lift it out of my rucksack and put it on the bed. I stare at it for a minute. Not sure whether or not I can open it. But my curiosity conquers my fear and I slowly unfold it.

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