Antonio and Amlet are the first possums back to the mulberry hedge. They arrive a good hour before sunrise and Antonio carries a large, plump tomato in his mouth. His many teeth have punctured the red skin of the tasty treat, and juice drips from the corners of his mouth. He drops the prize with great relief as he calls out: “Appleblossom!”
No one answers.
Amlet shouts, using his full acting voice, which he hopes sounds commanding and filled with authority: “Appleblossom the possum! We’re back.”
Still no one answers. “She’s missing her entrance,” says Amlet. He and Antonio were certain that they would find her waiting just where they left her, and that she would be hungry.
The two possums look all around the hedge and Antonio even makes the bold move of scurrying out into the open to investigate a row of newly planted marigolds. But there is no sign of the littlest possum.
After conducting a thorough search, they return to the hedge and the tomato. Before, the vegetable was some kind of treasure. Now it is a sagging reminder that their smallest sister is missing.
Antonio rests his head in defeat against the tomato like a pillow. Amlet takes a seat next to him. And that’s where they are when Atticus and Allan and Alberta and Alisa and Ajax and Abdul and Augusta and Alphonso and Alejandro return. They have dined on the skins of avocados and the rinds of moldy cheese. They have chewed on fried fish tails and potato peels and the cores of rotting crab apples. Antonio and Amlet listen to everyone’s stories of the night, but they are both only thinking about Appleblossom. And then the sky starts the change over to day.
They all squeeze together behind a rusty metal bin that is near the hedge. No people has been near it for a long time. Augusta looks around and wonders, “Where’s Mama?”
But no one knows. Like Appleblossom and Angie, Mama has not come back. The A-babies are exhausted from their first night alone. Minutes later, only Amlet and Antonio are awake (but hidden) when the sun comes up. Amlet whispers to Antonio: “Mama didn’t come back to check on us.”
Antonio takes some time before he answers. “No. But she’s probably watching us.”
This cheers up Amlet. “Really, you think so?”
“Yes. I’m certain.” Antonio hopes that he is convincing.
Amlet looks pleased. “So it’s some kind of test to see how we get along without her. Thanks for telling me, Antonio. I didn’t know.”
Amlet’s voice is sleepier now. “Maybe Appleblossom is watching with Mama. Maybe she’s the lucky one.”