Both Tommy and Rafael slept in. Around ten, Tommy got up and fixed breakfast. Frozen waffles with a squirt of whip cream should fit the bill for an eight-year-old boy.
Rafael’s eyes were sleepy, but he quickly wolfed down the waffles and asked for more. After his second batch, he seemed to come to life.
“Tommy, are you going to help me find my papa today?”
“Yes. But you need to help me find your village. I have an idea.”
Tommy booted up her laptop.
“What’s your father’s name and what’s the name of your village?”
“My father is Juan Rafael Menendez Vasquez. My village is called Santa Dimas.”
After about ten minutes, Tommy looked up, frustrated.
“Are you sure it wasn’t called something else? Maybe San Dimas? I have a San Dimas here on the map.”
He looked at her and rolled his eyes. “I know what my village is called.”
“Okay, okay, you’re right, but it’s not on any map I can find.”
“It’s a very small village. I told you.”
“Okay, let’s try something else. What was the closest big city to you?”
“Benito Juarez.”
Tommy searched for Benito Juarez. She easily found the city but there was no mention of his village. It was probably too tiny to make the map.
“If I got you to Benito Juarez, would you be able to lead me to your village?”
“I think so.” Rafael thought a minute. “Yes. I could. The man who delivers the seed to the ranch is from Benito Juarez. I could find him and he could help us.”
“Okay, now we have to figure out how to get to Mexico. You’re here illegally, so we can’t fly. We’re going to have to drive. I’ll have to take some vacation time and we can cross the border at Tucson. Then we’ll make our way to Benito Juarez. I have to ask for vacation time.”
“When? When do I go home?”
Tommy had to finish a big photo project first. “We’ll leave in two days.”
She closed her laptop with a satisfying click.
“Now, let’s go buy you some clothes. Have you ever heard of Target?”
Rafael’s eyes grew wide.