9 Traveling South

Lily

 

“ Mebby it ’ s just special Seed Savers code, ” Abner suggested.

Evelyn grimaced. “ It ’ s computer code . . . ” she said trailing off, seemingly lost in thought. She lifted her head, continu ing , “ Or computer language or something—I never really understood—maybe I ’ m not even explaining it right. ”

I stared blankly. “ Computer ? ”

“ Before we called everything Monitor, we had phones, calculators, tablets, cameras, televisions, computers, heavens , there were so many . . . and new things all the time; it was hard to keep up. Eventually we just started saying Monitor. But every now and then I fall back to the old ways . . . so whenever I say computer, think Monitor. Anyway, there were different computer languages and as time went on few people understood the inner workings. So it seemed almost like a secret code. That ’ s what I think it might be . . . computer code. But I could be wrong, could be something else altogether. ”

Evelyn and Abner were sharing their ideas about the other letters and numbers next to the Seed Savers names on Ana ’ s list. The ones that weren ’ t street addresses or telecom numbers.

“ Well that doesn ’ t help much. ” I couldn ’ t believe I said it out loud. Luckily, Ev elyn didn ’ t take offense.

“ Not for you, I ’ m afraid. Did your friend understand it? ”

“ I don ’ t know. Stuff happened kind of fast. ” I had explained about Ana, Clare, Dante, and me, leaving out the names. Everything except the part about being the daughter of James Gardener. Okay, and the stuff about Trinia being spotted in my hometown recently. I did tell them about Arturo. Talking about him made me feel happy. Abner had smiled knowingly.

 

I stayed with Abner and Evelyn for three days. They showed me pictures of their strawberry fields and answered all my questions about how the berries were used and why they were hidden. I got to taste the strawberry leather, a way of dehydrating berries that Evelyn admitted wasn ’ t very productive because Abner and the grandkids ate it up as soon as it came out of the dryer . The leather reminded me of Sweeties, but the other things I tasted, jam and pie , were really good and like nothing I ’ d tasted before . E specially the pie, which Evelyn made from frozen strawberries. They told me the frozen berries—though very good, I thought—were totally different than fresh. I wished I hadn ’ t missed them.

On a nother afternoon, Abner and Junior and I walked the property with a metal detector looking for buried treasure. We found pull tabs from ancient soda cans, three nickels, and other junky pieces of metal. It was fun and silly and for a brief time I was able to forget the stresses of my life. As I watched Abner , belly hanging over his droopy and patched jeans , interacting gently with his young grandson, I was touched by his tenderness and felt hopeful about a future with my father.

The best par t besides feeling like I had grandparents, was that Abner and Evie knew so many Seed Savers in Florida. For claiming not to be members , they knew people. Not questioning me anymore about my plans they helped plot places along the way where I could stop on my journey south.

When it was time to go, Abner and Junior drove me to the next town—one with an actual bus station. The little boy told me a lot of nonsensical things about his toys which I had a hard time understanding, but Abner remained unusually quiet, making the drive seem long. When we finally arrived, Abner climbed out and walked around to help me. He handed me a ticket purchased a day earlier.

“ W-well Lily, it was nice to m-meet you. I sure h-hope everything works out. Y-you let us know h- how things turn out. ” His eyes were watery.

I hugged him as if I ’ d known him my whole life and then boarded a bus that would take me closer to my father.

The bus was crowded, but thin as I was, I made my way to the back easily. Once my backpack was stowed, I studied the map with the places Abner had marked, then stared out the window absently, lost in thought. Part of me had wanted to buy a ticket all the way to port, but Abner and Evelyn had insisted I get off “ down the road a spell. ” They said I ’ d enjoy meeting some “ young people in the Movement. ”

Truth be told, the closer I got to my father, the more doubts wiggled their way into my head. Was he still in Cuba , if he ever had been? Would I be able to see him in prison? I wondered whether I should have told Abner and Evelyn everything. Whether or not I should have communicated with Ma to let her know I was okay. Why, oh why, was I always acting first, thinking later, then forever keeping secrets?

 

At the first stop, I got out to stretch my legs. That ’s odd . An old gas-powered pickup truck sat across the street, a man with dark hair and dark glasses looking my way; I could have sworn I ’ d seen the same old beater in Plant City. I hurried back onto the bus, unnerved.

It was midafternoon when I reached my destination. Evelyn had let my hosts know my arrival time, and I half-expected to see a grinning couple holding a large sign declaring, “ Welcome, Lily! ” like I ’ d seen at a few other places. I should have known Seed Savers would be more discreet. NO ONE was waiting at the small bus stop. There wasn ’ t even a building, just a lonely sign and a bench. A wave of doubt washed over me as I stepped off the bus, the door slamming behind me. I looked around for Meg and Aaron—the couple I was supposed to meet. A small car drove toward me and slowed. The window rolled down, a young woman at the wheel. I recognized her from the photo and sighed in relief.

“ Lily? ”

I smiled and nodded.

“ Hop in. ”

I threw my pack in the back seat and scooted in next to it. As I pulled the door shut, a loud vehicle passed by, leaving dark exhaust fumes in its wake. I looked up in time to see the dirty white truck from earlier speeding away.