Return to Sender (23 page)

And this makes a whole bunch of people nervous, in-cluding the parents of several 4-Hers, who pull their kids out of the trip. What if a riot breaks out? What if there is a para-lyzing strike and they can't get back to Vermont? When five kids drop out, the trip is postponed until things quiet down.

Tyler is surprised that he's not more disappointed about not getting to go to Washington. Maybe the freedom-fighting energy of the marchers on TV is catching. Like Mr. Bicknell said the other day in class, the function of freedom is to free someone else.

Meanwhile, Mr. Cruz has allowed his daughters to go back to school. Mari is on cloud nine. “We talked to her last night,” she tells Tyler one morning as they wait for the bus. Before sending any money to the
coyotes,
her father insisted on speaking to his wife. After all, it could be one big horrible trick. “She said she loved us. She said she'd see us soon. She said to keep praying hard.” Mari is in such a state that even during class, Tyler can see that her thoughts are far away.

But then, one more surprise, and not the good kind. By evening, Mari is sobbing on her back steps. It turns out that fifteen hundred dollars just buys her mother's freedom to be dumped out on the street in an undisclosed town in Texas where they are holding her. If Mr. Cruz wants a “custom de-livery,” to North Carolina, say, where the
coyotes
are already sending a whole vanload, that's another five hundred dollars he has to come up with.

Tyler doesn't have to think twice. He has saved that much for his postponed 4-H trip. “Tell your dad I can loan it to him,” he tells Mari. That afternoon at the milking parlor, Mr. Cruz comes over to where Tyler is helping feed the cows that are waiting to go in. He reaches for Tyler's hand.
“Gracias,”
he says with emotion in his voice.
“Ústed es un hombrecito bueno.”

Tyler doesn't need Mari to translate her father's words. It's like the compliment Mr. Bicknell gave him on town meeting night. At least this time, he might not be a good young man, but he is getting better.

When Tyler comes back inside that evening, Mom is beaming from ear to ear. “Now what?!” he asks. Even he can hear the interrobang in his voice.

“Your aunt Roxie just called. She feels terrible about for-getting your birthday. They were doing a big Mardi Gras party in New Orleans, and then they flew to Brazil to buy this year's used Carnaval costumes for their online store.

Anyhow, we got to talking about your not getting to go to D.C., and they want you to call them, okay?”

Tyler's heart sinks. He can see what is coming. His aunt and uncle are going to offer to take him to D.C. But the money for his trip has already been loaned. He thought he wouldn't even have to tell his parents until Mr. Cruz paid it back.

“It's nothing bad,” his mom tells him, but Tyler must still look worried because she goes ahead and tells him the sur-prise. “Okay, on Friday night, Ben's driving you down to Boston—and then Saturday, you and Uncle Tony and Aunt Roxie and whoever you want to bring along are all going to D.C! Then they'll drive you back to Vermont before school starts. Isn't that terrific?”

“How much will it cost?” Tyler wants to know.

“They're paying for the whole thing. It's their birthday gift to you.” His mom suddenly stops and studies him. “I thought you'd be excited.”

Tyler nods eagerly, but his mother doesn't look con-vinced. “I don't know what's going on, Tyler Maxwell Pa-quette. One minute you'll do anything to get to D.C. Next minute it's take it or leave it.” She shakes her head the way she does over Sara's moodiness. “Anyhow, whatever you de-cide, just please call Aunt Roxie and Uncle Tony, because I told them you'd be in soon. And please, act surprised, okay? And do thank them, because it was awfully generous of them. Not just the money, but the time—you know how busy they are.”

Relief and uncertainty are fighting for ground inside Tyler's head as he dials his aunt and uncle's number.

“Hey, hey, hey, birthday boy!” his uncle calls out. Soon Aunt Roxie is on the other extension singing “Happy Birthday.” Uncle Tony joins in. They sing two whole stanzas.

“Will you ever forgive us?” Aunt Roxie sounds like she has committed a major crime, not just forgotten a nephew's birthday.

“He shouldn't,” Uncle Tony butts in. “Here we throw parties for the whole world and we forget our own nephew!”

“How shall we make it up to him?” Aunt Roxie wants to know.

Back and forth they talk, like on some sitcom on TV. All Tyler has to do is watch from the wings. When they tell him about the gift they have in store for him, that's his cue. He acts surprised. “Thank you so much,” he says gratefully.

“So we'll see you in a few days, buddy,” Uncle Tony con-firms. He's about to hang up, but Aunt Roxie reminds him, “Wait, we forgot to ask him.

“Tyler, maybe you'd like to invite someone? I thought of your sister,” Aunt Roxie suggests. “I mean, there's room. But this is your birthday gift, so maybe you'd rather bring a friend?”

“Yeah.” Tyler jumps at the offer. He'd much rather bring a friend. Sara'll want to go shopping. She'll want to go to fancy restaurants where they don't serve hamburgers and Cokes. “Is it okay if it's a girl?”

There is a slight hesitation—an interrobang at both ex-tensions. Then his uncle and aunt chime in, “Why not?”

One more thing. Tyler takes a deep breath. It's been a month of surprises sprung on him, so it's his turn to surprise someone else. “Do you mind if we go to North Carolina instead?”

“North Carolina?!” Uncle Tony makes no attempt to hide the bafflement in his voice.

“What's in North Carolina?” His aunt sounds equally baffled.

“Durham,” Tyler tells them. His aunt and uncle burst out laughing, thinking it's a joke.

Back at the barn, Mr. Cruz is finishing up in the milking par-lor. Tyler tries explaining his plan with his few words of Spanish. His
tío
and
tía
have offered him a trip for spring break. Tyler pretends to drive a car. He has asked to go to Carolina del Norte, where they can pick up Señora Cruz and bring her back to Vermont.

Carolina del Norte, Señora Cruz, Vermont:
Mr. Cruz connects enough dots to understand. His face lights up with such joy that Tyler can't help smiling. Mr. Cruz grabs Tyler's arm and gestures toward the trailer. They need Mari's trans-lation help to work out the details of this wonderful surprise.

As soon as he's in the door, Mr. Cruz nods for Tyler to repeat what he said in the barn. Remembering the looks Mr.

Cruz has been giving him, Tyler doubts Mari will be allowed to go on his birthday trip. So he repeats his invitation without specifying which of the Cruzes is to be his special guest.

“My father says thank you.” Mari is suddenly talking in English to Tyler. “He says he would like to go, but he needs to keep working to begin paying back his loan. He says it is difficult for my uncle to do all the milking by himself. My fa-ther says it's better—if your uncle and aunt would permit it—if I go.”

His aunt and uncle driving to North Carolina to pick up Mari's mom?! Her father letting Mari go?!

April is definitely turning out to be a month of inter-robangs. Any moment, Tyler is expecting someone to jump out and say, SURPRISE!

But no one has so far.

22 abril 2006

Queridos Papá, Tío Armando, Ofie, y Luby,

We are already in Boston, and tomorrow we are coming home! I know I will be seeing you before you even get this letter. But my heart is bursting with all the things that have happened since I left you.

Papá, as you are the one reading this letter, you will know what to leave out that my little sisters should not hear. When we've spoken to you from the road on the aunt's cell phone and now from her home, I haven't wanted to say much. I didn't want the calls to cost a lot of money, and also I didn't want to upset Mamá, who was always close by.

Please don't be alarmed when you see her. She is so skinny that I think we could fit into the same clothes. There are marks on her arms and face, but if you ask her what happened, she just cries. That is the worst part, how upset and nervous she is. Any little noise, she jumps. Any little thing, she cries. I don't know what to do except tell her over and over again that she is safe, that everything is going to be all right, that we will soon be together as a family again.

The aunt, Mrs. Mahoney, takes me aside. (She says to call her Roxie, but I just can't get
used to it.) She says, “María, bear with her. Your mother has been through so much.” It's only now that she and Mr. Mahoney know the whole story.

When we first got to Boston, Mrs. Mahoney said she'd already had three phone calls from Tyler's mom. Mrs. Paquette had started worrying about us picking up Mamá in Carolina del Norte. What if we were stopped on the way back to Vermont?

Sara groaned. “All I can say is I'm eternally grateful to you, little bro, for not leaving me behind to deal with Mom's nerves.” At the last minute, Tyler had consented to invite his sister along. But Sara had promised not to bring up shopping or eating at any restaurant with tablecloths.

“Your mother, I love her to death”—Mrs. Mahoney gave her niece and nephew a sympathetic look—”but boy oh boy, is she ever a worrywart. I'm surprised you kids turned out as adventurous as you have!”

“You're telling me.” Sara let out a long sigh.

“She wants you to call her.” Mrs. Mahoney handed Tyler the phone. “Tell her we'll be fine. We're just picking up Mari's mother and then taking in the sights.”

“The sights of Durham,” Mr. Mahoney said in the voice of a radio announcer, winking at Mrs. Mahoney.

Tyler gave me a panicked look, then dialed Vermont. “Mom, it's no big deal,” he kept saying. “We're just giving Mrs. Cruz a ride home.” Afterward, he told me she made him promise, no funny business, which I thought was a strange request as there was nothing funny about what we were about to do.

What Tyler didn't tell her was that I had the envelope with the rest of the money for the
coyotes.
What I didn't tell Tyler was that I was just as worried as his mom! But I couldn't let on. I was afraid that his uncle and aunt would change their minds about picking up Mamá if they knew she was being held hostage.

Tyler assured me that his uncle and aunt would probably love knowing that we were actually rescuing my mother. “They used to have really dangerous jobs,” he told me. “My uncle was like a bodyguard in a bar and my aunt had to wear skates to race away from bad guys!”

We drove down from Boston and arrived in Durham late Monday night. Right away, we got a motel with two side-by-side rooms. Don't worry, Papá. One bedroom was for Tyler and his uncle, and the other for us. Papá, I know the custom in México is to be very strict when a girl and boy are together. But as I told you, Papá, it's not like that with me and Tyler. We are just special friends.

Our room had two beds, so Sara and I took
one, and Mrs. Mahoney the other. Once the lights were out, they talked and talked. About clothes and makeup and shopping and huge parties that the aunt and uncle arrange. (Can you imagine throwing parties as your
job
?) Sara told all about her newest boyfriend, who wishes he were an American Indian. The aunt listened and gave her good advice. They even asked me what I thought. Me, who's just turning twelve and won't be permitted to have a boyfriend until I'm at least twenty-five!—right, Papá?