Skies Like These (10 page)

“Buffalo?” All Jade could think of was that beautiful purple-green buffalo-head painting in Kip Farley's living room. “Is that even legal?”

Aunt Elise chuckled. “Of course it is. Buffalo is to Wyoming what cheesesteak is to Philly.”

Jade was having a hard time imagining that to be true. Everyone in the world knew about Philly cheesesteaks.

“It was quite a production, which is what I hate about cooking,” Aunt Elise prattled on, stirring the stew with a ladle, “but I wanted to make you something special.”

Jade noticed carrot shavings and potato peels spread across the countertop and spilled onto the floor. She looked over by the stove where a butcher knife sat on a wooden cutting board, pink blood soaking into the grain. “Did you cut the buffalo meat on a wooden board?” Jade thought everyone knew never to cut meat on wood. You have to use plastic because the wood is soft and porous and harbors E. coli, which can make you sick. That's Food Network 101.

Aunt Elise stilled her ladle above a bowl. One side of her mouth fell down and her eyes got all wide. “Did I do it wrong?”

“No,” Jade said, biting back the words that wanted to come. She sat down at the fully set table and pulled a napkin across her lap. “No,” she said again. “It probably doesn't matter that much.”

“Good,” Aunt Elise said, placing the bowls and sitting down across from her niece. Expectation filled every corner of the room.

Jade took a bite.

Tender meat that tasted like the best cut of top-round beef melted across Jade's tongue. The sage, butter, and thyme that had perfumed the room melded with a slice of potato and minced onion to form an incredible bite. “Wow!” Jade said, swallowing. “It's good.”

Aunt Elise sat up and dipped her spoon into her stew. “Don't look so surprised.”

“Were you teasing about the buffalo?” Jade was hopeful.

“Nope. That's top quality bison meat.”

Jade thought of how she had been trying to read a chapter from
Robinson Crusoe
before bed each night and how Crusoe stayed alive by eating the goats he raised on his island. Eating buffalo wasn't that bad, was it? At least not as bad as eating goats.

“Let's do stars tonight,” Aunt Elise said. “You and me. The view is going to be astounding.”

Jade remembered how relentless the sun had been that day, how there hadn't been a single cloud in the sky, and she knew her aunt was right. It would be a perfect night for stars.

 

19

Sadie and Lady's mom came to pick them up after dinner, so Jade and her aunt removed the old straw, scrubbed out the feed bowls, and piled in some fresh straw for whoever the next tenants might be. The Governor was staying in Mia's old space, which Aunt Elise had prepared the day before.

Once they were finished with the dogs, Aunt Elise reached a hand out to Jade. “The sky awaits.”

When they got up the ladder, Aunt Elise tilted the two plastic beach loungers all the way back, so they were completely flat. “Come,” she said.

Jade stretched out and looked up. She couldn't imagine it being prettier than her first night in Wellington, but it was.

“Striking, isn't it?” Aunt Elise said.

Jade let her eyes adjust to the dimensions of the sky stretching out across the universe. It was turquoise blue in front with a lining of deep sable behind. White, yellow, and pink stars floated in a delicate display. “It goes on forever.”

“On a clear night like this, you can see up to fifteen hundred stars and thirty-seven constellations. There is actually a total of eighty-eight constellations, but only a portion can be seen from where we are.”

“Do you know them all?”

“Most,” Aunt Elise said. “But you don't have to know much to look at the stars. Technology makes it so easy. There are a few Web sites that will show you precisely which constellations will be in your neighborhood each night. You type in your information and a custom map is created. There's even an iPad app for stargazers.” She moved over, right next to Jade. “Let's see if you remember where Arcturus is.”

Jade searched the sky for the simple ladle shape of the Big Dipper. Once she found it, she mentally followed the handle out and down to the tip. Then she reached a finger up. “Find the end of the Big Dipper's handle and arc to Arcturus,” Jade said, moving her arm out toward the left to a shining gem of a star. “There it is!”

“I'm impressed you remembered,” Aunt Elise said.

“Teach me something else,” Jade said.

Aunt Elise pressed in closer. “Okay. Do you see how Arcturus has a slightly orange-yellow tint?”

“I guess so.”

“This next one is a blue giant. It's called Spica and while it's not quite as bright as Arcturus, it's still a real beauty.” She took Jade's hand. “Once you've found Arcturus, you simply spike straight down to the southwest until you see the blue-tinged star above the rooftops. Arc to Arcturus and spike down to Spica.” She moved Jade's hand down and to the left. “See it?”

“It does look blue.”

Aunt Elise settled into her own seat. “Most people think the night sky is black and white, but they're wrong. If you take the time to look, it's incredibly colorful.”

Jade was having fun. “Another one,” she requested.

“How about a sky story? Find Arcturus again. If you look to the right, there is a well-defined arc of stars in the shape of a crown. Do you see it?”

“Not really.” Even knowing a few stars, it still looked like a jumble of lights to Jade.

Aunt Elise pressed her cheek against Jade's and took her hand once again. “Looking north. Can you see it right there?”

Jade thought she could.

“That is the Corona Borealis, also called the Northern Crown. Do you know its story?”

“No,” Jade said, breathing in the smell of soil and straw that was her aunt.

“In Greek mythology, it represents the crown worn by Ariadne when she married Bacchus, the god of wine. To commemorate their union, Bacchus lifted the crown of stones from Ariadne's head and placed it in the heavens. He wanted everyone to know they were now a family.” Elise got real quiet. “Bacchus understood.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bacchus knew family was the most important thing. That's what the stars do. They keep us connected.”

Jade kept her face to the night. The more she stared at that sky, the closer it grew until it seemed to fall all around her. There were no lights from the city—no buses whizzing by or police sirens screaming.

It was just the complete, uninterrupted stillness of night.

And all that quiet got her mind wandering. She thought about taking Roy's hand and agreeing to the dangerous task of spying on Kip Farley. She thought about Mr. Parker possibly selling off his kiln and annealer to give his family a second chance. She thought about Roy longing for his genealogy, and finally, she thought about Aunt Elise at her side, having spent the afternoon reading recipes and peeling vegetables.

“You see,” Aunt Elise said out of the stillness, “people the whole world over are wishing upon these same stars. Think of a friend from Philadelphia and imagine her sharing this moment with you.”

Jade fiddled with her thumbs in her lap. She turned to her aunt, but it was too dark to see much more than a vague shape at her side.

“Are you imagining?”

“I'm imagining,” Jade said.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

Aunt Elise continued before Jade could answer. “Before you came to visit, I'd lie up here by myself and imagine you—all the way over in Philadelphia—looking at the Big Dipper or Cassiopeia at the exact minute I was looking at them and maybe, just maybe, thinking of me here in Wellington.” She kept quiet for the longest time before adding, “Were you ever looking?”

“I don't even know what Cassiopeia is,” Jade said.

“No, I guess you wouldn't.” Jade could hear the hope fall in Aunt Elise's voice.

“But,” Jade added, guilt suddenly pressing on her chest, “I'd look at the Big Dipper sometimes.”

“Really?”

“Sure. And even though I didn't know about your stargazing, I guess there were a few times when I wondered who was out there and if anyone might be thinking of me.”

“It was me! I was thinking of you.”

“At that exact moment?”

Aunt Elise slid her hand across the beach lounger and draped her warm fingers across Jade's wrist. “At every moment.”

After it was all over, Jade settled into her room for the night and picked up her copy of
Robinson Crusoe
from the bedside table. She was reading chapter sixteen, where Crusoe and Friday are making a boat to save a group of stranded mutineers, when Copernicus came in. He bounded onto her bed and found a comfortable spot. She put the book aside, reached down, and pulled the cat into the curve of her belly, running a hand across his silky fur, feeling the vibration of his purr through her skin. It soothed her mind and allowed her to find sleep.

 

20

The moon was still faint and low in the morning sky when Jade took her book and left the dog ranch.

Buffalo grass, soggy from the morning dew, slithered against Jade's legs as she pressed across a field, exploring the neighborhood a bit more. She stopped at a wide oak to run a hand across its rough bark. Two snail trails twisted up the side of the tree, intertwining. The snails were long gone, but their silver ribbons lingered behind. She tilted her head back and looked into the branches. Blue sky dappled and shone between olive-green leaves.

She found a dry spot at the base of the oak and opened her book. It was slow reading at times because it was written so long ago, but Jade was determined to finish it. Both her mother and Aunt Elise loved the story and Jade had to admit that while she didn't like everything Crusoe did, she was impressed with all he accomplished on that island.

“Out so early?”

Jade turned to see Tilly and Angelo by the road. Tilly was pushing him along in his wheelchair.

“I was just exploring,” Jade said, standing.

Tilly nodded. “Wyoming is good for that sort of thing.”

Jade went over to the roadside.

“Care to join us on our walk?” Tilly asked. “I try to take Angelo out every morning. The cool early air is good for his lungs.”

Angelo leaned over to Jade. “When I could walk at her side, she would say that
we
liked to go for a stroll but now that I'm in this awful chair she says Angelo needs this and Angelo needs that. Like I'm three years old!”

“Don't let him scare you,” Tilly said, pushing his wheelchair forward. “He may come off as gruff, but he's an old softy on the inside.”

“You're doing it again,” Angelo said, but this time Jade thought she saw a twitch of a grin hiding behind his shaggy white mustache.

Jade walked with them. They talked about Angelo's years working as a miner over in Campbell County, which she learned was on the opposite side of Wyoming.

“Wyoming has a split personality,” Tilly rambled on. “Half is what you see here with these gorgeous landscapes and mountains, but the other half is unadorned, stark coal-mining fields. When the mines were finished with us, it was an easy decision to pick up and move over here to Wellington.”

“It sure is different,” Angelo agreed.

Tilly pushed Angelo's chair into their driveway and up the new ramp. He stood and ambled a few steps over to his rocker on the porch.

“I'll get us some orange juice,” Tilly said, placing a blanket across Angelo's lap. “You two visit.”

Angelo grumbled and looked over to Jade, who was hanging back in the driveway. “You heard the orders,” he said, tilting his head to a bench at his side. “You've been put on babysitting duty.”

Jade went over and sat down. “I'm sure that's not what she meant.”

“Oh, it is,” Angelo said. “But I know it's done out of love so I let it be.”

Jade shuffled her tennis shoes along the planks of the porch and picked at imaginary lint on her jeans.

Angelo cleared his throat and asked, “How long have you been in Wellington now?” Jade noticed his tone was softer than usual.

“Six days.”

“Are you having fun?”

“So far.”

Angelo nodded. “Good. It's too bad you missed the Fourth of July. We celebrate that big out here. But there's the Juniper Festival coming up at the end of the month. Will you be around that long?”

Jade looked over to the screen door, wondering when Tilly would be coming back with the orange juice. “I'm going home on July twenty-ninth. That's a Monday.”

“Great,” Angelo said, swaying his rocking chair back and forth and running one hand down through his beard. “Then you won't miss it. And in the meantime, Elise tells us that Roy has been keeping you busy.” He let out a gravelly laugh that turned into a cough. When his breath came back, he wiped his hand across his mouth and continued, “I don't suppose they have cowboys like Roy where you come from.”

“Not many.”

Angelo smiled. “Roy Parker is a true original.” Then he noticed Jade's book. “That's an ambitious read for a young girl.”

“I can manage,” Jade said.

“I don't doubt that for a minute. What's your favorite part so far?”

Jade thought. “I'd say it was when Crusoe came across the footprint in the sand after all that time thinking he was alone. That was a surprise.”

Angelo pulled at the tips of his beard and nodded.

“But,” Jade said, “I don't like how he made Friday into his slave once he found him. I wish they could have been friends.”

“Hmph,” Angelo said deep in his throat.

“My mom gave it to me to read. I guess it's kind of an obscure book.”

“Obscure?” Angelo swayed his rocking chair forward.