Page 79 (1/2)

They were leaving

It was up to Elsa now, her alone, to keep them alive

With no shoes

She drove out of town and turned south There wasn’t another car on the road Every house she passed looked deserted

“Wait,” Ant said, giving a short, sharp cough “You forgot Grandpa and Grandma Mom?”

Elsa looked at her son, thinner now,front teeth He would kno, forever, as Elsa had known after her rheuile, that life was uncertain

His gaze widened; she sahen he understood He looked back—toward hoht with tears In that one look, she saw a bit of his childhood slip away

1935

We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live We shall endure

—CÉSAR CHÁVEZ

SEVENTEEN

Elsa kept her foot on the accelerator and her hands curled tightly around the steering wheel They drove past a fa a cart full of their belongings People like the west

What was she thinking?

She didn’t have the courage to set out on a cross-country journey into the unknown She wasn’t strong enough to survive on her own, let alone strong enough to care for her children Hoould she make money? She had never lived on her own, never paid rent, never had a job She hadn’t graduated froosh sakes

Who was going to rescue them when she failed?