Counting by 7s(46)

Jairo looked around and realized that the cardboard triangles suspended from the ceiling all said: ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!

BE OUR 1,000,000TH CUSTOMER AND WIN!

A woman held her phone close to his face as she said:

“Can you tell us your name? Are you a student? What are you studying at Bakersfield College?”

He realized now that she was recording him. He managed: “I’m a new student. This is my first time here.”

The crowd gave a collective groan, followed by laughter and chatter.

“His first time! Come on. I’ve spent a fortune in this place!”

As the woman continued to question him, Jairo became conscious of the fact that he was smiling as he spoke.

And he couldn’t stop.



After he filled out all kinds of forms–from the bookstore and from the government for taxes–they officially took his picture.

This time holding a big oversized check.

And then he was given the real thing.

Everyone was so nice to him. He was slapped on the back and he shook hands with dozens of students. He hugged people he’d never seen in his life.

Finally, as he walked back to his taxi, moving across the wide parking lot in the midday sun, he checked his watch.

He’d been inside the place for almost three hours.

But in his back pocket, folded in half in his worn-shiny leather wallet, was a slip of paper worth a year’s salary driving his taxi.

And that money would pay for all the college classes he ever wanted to take.





Chapter 42





Every weekend Pattie goes to a farmer’s market on Golden State Avenue at F Street. She likes to be one of the first ones there.

Today Mai went with her because Pattie’s using Dell’s car and they can get more things and she’ll help carry the stuff.

They are going to pick up two bags of potting soil for me at the nursery on the way back.

The best way to grow sunflowers is in the ground, not in pots or planters. They have enormous taproots that burrow deep.

My plan is to start them off in small containers and then locate a place later for transplanting.

Dell and I go through the big blue recycling Dumpster in the carport and we find twenty-three containers for me to use as planters.

We pick out an assortment of tin cans, a few plastic tubs (that once held sour cream and spreadable cheese), and even a few milk cartons.

I don’t think I’ve seen Dell so happy as when he’s rooting around in the Dumpster.

After we have what we need, we go to the laundry room and wash the cans and containers in the deep sink.

Then Dell punches holes in the bottoms with a kitchen knife, which gets ruined because you’re not supposed to use it for that.

He doesn’t seem to care.

When Pattie gets back with the potting soil, we are going to plant nine different types of sunflowers.

But another thing happens when we are readying our potting containers.

Sadhu Kumar, who rents his extra bedroom to Dell, comes down with three computers. Dell says: “What are you doing with those?”

Sadhu is getting ready to toss them into the big blue bin.

“They’re going into the recycle.”

I size up the machines. They don’t appear very old. I ask: “You can’t fix them?”

Sadhu snorts. Like a horse might do.

“They are junk. Not worth the effort.”

I look at the computers. Two are laptops. One is a larger desktop. But the same company makes them all.

Sadhu Kumar is sort of an angry guy. I think he might have had a lot of disappointment in his life. It can turn a person bitter.

I wonder if that’s happening to me.

Nothing’s worse than a sour kid. You should save that for later. When you are old, and it hurts just to get up from a chair, you have a reason to have a permanently pinched face.

I make a note to myself to be sad, and even mad, but not one hundred percent angry at the world.

There is a difference.

Now I ask Sadhu:

“So I can have the computers?”

Mr. Sour Bitter Man says:

“If you want junk, take junk.”

Dell Duke looks offended. He says:

“One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.”

Sadhu only seems more pained at that thought as he walks away.



We are still waiting for the potting soil, so Dell and I carry the three machines up to #28 and right away I start to take them apart.

I think that I might be able to get one working computer from the three.

I see that it could be possible to use the logic board from the first one, and the chipsets and plug-ins from the other two.

I’m not sure it will function properly, but if it does, the computer will be a gift to Dell from me.

He doesn’t know that yet.



I’m at the kitchen table separating the peripheral wiring when Dell Duke’s cell phone barks.

He’s chosen a dog as his ringtone.

It doesn’t seem like what a cat person would do.

It bothered me while we were cleaning up this place that I didn’t find a single thing to indicate that Cheddar had ever lived here.

This is a man who couldn’t be bothered to throw trash away.

I’ve been waiting for the appropriate time to bring this up. Once he’s off the phone I ask: “Do you miss Cheddar?”