Skies Like These (2 page)

Except Astro, who stayed right where he was, his attention fixed on Jade. She reached out, slid her hand across the dog's head, and scratched behind his left ear. He closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. Like her touch was the sweetest thing he had ever experienced. Like he had been waiting for it his entire life.

“I knew you two would get along. He's as glad you came as I am. You're going to like it here.”

“Really?” Jade was always curious about people like Aunt Elise who seemed to know exactly where they came from and where they were headed and how they were going to dodge every obstacle the universe might throw their way. “How do you know?”

“Give me these few weeks, Jade Landers.” Aunt Elise was grinning again. “I'll show you the Wyoming I love.”

 

3

Jade should have let her expectations go when she first saw her aunt at the airport. She should have known there wouldn't be bearskin rugs and antlers hanging on the walls of Aunt Elise's house. She should have guessed she wouldn't be saddling up broncos or sliding turquoise rings onto all of her fingers.

“Kitchen's in back,” Aunt Elise said, disappearing down a narrow hallway. “I put some stew in the Crock-Pot this morning. You must be starving after that long flight.”

Jade stepped past her luggage and followed her aunt. The hallway was dark even though the sun was still shining bright outside, but she could make out a few pictures on the wall. One was of Aunt Elise at the summit of a mountain, possibly Grand Teton. Another showed two girls in plaid dresses and patent-leather shoes standing on some steps. Jade leaned in and looked at those girls. She guessed the younger one to be her mother. Aunt Elise was the oldest by seven years, which would make her fifty-one.

“Come eat and then we'll check in with your folks,” Aunt Elise called from the kitchen.

Jade started to go, but noticed a gilded frame at the end of the hallway. It was her baby picture. The one where she was swaddled in a white crocheted blanket.

“You were an angel.” Aunt Elise leaned against the kitchen doorjamb.

“Were you there?”

Aunt Elise came over to where Jade was standing. “Absolutely.” She reached up and ran a finger along the frame. “I was there for all of your firsts—your first word, your first step, your first day of kindergarten.”

Jade tried to remember her very first day at Martha Washington Elementary. She had a tattered, wispy recollection of her aunt standing at her mother's side.

Aunt Elise clicked her tongue twice. “I would like to introduce you to someone.” A silver bullet of fur streaked past Jade's legs and up into her aunt's arms. “This is Copernicus. The dogs rule the outside. Copernicus rules the inside.”

“Copernicus,” Jade said. “I remember that name from my science class. Wasn't he an astronomer?”

“Yes, and do you remember what the original Copernicus is most famous for?”

Jade thought. “I think he was the one who first claimed the sun as the center of our universe.”

“Correct!” Aunt Elise jabbed a finger in the air. “Everyone thought Earth was at the center of our planetary system. Copernicus challenged that assumption, and do you know what they did?”

Jade didn't have a clue.

“They judged him harshly because they didn't understand him. They were afraid of his different views and called him crazy.” She shook her head. “Isn't that like people? To think we're the center of the universe? Come, let's eat.”

Aunt Elise handed the cat to Jade.

“Oh,” Jade said, fumbling with the bundle of fur. “I don't really do cats.”

Aunt Elise disappeared back into the kitchen. Copernicus pressed his head under Jade's chin, purring like a locomotive.

“Chow's ready,” Aunt Elise called out.

Jade pulled Copernicus away from her chest and set him down on the orange shag carpet. He eased between her feet, pressing his side against her ankles in a smooth figure-eight pattern. She stepped over him, careful not to trip, and into the kitchen.

Which was a sight to behold.

Paper stars bathed in silver glitter dangled from every inch of ceiling. Crammed in between the stars were Styrofoam balls painted in bright yellows, blues, and oranges.

“It's the solar system,” Jade said, not able to take her eyes off the ceiling.

“It is. Roy made this for me. He snuck in one day while I was out and pinned all these up with fishing line. Pluto is represented as a full planet when it's really been demoted to a dwarf planet, and Saturn is off position, but it's pretty close. Can you imagine my surprise when I came home?”

“Who's Roy?”

Aunt Elise sat down at the kitchen table and began eating her bowl of stew. “That,” she said, “I'll let you discover for yourself.”

Jade joined her aunt at the table, still mesmerized by the art hanging over her head. A small fan buzzed on the counter in the corner, offering enough breeze to send the paper stars twisting and turning. And, as they did, the glitter sent tiny shards of color and light shooting out across the room.

It was spectacular.

“Eat up,” Aunt Elise said between bites. “I'm no Food Network star, but it's hot and filling.”

Jade's stomach rumbled. “I love watching the Food Network.” She scooped a spoonful of potatoes and meat into her mouth. The moment her lips closed around the spoon, she knew there was a problem. It tasted awful, and bits of slimy, chewy fat replaced what she had thought was meat.

Aunt Elise looked up from her bowl and smiled.

Jade smiled back. “Mmmm,” she said, forcing herself to swallow and ignore the gag reflex in her throat.

“I made enough to feed us for days.”

“That,” Jade said slowly, “is great.”

Aunt Elise made a motion with her spoon, encouraging Jade to take a second bite.

Which she did. “I'm not very hungry,” Jade said, forcing down the spoonful.

“Nonsense. You're like a chicken bone with a head. I'll fatten you up in no time.”

The dogs out front began barking as the doorbell chimed.

“Excuse me.” Aunt Elise left the kitchen for the front door.

Jade yanked her bowl off the table and placed it on the floor where Copernicus was stretched out, lazily thumping his tail against the sun-drenched linoleum. He lifted his head, sniffed the stew, and turned away. “So you agree,” Jade said to the cat. She ran to the trash can in the corner and scooped the stew into an empty Cheerios box, being certain to close the lid and place a few crumpled napkins and wrappers on top. Then she put the bowl back on the table.

“Jade Landers, as I live and breathe. Coming to join us in the paradise of Wyoming.”

Jade looked up to see a boy with a round, freckled face standing at the back door. He was in full cowboy gear—a wide-brimmed hat, pointy-toed cowboy boots, worn-out Wranglers, and an oversize silver belt buckle. “Do I know you?”

“Roy Parker. It's short for LeRoy, after the famous LeRoy Parker.” He yanked off his hat and turned sideways, offering up a profile.

“And that is…?”

A flash of shock passed across his eyes. “LeRoy Parker?” He was clearly distressed. “Better known as Butch Cassidy? Surely you people in Philadelphia have heard of Butch Cassidy!”

“How old are you?”

“Twelve, just like Elise told me you are.”

Jade thought he looked short for twelve. “She's at the front door.”

“I know. I rang the bell because I wanted to meet you on my own.”

Understanding lit Jade's mind. “Oh,
Roy.
You must be the one who made all of this.” She waved her hands up toward the dazzling ceiling art.

A smile pulled across Roy's face. “Like it?”

“It's not bad.”

Roy tilted his head at the Crock-Pot full of stew. “You didn't eat that, did you?”

“Pure poison.”

“Hungry?”

“Famished.”

Roy tugged his hat back on. Then he pulled a Butterfinger candy bar from his back pocket, stripped off the wrapper, and snapped it in half. “If there's one thing I've learned from my great-great-uncle Butch Cassidy, it's that a real cowboy should always help a damsel in distress.” He lined up the halves of candy bar side by side and handed Jade the larger of the two. “Welcome to Wyoming,” he said, warm as the day. “You've come just in time.”

Jade shoved the Butterfinger into her mouth.

“That's strange,” Aunt Elise said, coming back into the kitchen. Then she saw Roy. “Have you been up to your tricks again?”

“Roy was saying I came just in time,” Jade said.

“Just in time for what?” Aunt Elise asked.

“That's what I was wondering.”

Roy glared at Jade and then turned a smile on Aunt Elise. “Oh,” he said, “you know.”

Both Aunt Elise and Jade looked blankly at Roy.

“Just in time,” he continued, stuttering and stumbling over his words, “to see the Wilsons' heifer calve. She's about to pop any day now.”

“Gee. Glad I won't miss that,” Jade said, sarcasm dripping.

Roy gave her the stink eye and mouthed something that looked like
later
.

“Well, you be sure to come tell us when their cow goes into labor,” Aunt Elise said. “A person should see something like that at least once in her life. Wouldn't you agree, Jade?”

“At least once.”

Aunt Elise stirred the stew in the Crock-Pot. “You want some chow, Roy?”

“Nah.” He was tucking his already-tucked shirt into his jeans—clearly trying to show off his belt buckle. “I've got official business to attend to.”

“Will we see you for stars tonight?”

“I wouldn't miss it!”

“What are stars?” Jade asked.

“You don't know what stars are?” Roy laughed. “You're more city than I thought.”

Aunt Elise put a lid on the stew. “I think she was talking about the event more than the objects.” She turned to Jade. “I have an observation deck on my roof.”

“Nine-thirty?” Roy asked.

“Sharp,” Aunt Elise said. “Bring your parents. We'll make it a party.” She gestured up to the paper stars and Styrofoam planets that filled her ceiling and said to Jade, “If you think this is beautiful, you'll love the real thing. A night sky is the best Wyoming has to offer. Remember when you asked how I knew you'd love it here? Come up on my roof and see the stars, then you'll understand.”

 

4

Jade had only climbed a few ladder rungs but she felt worlds closer to those early-evening stars just starting to poke through the slate-gray sky.

“I've never been on anyone's roof before,” she said, stepping off the ladder.

“Most folks haven't, I suppose.” Aunt Elise jostled two plastic beach loungers into the center of the flat roof. Jade noticed a small retaining wall along the perimeter. “But what fun is a vacation without some adventure?”

Jade eased onto one of the loungers.

“After I bought the house, I had this observation deck built,” Aunt Elise continued, stretching out next to Jade. “From the street it may look like any other pueblo-style home, but come around back where the ladder is and you'll see it has a little more to offer.”

The two settled in and stared silently at the sky as a silvery dusk fell into navy darkness.

When the last trace of daylight was gone, Jade took in the view above. “Wow.”

“A tad different from below, right?” Aunt Elise scooted over and, under the softness of the sky, whispered, “Do you see the bright one off to the left? Now look slightly up and to the right. Can you see the one with the coppery-red glow?”

“Yes.”

“That's Mars.” Aunt Elise leaned in and pressed her warm cheek against Jade's. “So I can see your vantage point,” she said. She took Jade's hand, folded her fingers into a point and reached it outward. “And this star over here marks the corner of the Big Dipper.”

“My mom taught me about the Big and Little Dippers.”

“That's a good start,” Aunt Elise said, guiding Jade's finger to a specific star within the constellation. “Do you see how the handle of the ladle on the Big Dipper arcs over?” She was moving Jade's finger across the sky. “Follow that arc away from the Big Dipper to the brightest star you see. That is called Arcturus. You can remember it by saying,
The Big Dipper arcs to Arcturus
. It is one of the brightest stars north of the equator this time of year.”

Jade was breathless. They had night skies in Philly, even pretty ones, but nothing like this. The stars in Philadelphia towered high above the buildings and seemed impossible to reach. These were right at her fingertips. “I think I could grab that ladle if my arm was a little bit longer.”

Aunt Elise let out a quiet laugh. “And that's how you get hooked. I came out to Wyoming to visit a friend seven years ago. One night, we found ourselves up on the roof of William's hardware store, looking at the stars.”

“William?”

“Roy's dad. That was the night we met. A few of us had gone to see a play and when it was all over, he led us back to his store and invited us up onto the roof.” She got all quiet, lost in memory. “I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life under this sky, so I finagled my way out of the law firm I was tied to and started new.”

“Never looked back?”

Aunt Elise paused. “No,” she said. “I looked back plenty. There was good in both places.”

Jade couldn't get over the view. “It's gorgeous.”

“If you spend your whole life with your feet firmly rooted to the ground, you miss out on these moments. I'm telling you, Jade, skies like these make you believe you can do anything.”

Just then, the dogs on the far side of the yard started barking.

“Parkers are here,” Aunt Elise said.