WE GATHER TOGETHER by Edward L. Woodyard

We Gather Together Chapter Twenty-Nine

Scott McCulloch replaced a gas cap on his fuel tank at a service station just off of I-80, east of Reno, Nevada. Over the roof of the Bimmer, he saw Maya exit a minimart with a bottle of papaya fruit juice. To the west, the waning sun hovered over the Sierras to begin its descent behind the mountains.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Maya said, indicating the fruit juice.

"I'm good for now. Thanks," answered Scott. "Save the bottle, though. It may come in handy in an emergency."

"Maybe handy for you. I need other accommodations."

"I know. I have a younger sister."

Maya noticed that for the first time, Scott had mentioned he had a family. She put the bottle on the roof of the car and opened the back door. She unzipped one of her two bags of luggage and waded through some folded clothes.

"Any other siblings?" she asked.

"Two brothers. Both younger."

"How was it being the oldest?"

"Is this a therapy session now? We need to get back on the road."

Maya extracted a shoe box from the bag and placed in on the floor of the back seat. She zipped the bag back up. Through the other rear window, Scott watched her as he returned the hose to its cradle in the gas pump. On the back seat, Maya opened the shoe box. In it was a bonsai tree. She replaced the top on the box and put it on the floor behind the front seat.

"Want me to put that in back, Maya? It may be safer in the trunk."

Maya nodded and carried the shoe box to the back of the car. Scott popped the trunk with his key fob. "The bonsai was from my grandfather. It's almost one hundred years old. His father started it. His father was the Issei."

Scott tucked it in by the wheel well, bracing it with his duffel bag.

Maya thanked him, then said, "It's one way for me to have family with me while I'm so far away from them."

Scott didn't respond to her. She watched him shut the trunk of the car. "We need to get back on the road" was his comment.

"Want me to drive?" she asked.

"I'm good, but thank you. Maybe when it gets dark. That's not for a couple more hours. I think we should plan on driving through the night."

"I agree."

The gas pump spit out a receipt and Scott tore it off as Maya got in the passenger seat. Scott sat behind the steering wheel and both buckled their seats belts. They nodded to each other as Scott started the car and drove out of the service station.

They were quiet getting on the interstate. Maya scrolled through a playlist on her iPad, but instead pressed an app called Serene and put buds in her ears. It was going to be a long ride across northern Nevada, the land itself making her feel desolate and lonely with its immense vastness in every direction. Maya closed her eyes as she listened to mediation music.

Backdraft from a speeding semi in the left lane almost forced the Bimmer onto the shoulder,  Scott's sudden correction of the steering wheel jolting Maya who slowly pulled the buds from her ears. She drank from her bottle of papaya juice and then said, "Scott, please let me know if I'm meddling, but I'm a bit bothered by something you said."

"Go on. I'll let you know otherwise."

Maya paused then said, "Everyone's got a home. Everyone comes from somewhere. . ."