“They’d attend Big Bend School over in Terlingua. Last time I checked, it had about a hundred students, and that’s pre-K through twelfth grade. Are you and Josh that serious? Have you already named your firstborn? Do we need to have the talk about birth control?” Sophie got tickled all over again.
“No, but he kissed me one time and I didn’t panic,” Emma said. “And it’s not funny.”
“It kind of is.” Sophie stood up.
“No, it’s not,” Emma said. “Let’s get back in the SUV and find this Cottonwood place. Josh said he packed us a couple of sleeping bags. Is there a place where we roll them out, or what do we do?”
Sophie got to her feet. “I hope he sent a tent, or we might be in trouble with the bears and javelinas.”
“Hav-a-whatus?” Emma got behind the wheel and started the engine.
“They’re kind of like a small feral pig. That’s why we don’t leave food of any kind out on the picnic table or in the tent. We’ll keep everything in the SUV except when we’re cooking or eating.”
“Are they dangerous?” Emma checked the rearview mirror to be sure there was no traffic, and then she pulled out onto the road and started driving.
“If you provoke them, they are, but they’ll run away from loud noises most of the time. Just grab a pot and bang on it. Stop!” Sophie yelled.
Emma slammed on the brakes. “What is it?”
“Lord, woman! Don’t do that. You about slung me through the windshield,” Sophie said.
“Well, don’t yell stop at me,” Emma shot back. “Why did you tell me to stop?”
“Right there.” Sophie pointed. “That’s a javelina. A mama and her two babies.”
“Ugly critters. Do people eat them?” Emma’s nose curled.
“I’ve never been that hungry. Go on now. Turn left about a quarter mile up the road and we’ll be at the campground. I usually rent an RV when I come here, but as you know, I didn’t have time to plan this trip.”
“Bathrooms?” Emma made the turn.
“Outside toilets, but they usually don’t smell too bad. Biggest problem is that they run out of toilet paper pretty often,” Sophie answered. “There. See those two little adobe buildings? Those are the bathrooms. At least when I rescued you, I brought you to a nice trailer with a flushable toilet.”
“I’ve never used a potty that didn’t flush in my whole life, but it will be an adventure,” Emma said.
Sophie pointed to the right. “That’s our spot right there, and there’s an RV in it.”
“I’m bush broke, as Rebel used to say,” Emma laughed. “After we went to the cave, I managed to hold it until we got back home, but before that, I did have to cop a squat behind a bush a couple of times. And I did check for snakes and scorpions.”
“Why’s an RV in our reserved space?” Sophie stared at the vehicle like it was an alien spaceship.
“I guess the proper thing would be to knock on the door and ask the folks,” Emma said. “Or we could just pitch our tent. Maybe back there by the table, and we can share the space with our neighbors.”
Sophie whipped around to stare at Emma. Surely she was hearing things. Emma didn’t like to be around strangers, and she sure wouldn’t want to share a picnic table with folks she didn’t know. Where was her Emma, and who was this strange woman occupying her body?
“Well, Miz Social Butterfly,” Sophie grumbled. “Why don’t you go up there and knock on the door and see if those people have made a mistake?”
“You’re the one who reserved the campground.” Emma’s voice was a little shaky now. “You go tell them to move.”
Sophie giggled so hard she snorted. “Would you open the door to someone who looks like me, or would you call the park rangers?”
Emma sucked in a lungful of air and let it out in a whoosh. “I guess if I’m going to have babies and send them off on a school bus, I’d better learn how to ask a few questions.”
This can’t be much different than watching a child go into a kindergarten classroom all by herself. Sophie thought of Teddy’s words as she kept an eye on Emma. But then Emma didn’t even knock on the RV door. She just turned around and ran back to the SUV. So much for the child being brave on the first day of school.