Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green Read Free Page B

before they’re even finished Ken/Neth picks up his suitcase, and Mom’s, and then grabs the rolly suitcase Roo and I are sharing.
    “That’s not necessary, Ken,” Mom says. “Let us carry something.”
    But he just gives her his goofiest grin and starts walking toward the airport building, which looks sort of like a one-room schoolhouse. That’s when I realize that, except for the runway and the building and the small parking lot, everything is jungle. All along the edges it’s jungle, jungle, jungle, and there’s a great noise rising from the jungle, or bunches of noises that add up to one.
    “Hey,” Roo says, “
what
is that growling sound?”
    I’m impressed she can pick one sound out of everything.
    “Howler monkeys.” Ken/Neth grins. “Loud little buggers, aren’t they?”
    “Wow! Wow! Wow!” Roo says with each step. “I didn’t know this is what it’d be like.”
    I definitely have to agree with her there. I didn’t realize it would feel like we were on a different planet.
    Ken/Neth moves quickly (his long legs are
so
long), and we rush to keep up. Inside the airport, a man dressed in white pajamas is holding a sign that says:
    SEÑORA SYLVIA WADE
    SEÑORITAS MADELINE Y RUBY WADE
    “That’s us!” Roo whispers loudly. “Fancy-pantsy!”
    I’m waiting for Mom to mention the fact that she kept her maiden name, so she’s actually Ms. Flynn, not Mrs. Wade, but she doesn’t say anything. I look over at Ken/Neth to see if he’ll say something, since he’s sort of in charge, but he doesn’t seem to notice—he’s busy greeting the man in pajamas by holding up two fingers in a peace sign.
    The man smiles quickly in our general direction without actually looking at us. He doesn’t say a word as he leads us outside and loadsour luggage into a van that’s pure white, aside from a pair of elegant gray
L
s on the side. He opens the side door and Roo clambers eagerly into the van, followed by me and then Mom. It has a sky-blue interior and is deeply air-conditioned.
    “This,” Roo announces, “is the most beautiful van in the entire universe.”
    Ken/Neth sits in front with the driver and they talk very softly, in English or Spanish—I can’t even tell from the way backseat where Roo insisted we sit. Roo is in one of her wiggly moods. She grabs my hand and squeezes it, then drops it so she can put her nose up against the window to look out, then grabs it to squeeze it again as the van heads down a long, badly paved road lined with walls of jungle.
    The cold air is giving me a headache, so I press the button to roll down my window and stick my head out into the humidity. I decide right then that I like humidity. It smells like flowers growing.
    Roo is babbling to Mom, asking about how many different kinds of monkeys we’re going to see, when I realize why this road is so bumpy—thick jungle vines sneak up between cracks in the asphalt, breaking the road apart. I get this creepy vision of the jungle as a gigantic monster with millions of octopus arms.
    “Mad,” Mom is saying, “Mad, the driver wants you to roll up your window, please.”
    I look up and see that the driver is staring at me in the rearview mirror.
    “Okay,” I say, embarrassed. I press the button. “Sorry.”
    But I don’t like having glass between me and the outside, even though I’m already scared of the jungle. I stay quiet for the rest of the ride and let Roo shout the questions up to Ken/Neth.
    “Hey, are those
pineapples
in the middle of those plants?”
    “Yep, that’s a pineapple plantation,” Ken/Neth replies, grinning, as usual.
    “I thought pineapples grew on trees!”
    “Well, those are pineapples, Roo-by.”
    “Man, doesn’t it look like Dr. Seuss invented that plant?”
    And on and on. I tune it out, stare at the jungle. After half an hour or so, we turn onto a different road. Now we can see the silhouette of the volcano, as blue and perfect as before.
    “Gettin’ close,” Ken/Neth announces.
    The