CHAPTER 21
Chaco found one peaceful spot, a seven-foot-tall rock with a level surface. The rock jutted from the otherwise flat plain less than a hundred yards from camp, far enough. When he’d had enough of everyone’s chatter and drama, he would say, “I’m going to my rock,” and disappear for an hour or more.
Sitting on the rock gave Chaco quiet time to process, to think, to plan. At least once daily, he could be found there staring steeped in his musings. At this moment, his thoughts turned to his friendships. He’d never had many male friends. He’d loved his father, his uncle and his grandfather, but otherwise, he stayed to himself. He never grew too intimate with the boys he played baseball with, or any of his classmates, who sometimes taunted him because Chaco had long before earned a r
