The afternoon sun baked down on Kipling Gray and Anna as they trudged up the path from the field station for the last time, accompanied by Ditch Withers. For having been stationed there two years, it seemed they were taking almost nothing. Just a couple of suitcases and Anna’s duffle bag. Once in the States, he’d arrange for the university to retrieve the rest of the equipment.
As they walked through town, the people of Santa Maria gathered to say their goodbyes, pressing their hands into Kip’s and kissing Anna on the cheek.
“Adios, la chica de los cangrejos,” they said. “We will always remember.”
Adios, la chica de los cangrejosErnesto leaned against the wall of the dusty little mercado as the trio approached.
mercado“Thanks for everything, amigo,” Kip said. “Couldn’t have made it wit
