Free Game Seven by Paul Volponi

freedom.”
    I stood up and silently walked down to the shoreline, alone. I stared at the northern horizon, that distant point where the water and sky touch. I thought about what it would take to reach it. To be in a place where the higher-ups in Cuba didn’t have control over me. Would it be worth maybe never seeing Mama and Lola again? Would it be worth risking my life?
    For all his tough talk on the pitcher’s mound, Papi never risked his life for freedom. He walked through a revolving door in a hotel lobby and into a waiting car. But now he wanted me to take a chance on practically swimming to Miami.
    I dropped my eyes down to the whitecaps, watching them roll all the way to shore. One after another, they turned to foam on the beach until they disappeared back into the surf. And after a minute or two, my heartbeat seemed to be in sync with the rhythm of the breaking waves.
    At the water’s edge, there was a horseshoe crab turned upside down. It was stuck on its back. Its legs were moving a mile a minute, going absolutely nowhere. And its spiked tail kept whipping the damp sand, trying to flip its round shell upright. Finally, I walked over and picked it up, water seeping into my sneakers.
    Despite all its armor, that horseshoe crab was lighter than I’d imagined. I was gentle enough with it, tossing it underhand into the ocean, where it vanished beneath the surface with a
plunk
.
    When I turned back around, Uncle Ramon was standing a few feet behind me.
    â€œThis is all happening too fast. It’s not a decision about
me
. It’s about my whole family. I’m not going to have an answer for you, not without talking to Mama first. I’m not leaving her and my sister behind without a word, the way Papi did. That’s not who I am, or who I’m ever going to become.”

9

    GABRIEL PRODUCED A cell phone that looked like it had never been used. I guess the government couldn’t trace or listen in on any calls if it was brand-new. He held the phone out to me, and I took it from his hand. Then I turned my back to the three of them before I dialed. In the few seconds those numbers were changing into tones, a thousand moments went racing through my mind—from the time I could first remember following Papi around in short pants until right now. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to say. I just knew that my tongue was waiting to start in motion.
    I heard Mama’s voice say, “This is Luz Ramirez.”
    My heart jumped.
    I said, “Mama, I’m in Cárdenas with—”
    That’s when the rest of Mama’s message greeting began talking over me.
    I hit the “end” button fast, without even thinking about leaving her a message.
    â€œYou’ll have time to call back,” said Uncle Ramon from over my shoulder. “There’s a two-hour window for you to make a decision.”
    I turned back around and Gabriel said, “Your papi would be crushed if we made the crossing without you.”
    â€œI’m not living my life for
him
anymore,” I said, standing on a small mound of sand. “I’m sorry to possibly disturb
his
plans.”
    â€œJulio, you see that man with his family over there?” asked Gabriel, pointing about forty yards away. “He’s not here by accident. Twenty minutes before sunset, he’s going to walk off this beach. He’ll bring back my vessel and leave it in a small clearing past those thick bushes. Then his family will pile into my car and take it home to keep.”
    â€œWhat Gabriel means is there’s a structure to
our
plan. There has to be,” said Uncle Ramon. “Being dependent on a single phone call can’t destroy its timing.”
    I started dialing another number.
    â€œLola?” Luis asked me.
    Uncle Ramon put his hand over the phone, shutting it. I tried to yank it away, but his grip slid down to my wrist, holding me there like a vise.
    â€œRemember, she