The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

The bus continues towards St. Louis after their swim in the river, and Coyote and Salvador are playing Uno when Salvador’s phone rings. The call is from his aunt. Because Salvador is so excited, Coyote assumes this will be the end of their time together, she grows sad even as Salvador becomes exuberant. Salvador gives the phone to his mother, who has a lengthy conversation in Spanish with her sister. When she hangs up the phone it is clear something is not quite right. When Rodeo asks if everything is all right, she replies, “‘No,’ she said, soft but clear. ‘Everything is not all right’” (151).

Mrs. Vega reveals that their destination is no longer Missouri, but Petosky, Michigan. Instantly, Coyote is alarmed. As if on cue, Rodeo immediately gives his expected response, saying the entourage would be glad to take them up to Michigan. Coyote fears this will prevent her from getting to Washington in time to dig up the memory box. She surprises everyone for a moment by protesting about going out of the way. Rodeo shames her into thinking about all the Vegas have done for her. Thus, she agrees it is a good idea to go through Michigan.

When she goes back to her bedroom to get the atlas to figure how much time they will have to still get to the memory box, Salvador tries to help her. He gives her his phone to plot out a course, and in doing so, she discovers the Michigan detour will only add eight hours to the trip. As a result, she is glad to continue helping Salvador. He is deeply appreciative and calls her his friend, which has a profound impact on Coyote. She muses about the extra leg to the journey and decides, “it was time for [her] to have a heart-to-heart with Lester Washington” (157).

When they stop for gas, her father goes inside to use the bathroom, Coyote seizes the opportunity to take Lester into her confidence by explaining the situation. She first tries to get him to promise that he will not tell Rodeo about her intention. Lester promises that he will do all he can to get Rodeo close to her home, however, he refuses to lie to her father. She’s very relieved and hugs him. Lester finishes filling up the gas tank and goes to take a nap.

The group has finished eating dinner at a restaurant, and they drive through the night in Ohio. Salvador makes Coyote answer the same three questions Rodeo always asks potential riders. She tells him her favorite book, her favorite sandwich and then thinks about what her favorite place in the world is. She decides to show him the “attic,” which is on top of the bus, surrounded by handrails. Since they are driving in the dark of night, Rodeo lets them let them briefly ride atop of the bus as they head toward the interstate.

Coyote tells Salvador that, when they are on top of the bus, no one inside the bus can hear what they say. Thus, they can shout out their secrets if they want to. Coyote shouts her sisters’ names to the wind and tells them she loves them, and Salvador shouts that feel scared most of the time and about how he misses his friends. They each commit to being the other’s friends, which is profoundly meaningful for Coyote, and she thinks, “I’d never really had a friend before” (167). They talk about the trip going up to Michigan and Coyote says that she had to say goodbye to Salvador forever the next day.

As they approach Petoskey, Michigan, to drop off the Vegas, Coyote warns Salvador, “Hey. I don’t do goodbyes, all right” (172). She tells him not to expect her to give him a hug or say farewell. Coyote sits reading a book when Esperanza and Salvador get off the bus. She accidentally looks up as they go into the restaurant where Salvador’s aunt waits for them. She tries to be strong and not to be upset, though she is disturbed at having made a friend and then immediately having to say goodbye to him.

Rodeo seems perfectly okay with how everything is turning out and asks Coyote to do a “once-upon-a-time.” She starts telling a story about a horse running through the night with an owl flying alongside him. She stops, unable to continue, when Lester says that something is happening outside the bus. They see Salvador running toward them. They stop and Coyote quickly goes to the top of the steps where she meets Salvador. Breathlessly, he asks if they will give his family a ride. Coyote assumes he means a ride to a hotel. It turns out they want a ride to Yakima, Washington.

Esperanza and her sister, Concepción, want to go to Yakima, Washington because there are real jobs waiting for the two of them in a hotel owned by a former friend of Concepción. Salvador tells Coyote that Concepción’s boyfriend lied to her about potential jobs for her and Esperanza. Once they get back on the road, Salvador and Coyote play another game of Uno.

The group stops at a gas station in Minnesota, where Coyote purchases a spicy hot dog and a bottle of Squirt. Coyote says she heard a sniffle and saw a girl sitting on the concrete sidewalk outside the gas station. Coyote asks the girl if she’s okay, and she tells her that her name is Valerie, Val for short. Val says she was kicked out of her house after telling her parents that she’s gay. Coyote reflects on Val’s story and thinks, “That didn’t seem like any kind of reason at all to kick a perfectly nice person out of her house” (183). Coyote thinks to herself that her mother’s sister, her aunt Jen, is gay and thinks that someone hating her aunt for who she loves is wrong. Val says she hopes to go to Seattle, where she has a cousin. She convinces Val to tell her story to Rodeo, who asks Val how old she is. Val says she’ll turn 20 in May, and she joins the group.

Salvador, Val, and Coyote bond quickly. They get along well and play a lot of games together. They share a lot of personal information with one another. When they talk about their regrets, Coyote says she regrets not getting the memory box sooner because she may not make it there in time to get it. After some persuasion, Salvador shares his regret by and producing a violin case. He explains that he is an outstanding violin player. He was supposed to perform in a concert so his mother could hear him. Leaving his father disrupted the performance. The girls ask him to play right then on the bus, but he is not willing. When Val and Salvador go to sleep, Coyote begins to formulate a plan.

To accomplish her plan, Coyotes enlists the help of Lester and Rodeo. The group arrives in Billings, Montana, and while everyone else is eating lunch, Rodeo sneaks into the Billings Center for the Performing Arts. He plants Salvador’s violin on the piano. When the meal is over, they drive Yager to the back door of the arts center. Rodeo and Lester go in with the rest, who are completely mystified about where they are and what is happening. The theater is completely dark until Lester turns on a spotlight on Coyote, who stands on the stage with everyone else seated in the auditorium. She introduces Salvador and tells him to come up. Reluctantly, at his mother’s urging, he climbs onto the stage, and they hand him his violin. He begins to play a magnificent 10-minute piece of music by Handel. Val nudges Coyote and points to a security guard who is looking through the front doors of the theater at them.

As Salvador continues to play, the security guard is stopped in the lobby by Coyote and Val. Coyote immediately tells him to be quiet. Startled, he lowers his voice. Val launches into a story about Salvador being her brother who is auditioning for Juilliard. She embellishes the story, making it seem that this is a last-minute audition and that the judges flew all the way from New York to Billings to listen. The guard asks several questions and with each question, Val comes up with a creative, believable answer. When he asks why Salvador is dressed so casually, Val repeatedly says, “Excuse me?” and pretends to be insulted by the question (208). The young security guard apologizes for almost interrupting the audition, walks out, and locks the door.

After Salvador’s performance, the group gets back onto the bus and out of town without any further interruption. A grateful Salvador remarks to Coyote, “We are definitely getting you home in time, Coyote Sunrise” (210). Coyote then says that everything fell apart, like everything does if you give it enough time (210).