Zach's Lie

Zach likes the pay, the food, and the proximity to Catalin at his new job. Zach eagerly accepts an invitation to spend the night with Sam and Catalin at Benat’s sheep camp. There, Zach meets Benat, an old, broad-chested man with lively black eyes who wears a cowboy hat and boots. Benat means “bear” in Basque. Zach also meets Benat’s work partner, Andre Toussaint. The Ruby Mountains are cool and beautiful and covered with sheep. Although Zach is not outdoorsy—vacations with his parents always involved hotels and museums—he loves the mountains.

Benat calls Sam “Unai” meaning “shepherd,” saying Sam is at heart a shepherd, and his flock is the kids at school. Benat has no car and rarely leaves his camp. He and Sam ride horseback to inspect the sheep. Catalin wants Zach to talk about his family and his old home and friends. She wonders if he has a girlfriend. Zach gives vague, deflecting answers—although he definitively says he does not have a girlfriend. When Catalin takes his hand as they walk around camp, Zach wonders if he now has a girlfriend. Zach decides he wants to be a sheepherder. Catalin cautions that most sheep operations are run by corporations unlike her grandfather’s. Plus, Benat does not make any money: profits from the hotel and restaurant supplement his lifestyle.

Zach awakens before dawn, watches the stars until they disappear, and hikes up a hill above the camp. He considers how seven days ago he was friendless and now he is camping with a girl he likes, and Sam is a part of his family’s life. Zach cannot stop thinking about Catalin but wishes he could tell her the truth about himself. He thinks Uncle Don and Aunt Doris did not make clear the extent of the lies he would have to tell. Catalin wakes up and joins Zach. She notices him journaling and then putting his journal in his backpack. She comments that he is both a writer and a reader. Zach demurs, saying the journal is his way of “keeping track of things” (128). Catalin again asks about his family. Zach describes his mother and sister as twins and himself as a just a regular guy. Catalin thinks Zach is more complex than he is letting on. Zach awkwardly changes the subject, saying he is hungry for breakfast.

Zach thinks Catalin is “awesome.” She knew Commander IF was Zach’s and repaired the toy and slipped it into his backpack on the overnight trip so she would not embarrass him. Zach is glad to have Commander IF back. He and Catalin now walk to school together and everyone— including Wanda—knows they are boyfriend and girlfriend. Everyone except Peter is happy for them: He warns Zach to stay away from Catalin. Zach refuses, and Peter backs off. Zach thinks Peter will be trouble again but is not worried.

Sam asks Zach and Darrell if they would be stagehands for the high school production of The Opera Ghost. They would help during the play, moving props and raising and lowering backdrops. Zach worries about losing time with Catalin, but Sam offers to buy them dinner at the hotel if they work weekends, so Zach agrees. Sam shows them how the trapdoors in the stage work: Each is numbered and has a correspondingly numbered padlock. Sam has the only keys. If the padlock is removed, the door is “hot” and dangerous. It is a long drop from the stage. Sam has a hydraulic lift that he places under the active door. El Sereno painstakingly goes through June’s mail and finds the blank postcard Mary sent. He knows from the postmark that the family was in Elko. He informs Alonzo, who, with his two henchmen, head for Elko. El Sereno destroys the postcard.

Zach has used up almost all his fifth, and last, journal. He hopes Mary can find a new one. Zach reflects he is now comfortable in Elko, but he misses Neil. Zach asks Mary about Neil, and while she hopes he is doing well and glad he is safe, thinks he will have to serve prison time. Mary is noncommittal about whether Neil will rejoin the family. Zach is teary when he finishes writing. Catalin, noticing his emotion, mentions that he always changes the subject when she asks about his family. She tells Zach she likes him and wants to know him batter. Zach responds that he likes her, too, but his family has had some bad times, and he is trying to move forward and focus on the future. Together they paint the walls of Sam’s building.

Benat, visiting from the mountain camp, investigates the lights and surprises them. He wants Sam, Zach and Catalin to visit him again. Peter’s parents sleep during the day and gamble at night, and he rarely sees them. Sometimes they leave notes to meet them for dinner, but they do not always show up. Peter walks by Sam’s building to meet them, thinking that if he had a lot of money, Peter would eat at a good restaurant like the Nevada Hotel or join his older brother Ted in San Francisco. Peter wants to visit Ted, but his parents never have money for a bus ticket. Peter sees that Sam’s building is empty, lit up, and unlocked. When Peter notices Zach’s backpack, he slips inside.