Here in the Real World

Ware asks Jolene what she knows about holy water, but she admits that all she knows is that a priest has to say some important words. She tells Ware about her compost heaps, which quickly bores him, and soon they both hear the sound of the rec center kids coming around the building. Ware decides that he has one more thing to do before he leaves.

Ware starts clearing out garbage and rubble from the building and then looks for some rope to haul out the old church bell. While doing so, he comes across a box of old photographs of church goers that reminds him of castle tapestries and the stories they told. Ware also finds the remains of a stained-glass window, and some fresh Play-Doh that he plans to bring back to a girl at the rec center. Finally, Ware comes across an empty folder with an important question on its cover: “Are you living a purpose-driven life?” (67). Ware isn’t sure exactly what that means or how to do it, but he knows it sounds like something he needs to start asking himself.

Ware desperately wants to come clean about where he’s been spending his days and tell his parents about his adventures, but guilt stops him from telling them the truth. Ware’s mother thinks in schedules and after getting a call that Ware’s grandmother would be going into surgery, she leaves to go take care of her and gives Ware a three-page schedule to follow for the next day.

Ware’s father takes off his precious watch and gives it to Ware so he can keep his schedule on time. Ware’s father, who always gives advice through sports metaphors, often looks at his son with confusion, and Ware feels the same way about his father.

Ware finds Jolene at the ruins and asks to use the hose to fill his tub. She tells him he can only use it if he helps her dig trenches for her plants, and Ware agrees, on the condition that the boundaries between their “lands” come down forever.

Jolene loves history, particularly the history of trash disposal, but a lot of what she talks about is boring to Ware. When she mentions the garbage in Medieval Britain and the diseases that sprung from it, Ware has to admit that it’s somewhat interesting. They find common ground discussing various historical uses for urine, including how defenders of castles used to throw it on attackers to ward them off. Jolene admires her papaya plants and as she digs, she accidentally tosses a dirt clod onto the back of Ware’s neck. Suddenly, someone appears on the other side of the lot.

A girl (Ashley) that Ware guesses to be 14 or 15 appears and starts taking pictures of the parking lot. Ware notices her neat ponytail and that she smells like apple. The girl explains that the lot will be going up for auction soon, and this news upsets Jolene and Ware, who tell her to leave and never come back. The girl looks at the two condescendingly, but decides to take a moment to explain anyway.

The girl tells Ware and Jolene that the lot is located in the same place that thousands of sandhill cranes fly over every year. With the church destroyed, the parking lot will be left unlit, which means the birds may mistake it for water and injure themselves. Her goal is to prevent that from happening, and her father has already agreed to help. Jolene has no sympathy for the issue and continues to hold her position, even claiming the lot as belonging to her and Ware.

Ware wants to tell his father about his day, so he tries to do so in a subtle way, talking about the cranes and the wreckage of the church, as well as the baptistry left behind there. Ware admits that he has thought about dunking himself in it to become a different sort of son. He waits for his dad’s response, filled with nerves, but then realizes his dad has already fallen asleep on the couch.

Jolene plans to chop up the parking lot by hand so that it will fill with water and no longer be a hazard to the birds. Ware thinks doing this is hardly possible, but Jolene starts crying as she admits that she needs the lot to grow papayas and sell them for the money. Ware, desperate to help, rushes to the watchtower for a clearer view. While above it all, it occurs to him that the pavement surrounding the church is essentially in the shape of a moat.

Ware sees an area of water pooling and suggests using concrete slabs and old debris to build up around it and some other drains and create a moat. Ware wonders if they can really do it, but Jolene thinks they have no choice. It occurs to Ware that they are really building a giant baptistry.

Jolene brings a sledgehammer she borrowed from Mrs. Stavros, the market owner who gives Jolene compost and plans to help her sell her papayas. She uses the sledgehammer to break apart the concrete, and Ware stacks it. When Ware corrects Jolene’s grammar at one point, he suddenly feels embarrassed, but Jolene actually appreciates the correction, which surprises Ware.

Ware tells Jolene about his grandma and her fall as they work, and Jolene wants to know what exactly led to the fall, but Ware doesn’t know. Jolene asks about Ware’s grandma’s old hip bones and what was done with them after they were replaced, and Ware admits he doesn’t know that either. Jolene wonders if they ended up stolen or in a landfill, but Ware sees that as being too terrible to be possible. At this point, Jolene reminds Ware that in the “real world” bad things happen all the time.

At lunch, Ware asks Jolene if he can accompany her back to her place, but she declines, so he eats his lunch alone in the tower. He thinks about what Jolene said and wonders if he failed to protect his grandma somehow, and thus failed to uphold the Knight’s Code regarding protecting the vulnerable. He hopes that he can be reborn as a kid who would do better at protecting his loved ones in the future.

A week later, Ware and Jolene have a routine going and are making progress building a cement wall around the church. The papayas begin to sprout. When Ware tries to go with Jolene to the market, she always refuses and never explains why, simply telling him that life isn’t fair.

On Friday, a sign is posted on the fence of the lot announcing that the property is up for auction. Ware can see the look of terror on Jolene’s face when she reads it. As he goes through the rubble, he stumbles across a sign that reads “BE NOT AFRAID” and hopes he can help vanquish Jolene’s fears.

Ware can see that Jolene is upset and tries to tell her that they won’t let the lot be sold, though he has no idea how they will make that happen. He promises to save her garden, and she takes his promise seriously but then leaves. Ware is left alone with his promise but also with a newfound sense of hope and purpose that he had not felt before.

Ware learns that his grandma was moved to a rehabilitation facility and is recovering well. His mother, who is in between shifts, makes him some supper and corrects his grammar during their conversation. She tells Ware not to worry about his grandma, but he insists he isn’t a little kid anymore and wants to be told what’s going on. When Ware’s mother hears that he’s been “gardening” with a friend, she seems relieved, and she tells Ware she wants him to be happy. This reminds him of so many times in the past, in which he felt perfectly happy being alone, but his mother never seemed to understand. He asks his mother if people can ever start over again, and she answers that they cannot.