Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Aven finds her dad waiting for her after school with a bag of soccer gear. He tells Aven she can try out for the soccer team or get on the bus and go home. It is her choice, but he wants to give her a chance. Dad leaves, and Aven thinks about her love of soccer. She started playing in second grade, and the sport was a great way to connect with both her parents: Dad practiced with her and coached, and Mom came to every game to cheer her on. Soccer is easy for Aven, because of her skill with her feet, and she is good at it. Aven knows it will be hard to join a new team, and have everyone watch her, but she does not want to be a quitter when things are difficult—then she would just be the Queen of Sheba, purposefully helpless. Aven decides to try out for the team.

Waiting for soccer tryouts to start, Aven concentrates on dribbling the ball by herself and ignoring a group of girls who are laughing and talking together. A girl Aven recognizes from her science class on the first day of school approaches and introduces herself as Jessica. Aven is dismayed when Jessica tells her that she and the other girls have been watching her, but perks up when Jessica tells Aven she is good with the ball and will surely make the team. Jessica describes how much fun the team is, and what a great time they have together at pizza parties and sleepovers. Thrilled, Aven walks with Jessica to join the group.

Dad gives Aven keys to the desk. Aven rushes to the shed, opens the desk, and discovers a framed photograph of two red-headed women. The older one is Josephine, and the younger one is visibly pregnant and wears the turquoise necklace. Aven shows the picture to her mom. Aven knows it belongs in the empty spot in the museum above the label, “The Cavanaughs, 2004”–Aven’s birth year. Aven confronts Josephine, who admits she is Aven’s grandmother. Her daughter, also named Aven, died in a horse-riding accident soon after Aven’s birth. Josephine does not know young Aven’s birth father. Josephine worried that at her advanced age, she could not give baby Aven the care she needed, and hoped a loving family would adopt her, never thinking it would take two years. After the adoption, Josephine kept tabs on Aven’s family, which is how she knew when Aven’s dad needed a job, and suggested he apply at Stagecoach Pass. Josephine herself is the mysterious owner of the park, “Joe” Cavanaugh. Josephine gives Stagecoach Pass to Aven, a gift that will take effect when Aven turns 18. Josephine tells Aven that her mother was a “firecracker” who used to perform in rodeos, enjoyed singing and playing the guitar, and “loved tarantulas.”

Aven makes the soccer team and enjoys developing new friendships with Jessica and her teammates. Aven is excited to hear that the team plans to attend the Stagecoach Pass art festival. Aven finds Connor waiting for her after practice one day. The two make up after their fight. Aven tells Connor about Josephine and her birth mother. Aven is angry at Josephine for having sent her away from her birth family. Connor is sympathetic but tries to get Aven to see Josephine’s point of view. Connor shares that Aven and his mom have helped change his mind about going out in public. Connor’s mom is taking a larger role in Connor’s life and plans to attend the next Tourette’s support group meeting. Aven agrees to come, too. Connor wants Aven to teach him guitar, since he and his mom learned that music can be a successful form of therapy for Tourette syndrome.

Aven works hard on the day of the art festival, running errands and helping out. She stops to eat with Josephine and learns that the turquoise necklace was Aven’s birth mom’s favorite, and that Josephine left it on the big hill when she released her daughters’ ashes there. By afternoon, the park is crowded. Aven and Zion have fun together, but Aven keeps looking for Connor. She is glad to see her soccer team in attendance. In the evening, Aven changes into a new strappy pink dress and puts on the turquoise necklace. She takes the stage with the country band and plays a guitar accompaniment on her birth mom’s old guitar. Aven sees happy faces watching her, and her feelings about Josephine soften. Connor walks to the front of the crowd to watch her, and Aven sees that he is not ticcing. After her performance, Aven, Connor, and Zion climb the big hill to watch the fireworks. Aven feels “as big as the giant saguaro beside me” (253).

In response to a growing number of emails from other kids without arms, Aven renames her blog The Unarmed Middle Schooler’s Guide to Survival and posts a list of 20 things students without arms need to make it through middle school. Her list includes practical, tangible things like good shoes, lunches that are easy to eat, and an e-reader, as well as some funny items like “bully spray” and nunchucks. Aven also adds more serious intangible items like a sense of humor and “an open heart and eyes” (257). Her post is motivational, funny, and encouraging, and urges other armless kids to make friends—which, Aven writes, are in short supply, but vital. Aven knows that she, like her blog, is one of a kind.

As Aven, Connor, and Zion walk to lunch at school, they talk about their plans to make a memorial for Aven’s birth mom and to start guitar lessons. The art festival was a big success and Stagecoach Pass already has several shops rented out to artisans. Aven has more ideas for the park. To attract families during the summer heat, she wants to build a Western-themed splash pad and have stores that sell old-timey toys. When Aven tells the boys that she is going to learn to ride a horse, they are unsurprised. Jessica and some of the soccer team girls greet them. As Connor, Aven, and Zion pass the cafeteria, Aven stops and asks if they want to eat inside. Connor holds the door for her and Aven enters first, no longer afraid to be seen.