That night I couldn't think of anything of anything except my father. It was a cold night and I was wondering if my father had the avocados in yet. He had been working on the project for three days with no sleep.

I had gone to pick with him in the morning of the first day when it was warm. But as it got closed to night he sent me away even though I did not want to go home. He was very worried.

I was fearful in my bed. If he didn't deliver this crop, how would we raise money for this year? It was much worse this year, I almost was sure it was going to snow. I could see my father going around turning up the blowers and filling the smudge pots. I imagined him shining the huge lights so workers could pick all night long. I could see three nylon bags filling up until they held forty pounds each.

I was worried someone might fall, just like my good friend Gervacio. The first day when I was there, we where on thirty foot ladders with our fourteen foot long poles clippers picking avocados. Gervacio fell bad broke his ankle. They carried him to a truck and took him to the hospital. He cannot work now.

I heard the forklifts going to the groves. I knew that they were picking up the 800-pound bins that the workers had stocked from the harvest. The boom truck was coming closer. I could hear its loud grumble. As it came, I felt good that the avocados were safe. I heard the forklifts raising their load and putting them on the boom truck. I counted each time the forklift dropped off a bin. After twenty-four times I knew the boom truck would leave and come back for another load. I counted four more trips.

I was hoping my father would come home then, but he didn't. He had to go make sure the crop was in the packing house safely. The full load would have to go into huge refrigerators for another twenty-four more hours to ripen them.

All of sudden I heard the loud noise of many avocados rolling from the packinghouse. I hoped it wasn't a load or bin that had fallen. I heard many cranks from the wheels and the rubber of the conveyor belt pulling yesterday's load into the sorting equipment. Then I knew the avocados were being brushed and washed. I could hear the diesel engines of the big trucks filling the emptiness of the night. Soon they would be sending our avocados to grocery stores.

I woke up feeling a rough hand against my face. My father kissed me and said good night. I saw him through my window walking back to the grove with his cowboy hat on. Little spots of snow were catching on his brim.