Thirteen Senses (80 page)

He was gone for what seemed like hours. Lupe was just about to give up all hope, when here came Salvador struggling back against the wind, grabbing hold of fence posts to support himself.

Getting back inside of the truck with her, Salvador told Lupe that he hadn't been able to catch her purse, no matter how many times he'd seen it just ahead of him in the wind and he'd leaped, trying to grab hold of it. He'd failed once again. Now, they had no money, no gas, no food, no anything. What was going on? Why was God testing them again and again without mercy!

But then miracle of miracles, the next day when the storm died down and Lupe was out trying to trap quail, something in the distance on a little knoll, caught her eye. She called to Salvador, and together with Hortensia in hand, they walked out to the little knoll, and there caught on a lone piece of barbwire fence was her purse and their money was all intact.

Tears of joy came to Lupe's eyes. God loved them and was looking after them!

That night, under the Stars Salvador and Lupe built a fire, marinated the quail, that Lupe had caught, in the cactus-fruit-sauce like the big, barefoot Indian grandmother had taught them, and they roasted the little bird. It was a delicious feast. Heaven smiling down upon them.

THE NEXT DAY,
Salvador and Lupe had the confidence to make one of the most terrifying and important decisions of all of their lives. They decided to drive—not south as they'd been doing—but up north to the big town of Phoenix, so they could wire a message to Archie.

This was scary. They'd be wiring to the sheriff's office itself, exposing their whereabouts. My God, Salvador and Lupe were now wanted not just for bootlegging but maybe even for murder—if any of those men he'd shot in Yuma had died.

On the other hand, the whole country was going to pieces and so maybe Salvador and Lupe wouldn't even be noticed, especially since they no longer had a grand automobile and fine clothes and looked just like all the other poor Mexican workers.

On a blanket, Salvador counted out the bullets that he had left for his .38 Special and his .45 automatic. On the same blanket, Lupe counted out their money, including all of their change. Salvador had twenty-three .38s left, but he only had seven .45s. He'd need a couple of boxes of each, he figured, before they crossed over into Mexico, because once in Mexico, it would almost be impossible to get any ammunition unless, of course, you were in the military or a policeman.

Lupe counted their money and they had less than twelve dollars left. Where all their money had gone, she didn't know. Sometimes she just couldn't understand her husband, like when he'd given those six dollars to that gas station owner for those people's transmission.

My God, those were the same Okies who'd beat Sophia's husband in Santa Ana and had come in with clubs, trying to kill them by the river in Yuma!

“Lupe, Lupe, calm down,” said Salvador. “We're going to be all right. There's nothing wrong in helping people here and there as we go.”

“I know, I know,” she said. “It's just that, well, I guess that I just miss my
familia
so much, Salvador! And now it looks like we're never going to be able to come back, because of that shooting you did!”

“But they were going to kill that old lady, even as she screamed, trying to protect her grandchild,” he said. “It was my mother and sisters all over again, Lupe! They're lucky I didn't shoot them in their
tanates
!”

“Yes, I know!” said Lupe in frustration. “You did good, I see that, but only—I just don't know, Salvador. Where is all this going to end?”

“I don't know,” he said.

“And,” said Lupe, tears coming to her eyes, “I'm pregnant again, Salvador, and I don't want to be carrying all this fear around inside of me along with my new baby. I'd thought we'd left the Revolution behind us when we'd left Mexico.”

Salvador smiled. “Don't worry, we'll find peace someday, Lupe, I swear it, we'll find peace, and make a home for our daughter and this new child.”

“God, I hope so,” said Lupe, making the sign of the cross over herself, then kissing the back of her thumb which was folded over her index finger.

DRIVING IN TO PHOENIX,
they saw more Indians than they'd ever seen before, and these Indians were as poor and desperate as beggars. Going to the Western Union office, they wired Archie. It cost them a fortune, sixty cents for the telegram and then one dollar to have it hand delivered to Archie at the sheriff's office in Santa Ana.

They waited and waited, but they got no answer. They decided to risk everything and wire the same message to Oceanside to be delivered directly to the police station there.

They fully knew that they were playing with fire, trying to contact Archie at the sheriff's office and the police department, but they hadn't been able to come up with any other way of doing it.

Every few minutes, Salvador would walk out of the Western Union office to make sure that their truck was still free at the end of the street, so they could just jump in and take off if they needed. He had both weapons under his shirt in his pants. God, he didn't want to shoot at anyone anymore. Only little, scared cowards resorted to settling matters with guns. A strong man, who was
aprevenido,
could always find another way.

Inside the office, Lupe was holding calmly.

Seeing two cars full of men park across the street, Salvador quickly walked up to Lupe, took her by the arm, and he told the Western Union man that they'd be back in a little while for their answers.

Leaving the office, Salvador was surprised to see that these two cars full of men did not come after them as he'd expected, but, instead, they went into the bank across the street.

“My God,” said Salvador, “it's going to be a bank robbery. Let's get the hell out of here!”

And they'd no more than gotten into their truck and were taking off, when the shooting started. They didn't go back that day to the Western Union office, and they didn't go back the following day, either.

When they did return on the third day, figuring that things had finally cooled off and maybe there'd even be a different man in the Western Union office, who did they run into, Domingo, Salvador's brother—and he was all dressed up and had his arm around an older, rich-looking woman with tons of makeup and lots of jewelry.

“Where the hell have you been?” asked Domingo. “We got here yesterday. Here, I want you to meet Socorro. We would've taken off and left if you hadn't come by today!”

Salvador was overjoyed to see his brother. He looked sober and happy and well.

“And here,” said Domingo, taking his brother aside, “is the hundred dollars that you wired Archie for.”

Salvador hadn't wired Archie for one hundred dollars. No, he'd wired Archie for all the monies that were still owed to him for the barrels of whiskey that he'd given to people on credit. If Archie had at all done his job, he should have wired Salvador close to three hundred dollars, after pocketing a hundred for himself.

“Are you sure that this is all the money that Archie sent me?” asked Salvador.

Suddenly, just like that, Domingo was red-faced, and raging mad like a bull! “Are you trying to say that I stole some!” bellowed Domingo, with his neck muscles coming up like thick ropes!

“No, I'm not saying that,” said Salvador. “I'm glad to see you and that you brought me this money, but you see, Domingo, Archie owes me close to three hundred.”

“Oh,” said Domingo, calming back down as quickly as he'd gone up. “I now remember, he said something like that. Something about not having collected it all yet, and so for you to wire him again in about a week.”

With that settled, Domingo was all happy again and so they went up the street to get something to eat, passing a whole bunch of Indian women who were squatted down on the boardwalk with a colorful blanket in front of them, showing off their wares of handmade turquoise jewelry.

Socorro's whole face lit up like a happy little girl's and she wanted to buy some of the beautiful silver jewelry. But Domingo was starving and so he just laughed and hugged her close.

“Look, you fool,” he said, “you already look Indian enough. What you want is some
gringo
jewelry, not this Indian stuff!”

“But it's so beautiful!” insisted Socorro.

“Oh, all right, but after we eat,” he said, pulling her in close and kissing her.

“Besides, it's my money,” she said.

“Oh, no, don't start that,” he said, suddenly getting angry at her. “You agreed to call it ‘our' money, if I allowed you to come in with me to open up my gold mine in Mexico!”

“All right,” she said, “but, then, if I'm willing to call it ‘our' money, then why do you always call it ‘my' mine, instead of ours?”

“Because, as I've told you why a thousand times,” said Domingo, grinning a handsome smile, “a gold mine is worth much more than this little bit of money that you've brought into this deal of ours, see?”

And saying this, Domingo winked at Salvador as they went into the restaurant at the end of the street. He was happy showing off to his brother how he'd just handled this situation with his woman so cleverly.

After eating, Socorro did, in fact, buy several pieces of jewelry for herself, then one very plain piece for Lupe, which Lupe had been eyeing. Lupe told her no, that this wasn't necessary, that she'd just been looking, but Socorro insisted. She was a very child-like, generous person who just wanted to make everyone happy. God, for her, was a Gift Giver.

Lupe put the plain silver bracelet on her left wrist and it looked so elegant on her. Socorro, on the other hand, adorned herself with the biggest, most elaborate bracelets and earrings they had!

They drove out of Phoenix and headed south back down to Mesa Grande where Salvador and Lupe were staying a little ways out of town.

Domingo and Socorro were driving a big beautiful Packard, one of the finest automobiles of the day. Salvador and Lupe could hardly keep up with them in their little truck. At Mesa Grande, Domingo treated Salvador and Lupe to a room in a hotel with him and Socorro. Lupe took a long, hot bath, and it was Heaven! She and Salvador had been living in the brush ever since they'd left Santa Ana.

Once the two women were settled in, Domingo took Salvador outside to talk with him. Domingo was in great spirits. He now had money, money, money, not just to open up that gold mine in Navojoa, Sonora, but to live! To breathe! To feel FREE once again!

“Come on in with me, Salvador,” he said, “and I'm willing to let bygones be bygones and for you to come in with me as a full partner—just because you're my brother!”

“But you have a partner already,” said Salvador.

“Who, Socorro? Hell, don't worry about her. I only keep her around, because—oh, I'll tell you, she was old and worn-out looking when I found her. Her husband—who'd treated her badly for years—had just died and left her some money and her kids, the worthless
cabrones,
were killing her with their greed and fighting. But I could smell, like a good horseman can smell a fine horse, that there was a fire burning underneath the worn-out, old woman.

“And so I took her in with smiles as if she looked like an angel to me, and I worked her long in the nights with soft, gentle hands and whispers. I swear to you, Salvador, that within a week she was fifteen years younger and became the hottest woman I've ever had in my whole
PINCHE
life! I tell you, her powerful legs and those volcanic eruptions that she has—fill me with a love I've never felt before! And so now I do love her! But she's just a woman, Salvador,” he added, laughing, “so don't confuse things. She'll get her money out of my share.”

Hearing all this, Salvador nodded, wondering what this whole thing really meant. Their mother had always told them that to plant the seeds of love in a woman's heart but not take the woman seriously was a very dangerous game. Their mother had also said that this behavior told more about what was going on inside the man's heart than he'd ever know.

“So what do you say, eh,
hermanito?”
asked Domingo. “You wanna get rich?!? Hell, within a year, we'll be able to buy back all of our lands in
los Altos de Jalisco.
Our father—God rest his soul—will be able to look down upon us from Heaven and see how well we're doing!” Tears came to Domingo's eyes. “I love you,
hermano
! We're
familia,
you and I!”

Underneath the Stars of Mesa Grande, Arizona, Domingo hugged his brother, Salvador, in a big
abrazo,
and it was wonderful!

That night, Salvador told Lupe in the privacy of their hotel room about Domingo's offer, but he didn't add what Domingo said about Socorro. Lupe and Salvador could hear Domingo and his rich lady friend making love in the next room. They were so loud and wild, that the headboard of their bed was banging against the wall like a great drum! Lupe and Salvador were sure everyone could hear Domingo and Socorro's lovemaking throughout the hotel.

Then Domingo was howling, and Socorro was screeching, SCREAMING, again and again! Domingo and Socorro kept at it for nearly half the night before they finally went off to sleep.

Lupe thought this was scandalous! The woman was a grandmother in her forties, and Domingo was just being a show off, wanting the whole world to know how great he was because he could drive a woman crazy.

“This isn't love,” said Lupe, “this is two poor, desperate people closing their eyes to what they are really feeling for each other inside!”

“Oh, Lupe,” said Salvador, laughing, “don't be so hard. He was locked up for years and she was trapped in an abusive marriage, let them have their fun.”

“I'm not stopping them,” said Lupe, “but that doesn't mean that I have to like or trust the whole thing!”