Chapter 12: Wind

The same evening that Victoria stitched John's arm, Wind was camped in a hidden copse in the hills northeast of Nogales. It had been two hard days, but he felt he was finally following a decent lead.

On initially arriving in Tucson the day before, he had visited the sheriff's office. After introducing himself and telling them he worked at the High Chaparral Ranch, he asked if they might know where to find Señora Violeta.

"Why would you be coming all the way to town to look for her here?" asked Deputy Rick. "Doesn't she work there at the ranch?"

"She left and I need to speak with her."

The deputy rubbed his chin as he thought. "Well, I think she used to live with her brother's family south of town. The García family, I believe."

The sheriff, who was seated with his boots on his desk reading the newspaper, said, "Won't find 'em there, though. They had some trouble a couple of years ago and moved away. Not sure where they went." Looking up at Wind for the first time, he added, "Not sure they want to be found, either." His eyes returned to the paper.

There was something strange in the sheriff's tone, so after thanking them, Wind had visited Mr. Ebenezer Binns at the newspaper office.

"Lots and lots of Garcías around here. Almost as bad as Smith, Murphy, or Kelly in New York," he griped. "Would think people would get more variety in their last names."

He thought for a few moments and finally said, "If they had trouble, it must have been of a personal nature. We wouldn't report that. Sorry, young man, I can't help you. Please give Mr. John Cannon my best regards."

The newspaperman had turned back to the article on which he was working, seemingly forgetting Wind's presence as if the young man was as invisible as his namesake.

Stops at two stores, the bank, the telegraph office, and the livery stable hadn't been helpful either since those who didn't know him generally viewed him as an unwelcome Indian rather than as the individual person he was. Somewhat used to this, he kept his frustration in check as he headed to the cafe, purposefully avoiding the saloon due to past experience of a somewhat similar nature.

His reception at the cafe wasn't any better, though. The owner had yelled obscenities at him and told him to get out when he tried to enter. Wind was almost out the door when he noticed the blonde waitress catch his eye and nod her head toward the back of the building. She quickly looked down at the table she was cleaning before her boss caught her.

A few minutes later, he was standing in the shade behind the building when the woman peeked out the back door. Spotting him, she had stepped out and around the corner where her employer wouldn't see her.

"Hi, I'm Millie. Can I get you something? That jerk Carson wouldn't let me serve you inside, but he won't care if you eat out here as long as you can pay for it and he can't see you."

Ordering the lunch special, he told the woman who he was and who he was seeking.

"You work with Buck! Oh, he's a sweet-talker, that man. You tell him I said 'hi.' I'm sorry I don't know the person you're looking for, but I do have an idea who might."

An hour later, Wind had brought Jama to a halt in front of the big white Catholic church on the south side of Tucson.

The Mission San Xavier del Bac was the largest and one of the oldest buildings in town. Originally a Spanish mission, the church had been largely abandoned and neglected for a number of years following the revolution and the Mexican-American war, but with the Gadsden Purchase, stability finally returned to the region. The Church had the building cleaned up to begin serving the faithful of the area once more.

Wind looked at the building, its furnishings, and its decorations. He normally put little stock in material things, but this display was pretty impressive.

"May I help you, son?" asked the approaching Padre.

Wind introduced himself and told the priest his mission. The man shook his head, as if sadly when asked about Violeta. "I'm sorry, I can't help you. Please pray if you wish and then go." The man hurried off toward the back of the church.

Wind prayed from time to time, but his beliefs were a mixture of his mother's and father's peoples, so he had no need for the walls or the ornamentation that surrounded him to do it. He was turning to head toward the exit when he saw a habited woman coming toward him.

"Welcome, young man. I am Sister Cecilia of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. We run the schools here at the mission and assist with the church's operation. Please, join me for a walk in the garden."

Intrigued by her request, Wind had agreed and the two entered the garden. On coming to a bench, the Sister had waved for him to be seated. When he looked apprehensive, she gave him a little smile as she said, "I won't bite, you know," and took a seat.

After Wind joined her, she turned to him and said, "A British scientist with an expedition that came through a couple of years ago looked at our church and he told me that its acoustics—that's something to do with the properties of sound—are quite strange. Personally, I choose to think that it is God whispering to us when we really need to hear. Now, tell me, young man, why are you looking for Señora Violeta? Or is it really Violeta that you seek?"

~HC~

When Wind had revealed his true purpose, Sister Cecilia had nodded. She closed her eyes for a period—whether in meditation, prayer, or napping, he wasn't sure—but when she opened them, she had finally put him on the current trail.

Now, he was only a few miles from the destination she had given him. He hoped that he would be able to see Easabella tomorrow.

His concerns swept over him again. With this being the first time he'd ever felt anything like this, he wasn't sure about anything. In addition, after the reception he'd received in Tucson, he said a brief prayer that she would even agree to see him.

Finally, he faced his other big concern. He hoped, too, that if she would see him, he wouldn't stumble over the words he wanted to say or, worse still, say them and scare her away.

Looking up at the stars in the sky above, he finally fell asleep with those words running through his mind.

~HC~

Author's Note:

Thank you to wotwasithinkin, Cathy, Junebug, and Nillis82 for the recent wonderful feedback. There's an example right below that shows why your feedback is so important.

Wot, thanks so much for the feedback on the sentence. I studied it some more and was able to diagram the main parts but found it to be pretty confusing, so I took it to the brain-trust at Writer's Anonymous (in this case, cathrl, Igenlode Wordsmith, and MagpieTales—thanks to you, too!) for their analysis. They agreed it was technically correct but that it was also somewhat contradictory and overly complex. With all of your hints that it is not a shining example of my best work, the revised version is:

"Her gentle touch, the inflections in her voice, and a subtle tilt of her head brought a smile to John's face as he took his wife in his arms."

Chapter 10 has been updated accordingly, so thanks again for pointing it out.

In response to another comment, the outline for the story to resolve the various plotlines is pretty firm, but the number of additional perspectives (and chapters) to get there is still a little squishy.

For this chapter, Wikipedia says that "García" is the third most common surname in Mexico.

San Xavier del Bac was founded as a Catholic mission in 1692, with the current building being completed in 1797. In 1859 San Xavier became part of the Diocese of Santa Fe, and in 1866 Tucson became an incipient diocese and regular services were held at the Mission once again. After receiving requests from the bishop in Santa Fe and the new bishop in Tucson, Wikipedia says seven Sisters of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet"began the long journey to the west in April 1870, traveling on the newly completed transcontinental railroad to San Francisco, by steamer to San Diego, and by covered wagon across the American Desert to Tucson, Arizona. Their first school, the future St. Joseph's Academy, opened on June 6, 1870, eleven days after their arrival in Tucson." They continued to expand their ministry over time and a school for the Papago Indians was opened in 1873. They would also play an important part in the operation of St. Mary's Hospital when it opened in Tucson in 1880.