One Step Over the Border (33 page)

Laramie looped his thumbs in his jeans. “I’m kind of tired tonight. Can you do this without me?”

“You ain’t feelin’ shoved aside, are you? Hey, we’re still in this thing together.”

“I’m feeling relieved. You’ve got someone to meet this Juanita with you and I get a chance to catch up on some sleep.”

“You got to have supper.”

“I’ll call in a pizza.”

Hap jammed on his hat. “You realize this will be the first Juanita I’ve met that has that mark under her ear.”

“What does Rosa say she looks like?”

“Like a skinny twelve-year-old girl.”

“You checking on kids now?”

“No, but that’s how Rosa remembers her. ‘Course she hasn’t seen her cousin in almost eighteen years.” Hap paused at the door.
“It don’t seem right leavin’ you here.”

“Geez, Hap, leave. You’re actin’ like you’re afraid to be alone with Rosa.”

“You may be closer to the truth than I’m willin’ to admit. See you later, partner.”

Laramie settled on a preseason football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks on the muted TV and a slice
of Canadian bacon, Italian sausage, and El Paso bell pepper pizza. He didn’t watch much television, but he stared at the beige
telephone while he munched.

He opened the sliding door and scooted onto the tiny motel room balcony that overlooked the swimming pool and a busy El Paso
street. The early evening thundershower had cleaned the air. Even in the neon night of a busy city street, he could see bright
desert stars.

In the lighted blue pool two little boys with floaties secured around their arms braved the steps of the shallow end, a few
feet from their mother’s careful gaze. She kept guard between the boys and deeper water in her black, one-piece bathing suit
with short ruffled skirt.

She had wide hips, fleshy arms, and a round face, but it was her eyes that caught Laramie’s attention. From the balcony he
couldn’t tell their color or even their expression. But he could see that they followed the boys’ every move. While he couldn’t
discern her words, the tone that filtered upstairs was one of encouragement and love.

Slowly, each of the boys braved another step deeper… almost to mother’s hand. She slid back gradually so they had to keep
venturing out.

A shiny black Hummer rolled into the motel entrance, but Laramie couldn’t take his eyes off the mamma and her boys. They reached
the step where they could no longer stand with their heads above water. The youngest looked about three. He giggled when he
started to float on his own. His older brother, no more than five, followed. Soon both floated, laughed, and splashed their
way across the shallow end of the pool, mother within arm’s length, but not interfering.

Laramie wondered if the boys would remember twenty-five years from now when their mother taught them not to be afraid of the
water. He figured the mother would remember. He knew he would, too. Some images merit saving.

Feeling like an intruder when the mother glanced up at him, he pulled back inside the room and slid the door behind him. It
was a nice room. Clean tan carpet. Two queen-size beds. Flowered bedspreads. A recliner, a computer table, large television,
closet, double-sink bathroom. It felt cramped.

Pulling the note out of the pocket of his shirt, which had been tossed across the back of the chair, he flopped on the bed
and read the words again. Then he plucked up the receiver and punched information. He took a deep breath before he reached
the number of Riverview Hospital in Laredo. The front desk transferred him to the emergency room.

“Hi, I’d like to speak to Annamarie Buchett, please.”

“She’s not here,” the female voice replied.

“Could you tell me which shift she’s working, so I could phone her?”

“She doesn’t work any shifts.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s in California.”

“No, she was in California visiting relatives. She came back.”

“She came back and quit. She moved.”

“Moved?”

“Look, this is an emergency room. Do you want to talk to someone else?”

“No… if she calls in, tell her Laramie—”

“Wait, you’re Annamarie’s Laramie?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Tina, Annamarie’s friend. She said you might call.”

“Why didn’t she…”

“She didn’t have any idea how to reach you. She called around, but couldn’t track you down.”

“We’ve been rounding up wild horses. What’s this about her moving?”

“She said she needed a fresh start somewhere.”

“Away from me?”

“Away from Texas. It’s been a rough three years for her, Laramie. She’s trying to sort everything out in her head. Give her
time, okay?”

“Do you think it would be acceptable if I called her out in California?”

“That’s up to you.”

“What would you do if you were me?”

“I’d elope with her, the first chance I got. She’s a great gal, Laramie. But I think you know that. Do you want her mother’s
phone number?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He jotted down the digits, thanked Tina, then hung up.

Laramie stalked over to the pizza box, plucked up a slice, then tossed it down. He marched back to the phone and dialed the
California number.

A man with an accent answered the phone.

“I’d like to speak to Sam, please.”

“My name is Sam. Which Sam do you want?”

“Eh… the other one,” Laramie stammered.

After a pause, a boy’s voice said, “Yeah?”

“Is this Sam?”

“Yeah, who are you?”

“I need to speak to a lady named Sam who recently moved there from Laredo, Texas, where she ran a minimart.”

“Oh, you want Aunt Ducky.”

He plopped back on the bed with the phone still to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Sam, this is Laramie…”

“Annamarie’s Laramie?”

“Yes, is she there?”

“Sorry, she went to Malibu.”

“She went to the beach at night?”

“Not the beach. She enjoys a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, gets a latte and a hot dog for Sara, then drives
back. You know how she likes the wind in her hair. Do you want her to call you back?”

“That would be nice.”

After giving Sam the motel phone number, he hung up and strolled back out to the balcony. The swimming pool was empty.

Daylight filtered around the heavy flowered curtain as Laramie tried to stretch out his stiff legs. He tugged on his jeans,
then opened the curtain. The sun lifted his mood some as he soaked in its soothing rays.

Hap sprawled on top of the bedspread of the other bed, fully clothed, face buried in a pillow. His hat lay, crown down, on
top of the TV.

As Laramie trudged toward the bathroom, Hap rolled over. “I ain’t asleep.”

“You just get in?”

“I was home by midnight, partner. You was sleepin’ good for a change. I didn’t want to wake you. I sat on the balcony a while,
then conked out in that white plastic chair.”

“How’d your evening go?” Laramie asked.

“The part with Rosa was nice. Hey, I got our government checks cashed.”

“Good. You didn’t spend the money yet, did you? Or give it away?”

Hap sat up and grinned. “I deserve that. Nope, it’s all right there.” He pointed to his wallet, next to keys and a watch.

“No luck with the Juanita?”

“No… she was a rail-thin vegetarian with the personality of an eggplant. At least, that’s Rosa’s description afterward. How
about you? Did you miss me?”

“It was a quiet evening, if that’s what you mean. I did line us up with some work today.”

“Today?” Hap shot back. “I can’t work today. I’ve promised Rosa we’d go visit some more of her relatives.”

“More Juanitas?”

“She’s not sure of the cousin’s name, but she has the mark under her ear.”

“Can it wait until tomorrow?”

“No, Rosa wants to drive over to Lordsburg this afternoon. Her Aunt Paula’s lookin’ after her sick sister. Rosa’s going to
go get a list of Rodríguez Juanitas from her aunt and meet us up the river someplace. What’s this job deal?”

“The major called last night.”

“Did the horses break out?”

“No. A real close friend of his, a retired colonel who lived in Florida, passed away. The funeral’s today and since the man
was an El Paso native, they flew him back here to be buried. The major put together all the military procedure… you know…
twenty-one-gun salute, flyover, folding the flag, Taps… everything. When the widow flew in from Florida last night, she was
in tears… she had forgotten to tell the major that her husband was proud of his west Texas roots. He had made her promise
to have a horse and empty saddle at the grave. The major didn’t know who else he could call on such a short notice. I promised
him we’d be there.”

“He’d pay us?”

“Two hundred dollars each.”

“What did you say to that?”

“That we’d do it for free or we wouldn’t do it at all.”

“Good,” Hap declared.

“Sorry to ruin your plans with Rosa.”

“Listen, one horse has to be riderless, right? So you ride Tully and lead Luke up to the grave. You don’t need me. Rosa’s
got her aunt’s car, so you take the truck, pick up the trailer and horses at the stables, and we’ll rendezvous back here this
afternoon.”

As far as Laramie could see, no oaks graced Golden Oaks Cemetery. But there were poplars, elm, box elder, ash, and plenty
of shade in the older section of the grounds. The raised tombstones faced east. A canopy spread over a site on the crest of
the hill. Artificial flowers marked most graves, with fresh wreaths scattered in a few locations.

The funeral was scheduled for 10:30
A.M
., so Laramie arrived at 9:00. The cemetery seemed empty, so he saddled both horses, rode Tully, and led Luke up and down
each lane. He parked the rig as far from the site as he could, to stay out of the way.

By 9:45, several cars had entered. At 10:00, a procession of military vehicles parked in the center lane. The major, in full
dress uniform, marched over to Laramie.

“Sorry, Major, Hap couldn’t make it. But you only need one horse with an empty saddle, right?”

“Yes, I believe so. To tell you the truth, I’ve never seen this done. I’m just trying to carry out the widow’s request.”

“The way we do it in Wyoming, one cowboy leads the deceased’s horse up behind the casket to the gravesite, then stands there
during the service. Is that what she has in mind?”

“Here comes the funeral home limo. I’ll ask her.”

The major returned in a few minutes. “She said since you brought two horses, she’d appreciate it if you rode one and led the
other.” He handed Laramie a silverbelly Stetson. “This is his hat. She wondered if you could prop it on the saddlehorn.”

“No problem. I’ll park the horses by that Humvee. When you signal, I’ll ride up, follow your soldiers carrying the casket,
then ride over to the other side of the dirt mound during the service. When everything’s done, I’ll slip out through those
trees and back around here.”

“Thanks, Laramie. Nice of you to do this for free.” “Major, did you join the service to make a fortune?” He laughed. “Not
hardly. It’s in my bones. My wife claims I’d work for nothing.”