Chapter Forty-Eight

Tasha headed down the hallway in search of the boys, and Amalia followed her with her eyes. "You wouldn't know she's such a tough little thing, as shy as she is."

"Strangers can be cruel. Being wary of them isn't such a bad thing for a girl," Donovan said.

Carina took some spoons out of a drawer and began setting the table. "Donovan, could you go get an extra chair? And Amalia, how about we mix up a pitcher of that powdered lemonade?"

"What is this, a party for the Montoya kid?"

"We haven't seen anyone from the north side in a long time, and it will be fun for the children."

Amalia raised her eyebrows. "Anything for the children, of course. Do you need me to get the lemonade out of storage or do you keep a can out here?"

"I have some here. I just thought I'd ask so you wouldn't say I never consult with you on anything."

Carina took a can out of a cupboard and started mixing lemonade powder with some cool water from one of the big kitchen crocks. Amalia, after watching the preparations in silence, went outside. Minutes later, she was back with a handful of herbs, weeds and grasses. Just then Tasha wandered back into the kitchen, a puzzled frown on her face. "Didn't find them back there, did you?" Amalia asked.

Tasha shook her head.

"Listen." Everyone in the kitchen stopped what they were doing. They could barely make out the sounds of water and laughter from the far side of the garden.

Tasha's eyes widened. "Are they playing with the shower?"

Carina strained to look out the window but could see nothing. "I told Jimmy he could have a bath..."

"Well, I think it's turned into a water fight, but since it'll save us watering the garden, I suppose it’s okay."

While Amalia was saying this, Tasha slipped out the door. A minute later the whooping increased in volume, now clearly audible over the adults' voices.

"It sounds like they're having a good time." Carina set the lemonade pitcher on the table and began rummaging in the cabinet for matching glasses.

Amalia tried to arrange her grasses decoratively in an old vase she found under the sink. "They better enjoy it while they can. At this rate they'll be out of water in another minute or two."

Sure enough, the laughter soon died down and was replaced by excited whispering. A few minutes later, three damp children, two clad in towels, one wrapped in shirt of marginal cleanliness, trooped in the front door and scampered into the children's bedroom. Donovan caught a glimpse of them from his position near the pantry. "Looks like we're going to have a few puddles in the hallway."

"There's worse things to have in the house than happy children," Carina said. After a quick glance at her party preparations, she announced that she was going to fix herself up, too, although her ordinary work attire was hardly unkempt.

"Oh, no," Amalia mumbled. "We'll be waiting until next Thursday for you to be done primping."

"I heard that!" Carina called from down the hall. "It'll only take a second!"

Amalia and Donovan looked at each other. "Should we dress, too?" Donovan asked.

"Are you kidding? My sister seems to have forgotten there's some real work to do around here, in addition to getting the Montoyas their water. Why she has to turn a simple bit of food and water into some sort of ghastly social event is beyond me."

They waited, sipping lemonade and fidgeting until a storm of running feet heralded the arrival of the children. They trooped in, hair still damp, but neatly dressed. Jimmy and Will were both wearing clean work shirts and cut-down pants, and Tasha was in a sleeveless silk blouse that had belonged to Amalia and Carina's mother, which with the addition of a sash made a passable party dress.

The boys scooted into chairs while Tasha climbed into hers in undignified fashion. Amalia poured them some lemonade. "Drink it slow because that's all we've got for today," she told them. "And don't eat until Carina gets here. It's bad manners to eat before your hostess sits down."

"Hostess?" Tasha frowned at the unfamiliar word.

"The lady who fixed up this party for you," Amalia clarified.

The children cast regretful looks at their desserts, but waited. "Where did she go?" Jimmy asked.

"She wanted to get dressed up, too."

"Why didn't you get dressed up?" Will wanted to know.

"Because there's still a lot of work to do. We're going to enjoy Carina's party, but after that we all need to get back to work, okay?"

All three children nodded and Jimmy added, "They're expecting me back tonight, so I guess I need to start filling those cans soon."

"We'll help," Amalia said. "But what does your father plan to do about the long term? You can't collect water in cans all summer."

"He's going to dig a new well any day now. He sent Carlitos to the reservation last week with a message for Alma Red Wing to pick a spot for us, but she was busy doing healing ceremonies so she couldn't come right away. Papá is hoping she can come find our water in a few days."

"Who is Alma Red Wing?" Donovan asked.

"She's a curandera. The best wise woman around." Jimmy said.

Amalia nodded slightly. "She lives on the reservation on the other side of the mountain. She does things for people, some of it real like midwifing, some of it magic like banishing the evil eye and such."

"She can cure susto." Jimmy added.

"Uh, yes. She can cure susto, a sort of jinx."

"I see."

Amalia went on. "They say what she's best at is water witching, and people around here have used her before. For the price of a goat or a few chickens she'll come out with her divining rod and tell you where to dig your well."

"Divining rod? That's a stick that points to water, right? Couldn't anybody do that?"

"You'd think so, but as much as I hate to admit it, Doña Alma is the only one I've ever known to have any success at it. You don't have to believe in magic, just your own eyes."

Donovan was getting ready to ask a question when Carina breezed into the room in a flowing blue dress, her hair loose, lips rouged, bangles jingling on her wrists. Tasha clapped her hands and was rewarded when Carina took off her locket and put it around the girl’s neck. As the girl examined the locket in wonder, Carina beamed at the assembled group. "What are we waiting for? Let's not let good food go to waste."

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