Refuge

Robledo Mountain

Refuge

By P.C. Allen

Copyright 2018 P.C. Allen

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights are reserved by the author, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

Product names, brands, and other trademarks referred to within this book are the property of their respective holders. Unless otherwise specified, no association between the author and any trademark holder is expressed or implied. Nor does it express any endorsement by them, or of them. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark, service mark, or registered trademark.

DEDICATION

For my daughter, my little girl, who’s not so little anymore, Thank Heaven for Little Girls!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As always, first and foremost, my thanks to my family. Their forbearance during my endless hours of writing, lost thoughts, and music selection, allowed me to continue the story.

My endless thanks go to my First Readers, Robert Green, Joyce Ward Kelly, and Robert Leger, who continue to give unstintingly of their time, creativity, and encouragement.

I owe a tremendous debt to my editors, ‘TeNderLoin’, ‘TheRev’, and ‘zap292’. All of whom continue to wade through the gibberish masquerading as prose, discover disappearing words, and rein in the loose and forgotten plot lines. The book you are now reading is largely a result of their selfless efforts. Any issues you may have with this book remain my sole responsibility as the decisions on what to include, what to change, and what to ignore were mine.

The cover of any book is just as important as the story. My sincerest thanks to Miguel Vigil, a very talented photographer, who graciously allowed me to use his photograph as the background of this book’s cover. I encourage you to visit his gallery at www.edgeof4ever.com to see more of his incredible work.

Once again, a special thanks to Tatiana Fernandez at Vila Design for the cover design. She continues to astound me. Working from nothing more than a concept and a background photograph her imagination and talent are truly impressive. See more of her work at www.viladesign.net.

A very special thank you to ‘reader36987’for the list of suggested songs.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

A Few Words From The Author

About The Author

Books by P.C. Allen

Prologue

…from the darkness emerged a thin disc, one side yellow and the other side white, appearing suspended in midair. Within the disc sat a small bearded man, Creator, the One Who Lives Above...

~Excerpt from Apache Creation Story~

The old one stooped his bent and grizzled frame, entering the sweat lodge he’d built on this spot, so many years ago. He poured water onto the hot rocks from a hollow gourd he’d filled from the small seep just outside. Sitting down as close to the fire as he could, he began to sweat as the steam enveloped him. Waiting for the steam to build, periodically pouring more water on the hot rocks, his thoughts drifted, and his face broke into a rare smile at the pleasant memories.

He and his first wife had found this place by accident shortly after they were married. He was a newly minted warrior still in training as a shaman. She was a beautiful young Lipan Apache. It was mid-fall, well past the season of raids, and they had decided to look for a suitable place to move once they started a family of their own.

They'd left their camp a week earlier, traveling south and east, when they came to this rolling land of deep arroyos and high hills. Eating an early lunch one day, they noticed a mockingbird dip down into an arroyo a few feet away. They watched intently waiting for the bird to reappear. After several minutes, they heard the mockingbird begin singing its repertoire of songs, but still, there was no visible sign of the bird. Curious, they crawled the few feet to the side of the arroyo and peeked over the edge.

They were looking straight down into a large sweeping curved section of the arroyo. The arroyo wall was a completely vertical cliff, dropping down almost twenty feet to a long and wide stone shelf that dropped another ten feet to the bottom of the arroyo. They still couldn’t see the bird, but they could hear it singing.

The sound seemed to be coming from under a large rock sticking out from the side of the cliff wall, three feet above the stone shelf below them. As they watched the singing abruptly stopped. The mockingbird appeared from under the rock rapidly flapping its wings, which flung small droplets of water all around itself.

The two quickly looked at each other with smiles on their faces. A seep large enough for a bird to bathe would provide enough water to fill their gourds, which meant saving themselves a long detour to the Robledo Mountains and the only other spring in this area they knew of.

They followed the arroyo back west for half a mile, until finding a way down to the bottom. Before descending, they built a ladder and carried it between them back east along the bottom of the arroyo. At the stone shelf, they positioned the ladder and climbed up the sheer stone. Standing on the shelf, they absently noted that it was completely smooth and level without a trace of sand, vegetation, or animal activity. More importantly, they felt a strong sense of peace, of strength, and the indefinable something that said this was home.

His wife looked at him with a serene expression. My love, this is what the Spaniards mean when they say querencia. Do you feel it too?

Yes, my love, I do, he said with a sharp nod.

The old one’s reverie was broken as he suddenly realized that he was not only chanting but that he was surrounded in darkness. He absently wondered how long he’d been chanting and when the darkness had come, but quickly forgot about it as he watched a distant point of light begin to grow, coming towards him rapidly, as though from a great distance.

In a short time, he saw that the light was a flat thin disc of white and yellow. He had seen this once before as a young man in a vision many years ago. Suddenly, Ussen, the Creator, sat before him hovering just off the floor in his disk of light.

As usual, the Creator spoke first. It is good that you call to me, now. We have much to talk about, old friend.

I had hoped and prayed to talk with you once again, for there is much I would have your counsel on, the old man replied in a weary voice.

The Creator laughed merrily, then said, You have time yet, my friend. You have seen your favorite great-granddaughter married, and you will not only see your second favorite great-granddaughter married but also see them both with child. Girl-Without-Parents has requested it and so I grant it.

The old one frowned as he asked, I don’t understand. Why does Girl-Without-Parents have an interest in me? What would you have me learn?

With a gentle laugh, the Creator replied. Girl-Without-Parents will answer your first question when the time is right. As for your second question; well, it is time you learn of your death.

Ussen waved his hand and the old one fell into an even deeper trance where he watched the details of his death play out as if he were a disinterested observer a short distance away. How long the vision lasted, the old one couldn’t tell.

As soon as it was over, he fell asleep hearing the rapidly fading voice of Ussen, Goodbye old friend, until we meet again in the Land of Ever Summer.

Sometime later, how much later he didn’t know, the old one woke rubbing his eyes. There was just enough light seeping in around the bottom of the entrance flap that he knew it was early morning, just after dawn. The chill of an early spring morning only reinforced the fact that the fire inside the sweat lodge had long since grown cold.

Despite the chill and the hard-stone floor, he’d slept on, he felt refreshed and invigorated, in a way he hadn’t experienced in many years. Crawling out of the sweat lodge, he stood upright in the full sunlight. Rapidly blinking his eyes, he looked around the stone shelf memorizing every detail, for he knew this was the last time he would ever set eyes on it.

After a few minutes, he gingerly made his way down the ladder. Once on the arroyo floor, he lifted the ladder and heaved it onto the top of the stone shelf instead of disassembling it and scattering the pieces as he'd always done before. It no longer mattered if the pieces of the ladder were readily accessible.

Without a backward look, Jaime Garcia, senior shaman of the Mescalero Apache, headed west, out of the arroyo. With one last look around he began the five-mile walk back to his granddaughter's house in Las Cruces.

Chapter 1

I woke up slowly Saturday morning, with a feeling that something was different. It took a few moments, but eventually, I realized I wasn't alone in bed. Opening my eyes in the half-light of the pre-dawn, I looked over to see Anna's head still on my right shoulder. With a smile, I remembered the wedding, the reception, and our late-night exploration of possibilities.

It was hard for me to believe how much my life had changed. Staring at my still sleeping Anna, I couldn’t help but think that my life had vastly improved when I drove into that strange fog and passed out, less than twenty miles from home on that hot August night in 2016.

Of course, it took me a while to realize where and when I was after I regained consciousness, not to mention getting over the loss of everyone and everything I knew, as well as fighting my own personal demons.

Let's face it! Waking up in a cave, fifty years younger, and a hundred and sixty-six years in the past is mind-bending. Time travel, with inexplicable age regression, is hard enough to deal with. Add in hearing spirit voices in your head, and I think almost anyone would have concluded they were experiencing a psychotic breakdown. The fact that the spirit voice was my dead wife, reminding me of promises I'd made to her on her death bed, just made it even more confusing.

I think I would have gone crazy if it hadn’t been for the help of many people. Chief among those was Anna, herself. My beautiful Anna, possessed of a rare combination of common sense, street smarts, and book knowledge; along with a no-nonsense way of expressing herself, that simply brooked no doubt of my sanity or innate goodness. This was despite the fact that she - or members of her family - had been the targets, both intended and unintended of three of the six attacks ordered by the mysterious Boss in Santa Fe.

The first two attacks had been about finding out where the gold I was depositing in Santa Fe was coming from. Five men died in those two attacks. When those attacks failed, the Boss changed his goal from finding out about the gold, to simply killing me. Forty-four men died in the next three attacks, I was wounded, and the extended Mendoza family, as well as my friends, had been directly involved.

The last attack had been yesterday, while Anna and I were walking alone from the church to the reception after the wedding. This time, though, we were prepared and had help. Tom Murphy, Giuseppe Gambino, along with Jorge and Juan Ortega ambushed the attackers when they opened fire on Anna and me in the street. Yolanda Ramirez (already the best sniper I’d ever worked with) and Sofia Gambino (Giuseppe’s wife) were on the roof of the Mendoza Stable, providing overwatch, just in case. Seven more men sent by ‘the Boss’ were dead when the smoke cleared.

I didn’t know how many more men ‘the Boss’ had, but I was certain that this wasn’t the last we’d hear from him.

In the meantime, Anna and I hadn’t had any time to talk about the last attack, or how she was holding up having killed her second and third man. Between the reception, dancing, 'exploring the possibilities' (as she called it) and sleeping; we were simply too busy. Today was going to be another busy day. We were riding to the fledgling Estancia Dos Santos, along with many others, to finally take up residence in the just completed Hacienda.

The light of early dawn bathed the room in a magical glow. Turning, I found myself looking into the bright twinkling eyes of a wide-awake Anna.

Pulling my head down to hers we shared a long kiss. How did you sleep husband mine? she asked while stretching.

I slept extremely well, Mrs. McAllister. How did you sleep? I said distractedly. Her stretching immediately brought thoughts of 'exploring other possibilities' to the forefront of my mind.

Her response caught me off guard as I was still contemplating 'the possibilities'. I slept the sleep of angels, mi amor, she replied quietly while beaming me one of her special huge super megawatt Anna smiles.

I couldn’t resist. Bending my neck down, I gave into temptation, and we shared another long kiss.

Mmmm. That was nice. We’d better get up, though, or we’re going to miss Tai Chi this morning, she said reluctantly.

Anna, I hate to break it to you, but it’s well past dawn. We’ve already missed Tai Chi. The others are probably eating breakfast already.

What!? Jumping out of bed, she began frantically picking up her wedding dress and my suit. How did we sleep so late. What will the others think?

I wasn’t really paying attention to anything she said, as I was once again contemplating 'exploring the possibilities'! It didn’t take her long to notice though, and she turned to face me demanding an answer.

My love, we overslept thanks to a long day. We were married, had a gunfight, enjoyed a long day and evening of dancing, followed by one of the most pleasant experiences of my life when we closed the door late last night, I replied gently, as I too got out of bed to pull her into a full hug and kiss her yet again. What the others think doesn’t really matter, but they will probably think we overslept for exactly the reasons I just gave. It was our wedding night, after all.

Blushing prettily Anna pulled my head down for another kiss. Finally breaking the kiss, her blush got even deeper. If it’s anything like last night I’m really looking forward to ‘exploring more possibilities', this evening.

Me, too! I answered with a chuckle. Just so you’re not surprised, we’ll probably miss tomorrow morning’s workout as well. We’ve got a long ride this morning, and the reception at the Hacienda will probably run just as long as last night’s; followed, of course, by more 'exploring’.

Snuggling deeper into my hug, she purred her response into my chest. That sounds like a grand program for the day. I suppose we’ll just have to work on building up our stamina, so it doesn’t tire us out so much that we miss our morning Tai Chi.

Another quick kiss and we broke our hug to prepare for the day. A few minutes later, rinsed off and dressed, we left the house.

Entering the restaurant, Anna waved me into the family dining room, letting me know she would bring our coffee and breakfast. It looked like that wasn't going to change. Anna would continue to decide what we ate.

Tom, Yolanda, Giuseppe, Sofia, and Father O’Shea were in the family dining room drinking coffee, having already finished breakfast.

Good morning everyone. We’re running a little late this morning and I apologize for that, I said as I settled into my usual seat at the table.

Good morning, Pablo. You’re earlier than most of us expected, so it isn’t a problem, Yolanda replied with a grin, clearly hinting at the imagined newlywed nighttime activities. We were just starting to explain the significance of yesterday’s gunfight to the Padre. No one thought to fill him in.

I still don’t understand how you killed seven men all by yourself without even being armed, the Padre said obviously confused and having no clue about what really happened.

Padre, both Anna and I were armed, and we weren’t alone. Of the seven men trying to kill us yesterday, I killed one, Anna killed two, Giuseppe, Jorge, Juan, and Tom each killed one, I replied to the surprise of the Padre.

Clearing his throat, Tom said, I didn’t really kill any, Paul. The one I shot was already dead from Yolanda’s shot.

I nodded my thanks to Yolanda, who beamed me one of her smiles before switching her gaze to Tom and turning the smile up to 'high beams'.

You mean you involved the women in a gunfight, and they killed men? the Padre sputtered with a red face clearly angry at the thought of women not only fighting but killing without any apparent remorse as well.

Anna came in as the Padre was talking and responded while setting our breakfast and coffee down.

"You act like they had any say in the matter, Padre. They didn’t LET us do anything. Our men were in danger, and we weren’t going to let them face that danger alone. Those weren’t the first men we’ve killed, and they probably won’t be the last. Get used to it, Padre."

I wasn’t on the stable roof alone, Padre, Yolanda chimed in. Sofia was right there with me, acting as my spotter and watching for any threats closer to us.

Still red-faced and sputtering, the Padre looked at the women around the table with incredulity.

Anna and I had started eating, so Tom tried to explain things.

Padre, a few years ago Paul found some gold. He's spent most of his time since then mining that gold and making periodic trips to Santa Fe where he put it in the bank. About a year ago someone in Santa Fe decided that Paul didn't deserve to keep that gold and set up an ambush just outside of Santa Fe. Between now and then, Paul has been attacked five more times, including yesterday's attempt. Three of the last four attacks have been here in town when Paul was with one or more members of the Mendoza family or his friends. The largest attack was out at the Hacienda when Paul was with friends and family. As a result, most of us - including the women - are armed all the time. A precaution, if you will, against attacks like yesterdays.

Thank you for explaining, the Padre, now much calmer, said. But I thought Paul was an orphan. What family did you mean?

Great Grandfather Garcia had come into the room with a cup of coffee of his own, while Tom was giving the Padre the background and answered the question before Tom could.

"Yes, he was orphaned; but almost immediately, he was adopted by one of my brothers. You need to understand that we Apache take family very seriously. Once Paul was adopted, he became family to all Apache Garcias. Paul offered his Estancia as a place for any of our family that are interested. There were fifteen or so Garcia families at the Estancia when it was attacked by a group of thirty raiders. You’ll meet them, and others who’ve arrived since then, when you get to the Estancia this afternoon."

That seemed to put an end to the discussion. After a moment or two Great Grandfather Garcia gave me and Anna a look.

Your wedding was very memorable, as was the reception. The whole town will be talking about it for quite a while.

I honestly don’t remember much after seeing Anna coming down the aisle with her big beautiful smile, I said around my coffee cup.

Anna beamed another of her megawatt Anna smiles while Tom reached out and caught Yolanda’s hand before it hit his arm.

Knock it off already, Paul, Tom demanded. My arm’s getting sore.

Start applying the lessons, I replied with a grin, as Yolanda giggled while giving Tom a lighter arm slap.

Looking out the window, I noticed Juan's adobe wagons coming down the street. I nodded at the window and told everyone that was our cue to get ready to leave. Quickly finishing our coffee, we all walked outside. One of the wagons stopped long enough to pick up the Padre, while the rest of us waited as our horses were brought over from the stable. It took a while but eventually, we had all said our goodbyes to the Mendoza clan, who had gathered out front. We mounted up and rode off in pursuit of the wagons.

Chapter 2

We caught up to the wagons about half a mile out of Las Cruces and slowed the horses to a walk next to the wagon the padre was riding in. Father O'Shea took in the shotguns and pistols we were all carrying along with the rifle scabbards.

You are all well-armed for such a short trip. Are all those guns really necessary? he asked wryly.

Tom barked out a laugh, and Anna responded with a grim smile of her own. You just listened to us explain about the attacks in town and the large attack at the Hacienda. What do you think happens out here? This isn't civilized country yet, Padre. There's no real law, and we've had to fight off quite a few Indian and bandit raids over the last four years. Hold-ups are becoming more frequent as well, although most of those are between Mesilla and El Paso.

He thought for a minute and then asked, Is it really necessary for the ladies to be armed as well? Are they any good with those guns?

This time it was me laughing.  Father O’Shea, we told you not an hour ago that Anna killed two and Yolanda killed one with those weapons they’re carrying. I’d say they’re pretty good with them. As a matter of fact, of the four of us, Anna is the best pistol shot while Yolanda is the best long-distance rifle shot.

He looked at us with more than a healthy measure of skepticism.

Looking down the road I spotted a barrel cactus that would be perfect for a quick demonstration.

Padre, do you see that barrel cactus on the right side of the road about forty yards out? I asked. At his nod, I turned to Anna with an eyebrow lifted in question.

With no more prompting than that Anna drew, fired five quick shots, holstered her pistol, and was returning the raised eyebrow to me. Father O'Shea was looking back and forth at the barrel cactus and Anna as if unable to believe either the speed with which it happened or the small cross Anna had drawn on the cactus with her shots.

We don't play around with weapons out here, Padre.  If someone is carrying a weapon, they'd better know how to use it, I responded to his unvoiced question.

We rode in silence for a few minutes before the Padre asked another question. What did you mean when you said Yolanda was the best long-distance rifle shot? Aren’t most rifle shots long distance by definition?

They certainly are. But most rifle shots are less than four hundred yards. When I say long distance in this context, I'm talking about anything beyond that, I replied.

Again, he looked at me with skepticism. 

We’ll show you on our morning ride, tomorrow.

Tom chimed in at that point. There’s no need to wait, Paul, unless you’re not interested in fresh meat. There are two bucks on the side of that hill, he said, pointing to a small hill just under 1200 yards away.

The rest of us pulled out our monoculars and looked where he was pointing.  Sure enough, two young bucks were getting ready for a fight.  I shook my head at his eyesight and handed Father O'Shea the monocular.  He looked a bit puzzled at first but put it to his eye as he'd seen us do and gasped.  Finally locating the deer, he looked at me questioningly. I simply pointed to Yolanda. 

With a grin, Yolanda opened her scabbard, taking out her A700.  I had the wagons stop while she dismounted, settled into a comfortable firing position, found the sight picture she wanted, tested the wind, adjusted the settings on her scope, and prepared to shoot.

Watch the deer through the monocular, Padre, I said quietly as Yolanda patiently waited for everything to line up to her satisfaction.

She pulled the trigger, chambered another round, and fired again four seconds later.  I heard Father O'Shea gasp and I looked at Yolanda with a raised eyebrow.

Fresh venison for the table, Tom said with a grin.

Yolanda put her rifle back in the scabbard and closed it up.  Grinning broadly, she nudged Tom and they rode off to field dress and pack the deer, telling us they'd catch up.  Father O'Shea handed me my monocular as we rode to catch up to the other wagons.

Sorry we took so long, but we decided to skin and butcher the deer while we were close to the river to clean up, Tom said as he and Yolanda rode up to us two hours later.

We rode for another hour talking back and forth when Tom said it looked like there was going to be one heck of a party at the Hacienda tonight, because from what he could see all the villagers and campers were on the plateau waiting for us.  Anna beamed me a huge smile, and I knew she was thinking about the dancing as a prelude to exploring more possibilities.

Anna and I took the lead crossing the Rio Grande and climbed the slope to the Hacienda while holding hands.  We were met by a reception fit for a king as we were thronged by well-wishers.

Eventually, we were able to introduce the Padre to the entire assembly and let them know he was considering becoming the village priest.  The villagers almost overwhelmed him with questions and escorted him to the head table.  I'm not sure what unsettled the Padre more, the greeting he was getting, or the Hacienda itself.

Inside the courtyard, Anna wanted to go inside and clean up a little before the party started. Following her to the door, I swooped her into my arms and carried her inside. Smiling broadly, she gave me a quizzical look.

It’s tradition.  The groom carries his new bride over the threshold of their home.

Bang!  Huge super megawatt Anna smile.

Carrying her over to the stairs, I set her down two stairs up.  Throwing her arms around me, she gave me a kiss to end all kisses.  Completely distracted by the kiss, I almost picked her back up to carry her into the bedroom.  The sound of dance music wafting in from the courtyard brought me back to my senses and I settled for chasing her upstairs where she caught me and shared another of those kisses filled with promise.

We finally broke the kiss, cleaned up, and walked out on the terrace. Standing at the railing, side by side, we looked over the courtyard and at the plateau beyond.  There were people everywhere. The masons were playing waltzes in the courtyard while couples danced across the open space.  Tables under the archways held more food than one of Mrs. Mendoza's courtyard gatherings. The musicians chose that moment to break into the Vienna Waltz.

Taking a step back, I presented myself to Anna with a small bow and held out my hand. Eyes twinkling in happiness, beaming one of those special megawatt smiles, she curtsied and came into my arms.

For the next several minutes we danced, oblivious to anything else around us. When the dance ended, we just stood there next to the railing, back where we’d started in each other’s arms, sharing another soulful kiss.  For just a few moments, the rest of the world disappeared and there was only the two of us, hopelessly lost in each other’s eyes as we silently celebrated our love.

The moment disappeared with thunderous applause from the courtyard and lower plateau.  Anna and I turned to see what everyone was applauding.  Turned out it was us.  Smiling at everyone, we waved, and then applauded the musicians.  Giving Anna my arm we descended the outside stairs to join the party in the courtyard below.

Cristina met us as we reached the bottom step and escorted us through the dancers to a table where Celia was just setting down our lunch. With a grin, Martina reached around me as I sat down to add a small plate of biscochitos. Smiling my thanks, I quickly popped one of the delicious cookies into my mouth, before Anna could interfere. Anna was shaking her finger at me when Tom, Yolanda, and Father O’Shea joined us at the table with their own plates of food.

Looks like all those dance lessons paid off, Paul.  You actually looked pretty good up there, Tom said with a smile as he sat down.

I nodded, chewing on my cookie.

Father O'Shea was trying to watch everywhere at once. Is this to be my congregation?

Swallowing, I said, Yes, Padre. Within the constraints we explained at our first lunch, they are a part of your congregation.

What do you mean by 'part’? he asked with a surprised look on his face.

Tom answered him this time as I was chewing again.  Padre, within the next few months, these folks will be joined by another 200 farmers and 100 vaqueros along with their families.

At that point, Father O'Shea finally began to understand the scope of the Estancia. I knew that tomorrow would open his eyes even more.

Finishing our lunch, we talked to whoever wandered by and received congratulations on our nuptials and the terrace waltz. I was sipping my customary after-lunch coffee when the musicians took a break. Anna disappeared inside and reappeared carrying my guitar.

Handing me the guitar she asked me to play. So, I played Anna’s Song watching the smile light up her face.  When I was done, I played If Tomorrow Never Comes and again Anna’s smile lit up my world. I started to put the guitar down for a break when a little boy came up and asked me to play some songs for kids. 

I’d be happy to, young man; but first, go get the other kids. When you’re all sitting down, I’ll play a few songs just for you.

With a grin and a nod, he ran off. Five minutes later the courtyard began filling up with kids.  Most of them looked to be twelve and under but there were quite a few teenaged girls who appeared to be their minders hanging around the edges.  Looking out at all the kids, I realized there almost wasn't enough room for them all in the courtyard.  The village plaza would have to be the site for all future parties, as there just wouldn’t be enough room here for everyone when the Estancia was fully staffed. 

I decided to start out with a song that no kid I'd ever met could resist. When I finished 16 Tons, I sang Sweet Caroline. I paused to take a sip of coffee and then asked the kids if anyone would like to hear a song about unicorns. A loud chorus of 'yes' and I was off singing the The Unicorn Song followed by Una Paloma Blanca. A quick sip of coffee and I swung into Somewhere Over The Rainbow followed by I Know an Old Lady.

I have one last song for you for now; but if you’re all good, I’ll sing you one more song later before you go to bed, I said.

I was a little startled when cheering broke out.  Looking over at Anna she whispered that the kids in Las Cruces told them about the lion song.  Mentally shaking my head, I sang them the story of Puff The Magic Dragon.  When I'd finished the teenaged girls started herding them back out of the courtyard.

The musicians started playing again, the courtyard started filling back up with adults, and Anna and I walked out to the dance area.  Dancing with anyone who asked or caught our eye, we didn't quit until the musicians took another break.

We were laughing so hard at some of the comments our partners made that we had a hard time walking back to the table.  We both gratefully accepted a glass of tea from Carla as we sat down.  We had been sitting, drinking tea, for less than five minutes when one of the musicians came over to the table.

Paul, who plays the piano in the house? he asked curiously.

Anna just pointed to me.

Surprised, I asked, When was the piano delivered?

Anna laughed.  It was freighted out here the day after we got to Las Cruces.  The piano tuner followed it here a few days later and tuned it.

Taking my hand, she led me and the musicians inside.  How I could have missed it when we first came in, I have no idea.  She led me over to it, opened the cover on the keyboard, pulled out the bench, and sat me down.

Stretching my fingers, I warmed up with Fur Elise.  That brought all the musicians into the room with their instruments.  Closing my eyes, I started Mozart's Piano Concerto #23.  I was less than ten bars into it when the violins of the musicians joined in.

I luxuriated in the feeling of playing one of my favorite piano pieces with really good accompaniment.  Finished, I sat quietly with my eyes still closed basking in the feeling.  The quiet was shattered by more loud applause.  I opened my eyes in a startled reflex and looked around.  The room was absolutely packed with people! They were even standing on the stairs and crowding the door.  Recovering, I stood up, bowed, and presented the musicians for applause of their own.

When the room had emptied, I gave Anna a huge hug and kiss in thanks for the surprise; before we joined everyone else back in the courtyard, for the next round of dancing. By the time the band took their next break, Anna and I were both ready for a break, too. We were soon joined by Tom, Yolanda, Giuseppe, Sofia, Heinrich, and Anya.  We all sat drinking our tea and cooling down from the dancing.

I did take the opportunity to mention that I'd talked to several ladies who had asked about dance lessons sometime in the future.  The ladies all looked at each other and got big grins on their faces.  When I suggested Sunday afternoons in the village plaza as an idea, Anna asked me why they couldn't do it here in the courtyard.

We can, Anna, but when the next batch of farmers get here our courtyard will simply be too small to handle everyone, I replied.

Looking out at the packed courtyard they couldn’t help but agree. Further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Carla and Celia with supper. As before, Anna and I were served, while everyone else lined up at the food tables that were once again fully laden with food.

I sat listening to the table conversation over the hum of three hundred people quietly talking and eating in a relatively small space.  I hadn't realized just how much I'd missed having people around me like this.  Everyone seemed happy and content, and I vowed to provide them as much contentment as I could, given what I knew was coming.  Anna, apparently reading my mind, nudged me, giving me a big smile.

What’s in store for tomorrow? Father O'Shea asked over our after-supper coffee.

It’s Sunday. I think most would appreciate a service in the morning, if you’re willing, Padre. Perhaps an open-air service in the village starting at ten? He gave a pleased nod of assent.

I stood up, gave Anna my arm, and we walked up the outside steps to the terrace railing where we looked over the courtyard and lower plateau.  We stood there for a minute or two, looking out over the crowd with our arms around each other’s waist. I saw Tom glance up at us before standing up and motioning the courtyard to silence. Eventually, silence reigned and with a bow to us, Tom took his chair.

Thank you all for coming to help us celebrate our wedding, Anna said while beaming one of her special smiles. Pablo and I send a special thanks to all those who brought the delicious food we all enjoyed for lunch and supper. A round of applause broke out for the food. When it quieted back down, Anna pointed towards our table. Father O'Shea will be holding an open-air service tomorrow morning at ten in the plaza, for those who are interested. We both hope to see you there. Now, let’s get back to the food and more dancing.

Daylight was starting to rapidly fade as we ate. Lamps began to magically appear on the tables and along the tops of the walls enhancing the party atmosphere. The musicians who'd been waiting to start their next set immediately began playing. We waved at everyone before walking back downstairs to rejoin the dancing.

The kids started filtering into the courtyard during the band's next break. I stood up at the table and loudly said it was time for the kid's song and asked all the parents to move to the terrace, the