1886 Back in Mexico
Elizabeth, Pilar, and one of the ranch hands rode into Santa Maria in the early morning, on one of their weekly shopping trips. Although the ranch produced some crops, it didn’t support the household, which required more than just corn. Elizabeth smiled to herself at the thought. She and her husband had built the ranch to breed and raise horses, and they’d put all of their energy into that. Perhaps if they’d planned ahead, they would have dedicated more land toward a larger garden.
Not that she had time to tend to such things. Besides, she never minded coming into Santa Maria for supplies. It gave her a chance to hear the news from the surrounding country. Her eyes turned toward the newspaper’s office at that thought, and she wondered if she’d received any news of her own. She hadn’t heard from Will in many weeks, and knew that he preferred telegrams to traditional letters. Perhaps she should check with the office before she went to the grocers.
“Mama, I want to go to the feed store to look at saddles and bridles! Can I? I will meet you back at the carriage!” her daughter said, interrupting her thoughts and grabbing at her hand.
Elizabeth sighed. Her daughter had grown up on a horse ranch and had the heart to prove it. She spent more time with horses than she did with people, and had announced her intention to become a jockey the year before. Elizabeth had been less than pleased with the idea. Jockeys lived a dangerous life, jumping from horse to horse and race to race, and finding themselves bruised and battered more often than not. Many of them also died.
She didn’t want to encourage that sort of life for her daughter, who had a bright mind and would be better served going to school, as her mother had done. And on top of that, she didn’t have the money for a new saddle. Or bridle. Or horse.
She loved her daughter, but there were times when the girl dreamed too big for Elizabeth’s liking.
“Pilar, do not get your hopes up about getting a new saddle! The one you have is fine. You know we are not able to afford expensive things like that.”
The girl giggled. “I won’t, Mama! I just like to look at them and touch them and imagine Prince wearing them. Besides, I heard that Senor Ruiz is offering a new saddle and bridle set as the top prize at his next race. Perhaps Prince and I can come in first place and win them!”
Elizabeth chuckled, despite herself. “Well that would certainly be a way to get yourself some new tack. Jorge, can you go to the gun shop and pick up those supplies on the list?” Elizabeth asked, turning to the ranch hand.
“On my way, Señora Arroyo. I will meet you back at the carriage after your shopping.”
Elizabeth smiled to herself, realizing how lucky she was. She loved her children dearly, and was blessed with a beautiful ranch and hard-working ranch hands who considered themselves part of the family. The ranch was thriving, their horses gaining a reputation for their strength and endurance, and soon they would have a new source of fresh water in the valley. The Mexican government had promised it. Yes, things were turning out just as she and her husband had once dreamed.
Suddenly, she was shaken from her day dream.
“Señora Arroyo! Señora Arroyo!”
Elizabeth glanced up and behind her to see Ignacio Sanchez, abogado (mayor) of Santa Maria, waving his hands and running toward her, out of breath, from the direction of his office – one of the finer buildings in town. Ignacio Sanchez was a jovial and gregarious person, in all of his 300-pound frame, bald head, and fat fingers. She’d never had any problems with him before.
Of course she’d never seen him expending so much energy before, either.
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned toward Ignacio to allow him catch up to her. “Abogado Sanchez, nice to see you again. It’s been a while,” she said, wondering what had him in such a panic.
“Señora Arroyo, I need to talk to you about something very important.”
Obviously. “What is it, Abogado Sanchez?”
“Por favor, come back to my office.”
Elizabeth glanced in the direction of the general store, weighing her options. She needed to get some things before meeting Pilar and Jorge back at the carriage, and she wanted to stop by the newspaper office to see about any telegrams. Catching Ignacio’s urgent tone, though, she decided to walk back to his office to talk with him, a slight worry growing in her mind. She would stop by the newspaper and general store on her way back.
“Abogado Sanchez, is your wife OK? Is that what’s wrong?” His wife, Patricia, had gone into labor early, and Elizabeth – the best healer in town – had been summoned to treat her. When she left, though, the woman and child had been doing fine, sleeping off the labor together in the biggest bed in the house. Still, it was the only thing she could think of that would disturb the man so greatly.
“Oh, Patricía is fine. Thank you for the concern. No, it is much more urgent than that. Por favor, Señora, come into to my office.”
Elizabeth nodded and stepped into the building, which had a high roof, polished wooden furniture, and multiple rooms on the first floor – his secretary Terésa’s office, and his own. Elizabeth smiled to herself. It wasn’t the first time she’d been in the building, but it never failed to surprise her that the mayor thought he needed so much space to himself. After all, he employed only Teresa. Who knew what was in all the other offices.
They stepped into his large private office. There was a single window behind the mayor, which opened into a large, manicured courtyard, and a large wooden desk, with fresh flowers in a beautiful vase. Elizabeth sighed. It was all so out of place compared to the rest of the town, in which most of the people could barely afford fresh feed for their horses, let alone fresh cut flowers in a fancy vase. The difference was glaring, and she wondered again how he could live with himself. There were people starving outside, for goodness sake, and yet here he was with his fan and fresh flowers. What exactly were his obligations to the town?
He was, of course, dressed in clean, pressed white pants, a white shirt, and a dark blue, waist-cut overcoat, all which made him sweat continuously in the hot Mexican summer. But he never altered his outfit, thinking, perhaps, that it made him seem more important. In reality, the people of the town saw little more than the fact that the clothing alone could have fed a small family for a month. One more thing that made him stand out.
Still, he evidently had news for her. He motioned to Elizabeth to take a seat in the wooden chair in front of his desk, and sat heavily in his own chair.
Then, breathing in deeply, he started, “Señora Arroyo, I have just come back from a meeting in Mexico City.” There was a brief pause as he collected his breath again.
“I hope you had a nice time, Ab–”
He put his hand up, interrupting her. “I did, thank you. However, I learned of some very disturbing news, which concerns all of Santa Maria, as well as your ranch and the surrounding ranches.” The abogado paused again before catching his breath. This time, Elizabeth did not speak. She stared intently at him, not wanting to miss a thing. Important news that had to do with her ranch? Who in Mexico City would be worried about her ranch?
“I attended a planning meeting for the Land Use and Water Use departments.” Another brief pause as he inhaled. Then, even more slowly than before, he stuttered out the rest of his message. “ There … is a plan … to build a large dam. On the San Gabriel River.” He pause briefly to catch his breath and make sure that Elizabeth understood what he was saying.
She simply stared at him, her mouth open in shock. “A what?”
“A large dam, a presa. The location has not been decided upon yet, but the plans are for the San Gabriel, between Santa Maria and the US border.”
Elizabeth looked down at her hands, frowning, and then and back up at the abogado, trying to figure out what this news really meant. “What does this mean? Am I going to lose some of my ranch?” She caught her breath for an instant and gasped, looked straight at Abogado Sanchez. “Are we going to lose the entire ranch?” Her voiced rose and broke.
Shaking his head, he put both his hands up, palms toward her, as if to tell her that it was going to be okay. “Por favor, Señora Arroyo. No need to get upset at this point. All of that is unknown. I just arrived home a day ago, and I wanted to tell you and the other ranchers what I was told. That is all I know.”
In a low and sober tone, and looking back down at her hands in her lap, she muttered, “I appreciate that. I really do. You have always been a good abogado to Santa Maria. But if something is going to happen, we must know about it, and soon. They must give us some warning. When will we find out more?”
He slapped his chubby hands together, as if he was trying to lighten the mood. “Well, there is some good news!” he said. “People from the Land Use and Water Use departments want to schedule a meeting in Santa Maria to allow everybody to ask all their questions and find out more.”
Elizabeth cleared her throat, giving herself some time. That wasn’t exactly good news. In fact, it sounded more like the departments of Land and Water Use coming to deliver the bad news in person. “When is that scheduled?”
“That has not been decided either, but when I know, I will let everybody else know as well.” He stood up from his chair with some difficulty, finished with the meeting, and started to usher Elizabeth out of the office. Still numb from this news – was this what the government had meant by a new source of fresh water? – she allowed herself to be led out of the office, out of the building, and onto the street.
“Sir, how long do these dams take to build?” she asked, anxious to get as much information as she could before he went on his way.
“Now don’t you worry, my dear,” he answered, laying one clammy hand on her arm. She resisted the urge to shrug it off; she needed his information if she was going to act. “These things are massive, and take years to plan, and more years to build. Your children will probably be adults, with their own families, before anything starts to happen.”
She sighed. Given her fears, she could only hope that he was right. The government had never built a dam near her before, but she knew what it meant – blocking off a river. Creating a false lake. Drowning the land around it.
And they happened most often in valleys like the one where her ranch sat.
“Thank you, Abogado. Thank you very much.” She shook his hand and turned to slowly walks away from the office, not really knowing where she was heading.
“We will be talking! Once I know about the meetings, I will let everybody know. Good day, Señora! Good day!”
Elizabeth walked slowly down the middle of the street, lost in thought and confusion, not quite knowing where she was going. Gone were her plans to shop for supplies, or check for a telegram. A dam? In her home? Taking her ranch? What would she do? What would her children do? Surely this couldn’t be true!
“Mama! Mama! Mama! Where are you going?”
Elizabeth looked up from her stupor and noticed that she was walking toward the outside of town, past the carriage, the general store, and the feed store. She’d passed her daughter without even realizing it. She stopped and looked back to where Pilar was standing and calling her.
The girl walked slowly toward Elizabeth, her face concerned. “Mama, are you alright?”
Realizing that she still needed to go into the general store, Elizabeth handed Pilar the list and some money. “Por favor, Pilar, can you go to the store and get these things for me? I don’t think I can go right now.”
“Mama, what is wrong? What happened?” Pilar asked. Her face was frightened now, concerned at her mother’s words, and Elizabeth tried to get control of herself. She was frightened, yes, but it would never do to worry her daughter as well. Not yet.
“Pilar, please just go to the store. We need to go home. I’ll explain everything when we get there, I promise. Run to the store and I’ll find Jorge to carry the packages for you. I shall meet you at the carriage.”
Pilar sighed, but nodded. “Esta bien, Mama.”
She rushed to the gun shop, found Jorge, and pulled him toward the general store to pick up what was on the list. Elizabeth sighed in some relief; at least she wouldn’t have to deal with the nosy owners of the general store. They were more curious than she liked, and her thoughts were a million miles away. The last thing she wanted to do was answer questions from the townspeople.
Instead, she climbed into the carriage to wait, leaning her forehead against the wall, closing her eyes, and praying steadily for guidance.
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