The Wilder Sisters (23 page)

“Well, in a manner of speaking.” “Oh, Austin.”

He looked down at the floor. “Billy was nice enough not to throw me in jail right then, but I had to promise to be in Judge Trujillo’s chambers at noon. It’s half past eleven now.”

As of the previous year, New Mexico had a zero tolerance thing going for drunk drivers. Of course, Floralee being a small town, and Austin caring for most of the population’s animals, he traveled in its higher echelons. When people like him got in trouble, the con- sequences were handled “creatively.”

Rose let out a weary sigh. “Call yourself a cab.” “Hate to. Everyone will hear about it if I do.”

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you had all those drinks.” Good Lord, she sounded like his mother! Rose shut down the file she was working on and stood up. “I’ll drive you on one condition.”

Austin looked visibly relieved. “Name it.” “Tonight you go to an AA meeting.”

“I can’t do that.” “Why not?”

“People know me here.”

“Then you’ll go to the one at Our Lady of Guadalupe. And you’re going to go every night this week, and the week after that, until you get things under control, one meeting every week for the rest of your life or I will quit my job and you can figure your own damn taxes.” He made a face. “Aw, Rose. All they do at those meetings is smoke cigarettes and tell embarrassing stories. The women are ugly old hammers who all want to kiss and hug you in the name of getting sober, and when they laugh it sounds like they swallowed gravel.

Those people grew up in bars and graduated to the gutter. I’m not that kind of drunk.”

“Oh, I see. Getting drunk in the ¡Andale! is any more commend- able? My father goes to AA. Do you think any less of him because of that?”

“No.”

“Austin, I don’t care if the women in those meetings ride brooms to get there. If what they do works, it’s worth your time. Besides, you’ll fit right in. You have a number of embarrassing stories of your own you can share. I can refresh your memory if you don’t remember the details.”

That shook him up, but not for long. “The church is all the way in Taos. How am I supposed to get there and back if I’m not allowed to drive? It’s impractical.”

Rose pushed her chair in and picked up her purse. “Simple. I’m going to drive you.”

“Do I have a choice here?”

“Absolutely. Me or the cab or your own two feet.”

He hesitated only a second before he answered. “You.”

As they walked out the front door Paloma made the sign of the cross, rattling off something dire sounding in heavy-duty Spanish. Rose smiled as her boss held the door open for her.

Eloy Trujillo was a fair judge. He loved the law, and the town of Floralee, where his family tree extended back several generations. He also loved

his mules, Luz and Oscuro, a stately pair who occupied the field in front of his house and dined as well as his grandchildren. Luz was pure white, Oscuro the glossy bay that comes from excellent breed- ing, careful diet, and an abundance of tender loving care. They were groomed on a daily basis by Eloy’s grandsons, and their health care was entrusted to Austin Donavan, DVM, and nobody else. Now the vet stood before the judge for the second time, and Rose could see that Eloy was having a little trouble managing his conscience. Driving drunk once he could accept. After all, the vet’s wife had behaved scandalously, and even the most gentlemanly of individuals could contain the hurt for only so long. But twice? Twice knocked Dr. Donavan down toward the level of ordinary, to criminal. The law was clear on repeat offenses. Austin wasn’t going to weasel his way out of this arrest so easily.

“Ever since Billy called me I’ve been ruminating over your situ- ation, Austin. A broken heart can kick the pins out from under one, yes. But a real man dusts himself off and continues on, or he jumps off the bridge into the Rio Grande.
Qué vergüenza
! You bring dishonor to this town, where you not only have a purpose but also the respons- ibility to set an example. This time I can’t let you off with only a fine, but if I throw you in jail, the animals will suffer. What a bind you put me in.” The judge touched his mustache and looked at the New Mexico state flag, which hung limply from a steel pole next to his desk. “I don’t care to be pushed into corners.”

Austin remained standing, Rose beside him. “I know you’ll do whatever you think is fair, Eloy.”

“Here’s what I’ve come up with. No driving for one month. You need to go on calls, you get someone to drive you. After that, to work and back only. I’ll instruct my officers to stop you periodically, and anytime they ask, you will voluntarily submit to a Breathalyzer test.” He shook his finger in Austin’s direction. “If there is so much as one
apice
of alcohol in your system, it’s straight to jail, no more chances. And you agree to make thirty AA meetings in thirty days, bringing to the court weekly proof in the form of those signed cards.”

“As it happens, I’m headed to a meeting in Taos tonight.” With an effort, Rose managed to restrain her smile.

“Excellent. In addition, I think one hundred hours’ community service would help to erase this debacle from my memory while eternally fixing it in yours. To that end, the Pueblos can always use some

veterinary assistance, and I want you to offer your services free of charge to NMGRA.”

“NMGRA? What is that?”

Eloy paused to take a sip of water from the glass on his desk. He set the glass down, and his expression remained solemn. “The New Mexico Gay Rodeo Association. This October they’re holding their event in Floralee, down at the sheriff’s posse arena. We want to make them feel welcome to spend their tax dollars in our town. It would be very beneficial to our economy. It also promotes goodwill among diverse people. So you will go to that rodeo and make certain their animals receive any attention they require free of charge.
Sabes como
?”

Rose had to admire how quickly Austin recovered his poise. After a few seconds of open-mouthed astonishment he nodded his head in agreement. “Whatever kind of rodeo it is, I guess I can help out.” “
Bueno
.” The judge stood up. “My mules and I are glad this matter could be worked out so easily, as they are needing some veterinary

attention before the winter. So if we are all in agreement?” “That we are.”

Eloy stopped at the door, a file folder in his hand. “One more thing, Austin. I don’t have to tell you what happens if there is a third occurrence of this trouble. Be assured, if such a thing happens, you will find no mercy in these chambers.”

“No, Eloy. I’m guessing I won’t.”

“Then the next time we meet, it will be in my yard to attend my

mulos
.”

On the drive to Taos, Austin unloaded on Rose, beginning with difficult clients, graduating to medical equipment that needed ex- pensive repairs, eventually getting around to explaining that he’d taken the first drink—which had led to the second—because that day in the mail he’d gotten another request for an increase in Leah’s alimony. The underpinnings of his outrage were as sorrowful as they were simple: He missed the wife he’d been court-ordered to write the checks to. Some men just needed to be married. The kind of loneliness he was suffering from wasn’t terminal, however. Why, if he’d open his eyes a little wider, all kinds of options were available for the taking.

“You know I’ll have to go to court to fight her,” he said. “Likely I’ll lose.”

“Then don’t fight.”

“How would you like it, Rose, having to pay money every month to the person who wrecked your life?”

She thought of her husband, who’d left her so little in the way of financial security that she’d had to return to full-time work and ju- diciously clip coupons. Of all those nights she’d sat up in bed afraid to lie down and shut her eyes, to feel how alone she really was. “I’m sure I wouldn’t like it at all, Austin. Maybe you could think of ali- mony like paying off a really poor investment, you know, like a speedboat bought in the heat of the moment.”

Austin laughed. “Yeah, a speedboat about covers Leah. Wish she’d move to Europe. God knows she could afford to live there on what I’m paying her.”

Rose downshifted to accommodate the road’s gradual incline. “Pretend she has.”

“Most of the time I can. It’s seeing her pop up in my world every so often that knocks me down. You know what Leah’s like?”

A dozen answers sprang to Rose’s mind, among them:
Yes, a per- petual reminder that I need to lose ten pounds
. “No, Austin. Why don’t you tell me?”

“A damned gopher in the vegetable patch.”

Rose smiled. “My grandpop used to try to drown gophers with a garden hose. All it did was make the holes muddy. He’d step in one and sprain an ankle, swear a blue streak. I used to wonder to myself, would it be so terrible if he just let them have half?”

Austin looked at her. “What makes you think gophers know how to divide?”

“Um, positive thinking?”

He sighed. “Mrs. Flynn, I’d appreciate the hell out of it if you’d stop trying to cheer me up.”

“I’d be delighted to, Doctor Donavan. The moment you stop trying to drag me down I’ll do just that.”

The rest of the way to town he was quiet, no doubt thinking over his various legal options.
A checkbook was one thing
, Rose thought,
and the money in it, at best, transitional. The problem with this particular gopher wasn’t money, it was the half of Austin’s heart wedged between the long yellow teeth. That he needed to reclaim
.

“Buy you dinner at Michael’s,” Rose said when they arrived in Taos an hour before the meeting convened. “It can’t be anything fancy, since as you know, I’ve recently been robbed.”

Austin had been staring out the window. He looked over at her. “You reckon Amanda took that money to buy drugs?”

Rose shook her head no. “My daughter eats too much to be on drugs. I think her problem is that she lacks a moral compass. Amanda sees what she wants in front of her, she grabs it up quick, with no thought to anyone’s needs but her own. I tried to set the best example I could, but the minute I turned my back Philip or Pop gave her whatever she wanted. Kind of hard to fight that.”

“You seem like a good mother to me. I’m sorry she disappointed you.”

“Thanks. I’m sorrier that she took my grocery money.” Rose pulled the car into an empty space. “But I bet the
sopas
they make at Mi- chael’s will help me forget. What do you say? Will you help me eat a basketful?”

For the first time all day, Austin smiled a smile that was all hers. “Sure. I’ll have to pay you back, Rose. I’m tapped clean after paying that fine.”

“Don’t worry about it. I said it was my treat.”

She opened the car door and turned in the direction of the restaur- ant. Austin stuck his hands in his pockets and followed. The street traffic was light considering the time of day. A slight breeze blew the first fall leaves to surrender in a colorful swirl at their feet. This dusty road led past old churches and a lovingly tended cemetery to the mountains. Austin’s troubles were temporary. Rose felt blessed: Her horse was in foal, the trees were turning, and she was about to have dinner with a friend—
Go on, make yourself say it
, she prod- ded—she had liked for years and now was beginning to love.

Austin held the café door open. “Haven’t been to this place in ages. Surprised it’s still open.”

“Are you kidding? Michael’s is famous.” “Is that so?”

“Made it into the AAA guidebook.” “Well, that explains your dedication.”

“Stop teasing me and order some juice,” she told him when they were seated in a booth by the window. “You need sugar in your system

if you’re going to make it through the meeting without the jitters.” “How is it you know so much about drunks?”

She unfolded her napkin in her lap and ran a finger down the menu before she answered him. “Let’s see, for starters, one killed my husband. I took that a little personally, and then I attended a few Al-Anon meetings so I wouldn’t stay bitter and angry for the rest of my life.” She bit her lip and waited a moment before finding her voice again. “And what do you know, there happens to be this handsome drunk in my life I’m ridiculously fond of. He doesn’t deserve it, of course, but however things are, I try my best to deal with them.”

Austin looked at her as if this might be the first time he’d seen her up close without makeup. “What are you saying, Rose?”

Her palms felt damp against the paper napkin. “I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m saying.”

“I’ve been under water awhile. I need you to spell it out.”

She glanced around the restaurant where couples were tasting forkfuls of each others’ meals, laughing over private jokes, chatting easily about how their days had gone. It had never been like that for her and Philip, even though she had wanted it to be. Maybe that kind of closeness was a fable, but it didn’t mean a woman had to stop trying.
We have all of us been under water
, she mused,
only some of us were wearing our face masks and snorkels
. “Austin, you’re a smart man, figure it out.”

He leaned across the table. “Are you sitting here on maybe the worst night of my life telling me that you’re
romantically
interested in my sorry carcass? I thought we were friends.”

She closed her menu. “I’m going to have the salad and the barley soup. That soup always tastes so good in the fall. When I make it at home it never tastes the same as Michael’s. That and the basket of
sopas
. I hope you’re hungry. They don’t keep well enough to take home.”

Austin took hold of her hand. “Your barley soup’s a Floralee le- gend. Whenever you bring me a pot, I try to make it last all week, but I just keep on refilling my bowl until the pan’s empty. I asked you a question.”

She picked up her spoon and stared at her reflection, which looked sad and bowed in the arc of the metal. She shouldn’t have blurted it out like that. Just unpinned her heart from her sleeve and handed it to

him. “And I don’t think you’re ready to hear the answer. So let’s eat dinner and get you through that meeting.”

“Dammit all, Rose,” he said, and then the waiter arrived. Rose ordered her dinner. “Whatever she said, bring that for me, too,” Austin said. “Along with some orange juice. Large glass.”