Reba bit at her cuticles, unsure of what to say or do. “Where is he?”
“That’s the thing—they got him detained at the station.”
Reba bit too deep. Her nail bed welled a pinprick of blood.
“I remembered you said your ex was a Border Patrol guy. I thought, maybe …”
“I can try.” Reba sucked the blood and swallowed the taste of iron. “You just hold tight.”
She hung up. On the television screen, Anthony Bourdain’s face puckered with nausea. Reba felt similarly. She dialed Riki’s number.
He answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
His voice took her breath away.
“Hello?” he repeated. “Reba?”
“Yeah. It’s me. Hi—sorry.” She pulled herself together. Right now, she had to forget about her feelings and give him the facts. “Riki, I have a friend who’s in trouble. His name is Sergio Rodriguez. He got picked up by the CBP. He’s an illegal, but he’s been here for decades.”
There was a long pause. Reba tucked the phone close to her chin, listening to his breath whisper over the line. God, she missed him.
“We have him in detainment,” Riki finally said.
“Is there any way to release him? He just needs a new visa.” Her fingers shook, so she knit them together. “We can’t let them throw him out of the country for good.”
“Reba, we have a process, and you know better than anyone that I can’t bend the law. Not even for you. I—” he began, but faltered. He cleared his throat.
As hard as it was for Reba to hear his voice, she realized it was equally hard for him to hear hers.
“Riki, I wouldn’t have called, but you’re the only one I trust. I hoped you could help.”
“What’s so special about this guy? What makes him different from all the rest?”
His bitter tone grated her bones, and her confidence floundered. “My friend Jane loves him.” Again, she sucked the blood from her finger. It stung.
“I could get in a real mess of trouble for this.” He sighed. “But we’ve had paperwork oversights in the past. It’ll only buy him a few days.”
“Anything,” said Reba.
“Give me an hour. He’ll be in front of the station.”
Reba leaned her cheek into the heat of the phone, willing him close to her through the wires and signals. “Thank you.”
Another empty silence.
“Well, I better—” Riki began.
“I miss you.” Reba didn’t know where it came from. She covered her mouth and listened to the snaps of static.
“Yeah,” he said curtly.
“I was wrong.” Reba gulped. “About a lot of things. I was … scared.”
Something clicked in the background. A pen, she guessed.
“I was wrong too.” Riki exhaled. “I was asking for things I wasn’t offering. I need to change.”
Reba’s chest seemed to draw in all the air it could hold, then burst with joy and relief and love.
A tourism commercial flickered across the television: California. Find yourself there.
Early the next morning, Reba stood beside Jane, Sergio, and Riki in the El Paso County Clerk’s Office. They needed two eyewitnesses. Reba was an obvious choice, but the second was hard to come by on such short notice. Jane refused to call Elsie. Explaining all this at sunrise was not a good introduction to her new son-in-law. Reba agreed, so she dialed Riki once more. He consented to come, saying it would serve to verify Sergio’s status. Reba hoped it was more than that.
Jane wore a gauzy, white shirt and a flowing skirt dotted with blue-bonnets. Her hair was pulled back in a neat twist that accentuated her blond and minimized her gray. She glowed and bore a striking resemblance to the young Elsie in the black-and-white photograph.
For forty-two dollars, the county clerk conducted a concise but earnest ceremony and handed them a certificate. “I pronounce you man and wife.”
Reba swallowed hard. Beside her, heated tension rose palpably from Riki.
“Well, I never thought the day would come.” Jane kissed Sergio.
“Congratulations,” said Reba.
“I want to thank you very, very much for everything you’ve done.” Sergio shook her hand and then Riki’s with such sincerity that Reba blushed. All she’d done was make a phone call. Riki, alone, warranted the thanks.
“Time for the reception!” proclaimed Jane. “I’m going to cut me off a fat wedge of cake and lick up every last chocolate crumb.” She stopped suddenly and rubbed her forehead. “That is, after I tell Mom. Lord help us.”
Sergio put an arm round her shoulder.
“She’s just going to have to face the facts.” Jane leaned into him. “Reba, Riki, you’re coming, right?”
“I best get back to the station. Otherwise, Bert’s going to kill somebody for letting Sergio slip. Need to straighten things up,” said Riki.
Reba shifted uneasily. It’d been so long since she’d seen him, and it felt so nice standing that close. She didn’t want him to leave.
“Please,” Jane interceded. “Come have some Black Forest cake on the house. I insist. I got to thank you for all you did for us. You know, I keep reminding myself that we’ve just met, but it sure does feel like I’ve known you awhile—probably because Reba’s talked about you so much.”
Reba caught Riki’s eye.
“I guess I can spare a few.” He rubbed his stomach. “I haven’t had breakfast, and I hear you make the best pastries in town.”
Jane winked. “Sure shootin’, I do.”
Pulling into the bakery parking lot, they knew there was trouble. At quarter after nine, the Closed sign still hung over the door though the lights inside were on.
A patron battled the wind back to his car. “Not open today,” he yelled to them.
Jane jingled her keys in the front lock and entered. “Mom!”
“Where have you been?” Elsie’s voice came from behind the curtained kitchen.
All four gave a collective sigh.
“I am not young anymore. I cannot be mixing, baking, icing, and helping customers. At one point in my life, ja, but not now.” A pan banged. “I wake this morning and you are disappeared. I think you have come early for the pretzels, so I drive over myself, but in the kitchen is no one. The dough is bloomed to hell!” Another bang. “Customers knocking on the door all morning. I hurry but … Damn old hands! Damn new ovens! Gas does not cook like a good wood fire.” She emerged from the kitchen carrying two loaves, her face as pale as her floured palms. “Oh, you have been out with friends. How considerate.” She tossed the loaves on the shelf and pushed thin, white strands behind her ears.
“Mom, it was an emergency,” explained Jane.
“An emergency? Uh-huh. So emergent you could not wake your mutti to let her know?” Suddenly her face twisted up, and she covered her mouth.
“Mom, I’m sorry.” Jane went to her side and pulled her close. “I’m here now.”
For the first time since Reba had met her, Elsie looked her age, worn hard by days and nights, weeks and years. Reba had to look away, down at the floor, at her shoes, at Riki’s. She thought of her own mother and all she had been through.
Elsie recovered fast, shook off angry ghosts, and lifted her chin. “Excuse me. This morning has been difficult. You will explain later.” She cleared her throat and proceeded with business. “Mach schnell! Reba, please would you flip the sign. We are open. Jane, bring Sergio his usual and …” She turned to Riki. “I don’t believe we have met.”