Chapter Twenty-Nine, Part Two

After watching Mateo take his daughter to meet the other students, Robert headed toward the store, suppressing a bemused smile. He was pleased that Sophie already had a friend, but he wished it had occurred to him to invite Mateo to the house over the weekend to give Sophie some encouragement. It would have made this morning much more pleasant. Well, better late than never, and hopefully Sophie would have a bevy of new friends by the end of the day.

He walked toward the store, waving and returning greetings from his neighbors as they went about their business, folks starting the week as a community where everyone knew everyone else and nothing too disruptive or unexpected ever happened. He had to admit that a town like this had an appeal of sorts. It was like living in a cocoon, all warm and safe, with no hard edges anywhere.

But as Robert neared the store, his mood darkened. He disliked confrontation and unpleasantness. When he was younger, he had the energy and ambition to push past that reluctance, and his many diplomatic successes were a testament to his ability to negotiate with all manner of difficult people who had big egos and bigger armies. But fifteen years in the bluegrass country with nothing more taxing than negotiating copper prices for the Lexington telephone company had made him soft. He was actually dreading having to confront Norma about the monthly wine deliveries that somehow never ended up in the store’s inventory. But confront her he must, and he steeled himself up for it as he opened the service door and slipped inside the store.

The back room was empty, which was probably for the best. Since there wasn’t a true manager’s office, this would be the only place where he and Norma could speak privately, unless they went outside and hoped not to be hailed by a passing neighbor.

He pushed open the door that led to the area behind the main counter, and unsurprisingly, this is where he found Norma. But he barely had time to say good morning before Mrs. DeLeon, the priest’s wife, came up to the counter to place a special order. Robert silently cursed the Vatican III ruling that allowed priests to marry, and went into the store to find some way to occupy himself while he waited for Mrs. DeLeon to finish her business.

It took only ten minutes, but it felt like an hour. Finally she left, and Norma was alone. Robert gave her a moment to finish scribbling on the notepad where she had written Mrs. DeLeon’s order, then asked if he could speak with her in the back. He said it in such a way that it was clear her compliance wasn’t optional.

Once he had confirmed they were alone, he asked his question plainly and without preamble. “Why are we buying twelve gallons of cheap wine each month that never make it to inventory?”

Norma sucked in her breath and didn’t answer.

“Don’t try to deny it. I talked to Alejandro Gonzalez yesterday. He says it’s a standing order. Why are we buying it and where is it going?”

“It’s an arrangement your brother set up.”

“I figured that, given how long it’s been going on. But that doesn’t answer my question.”

The woman pressed her lips together and looked away.

“If it’s for you or a family member—“

“Of course not,” Norma said. “I live alone and I’m a teetotaler. No one in my family has ever been a drinker. You know that.”

Robert did know, but he had hoped the accusation would convince her to name the real culprit. “Well, it must be for someone, since it’s not getting put on the shelves for sale. Is it one of the employees?”

Norma shook her head. “I’ll talk to Alejandro, Mr. Dubeck. I’ll tell him we’ve decided to cancel the order.”

“I’ve already told him I’ll let him know if he’s to keep making deliveries. Maybe I’ll want the arrangement to continue. But I can hardly make an informed decision if no one will tell me what’s happening to $200 of cheap wine each month.” He took a step closer. “Come on, Norma. You know. Tell me.”

Norma let out a sigh of exasperation. “It’s for Emily Ruiz.”

“Emily…” Robert considered. So that’s what had been in her grocery bag. He remembered her greasy hair and trembling hands. “I’m sorry for her situation, but I can’t in good conscience continue to enable her habit. What I don’t understand is why my brother would do something like that.”

“He wanted to help,” Norma said. “The Ruiz family has had a still up on the mountain since before you were born, and after a few years of being married to Julio, Emily started taking what she wanted. Then a couple years ago your brother thought he could help her out by getting her to switch to wine. He figured it would be a little easier on her body, and she could taper off it over time.”

“It’s an idea that’s borne out by science, at least, assuming she even wanted to quit in the first place. How did it work out?”

Norma sniffed. “She did better for a while. We even started having bottles left over at the end of each month. But after…well, now she’s worse than she ever was. I think she supplements the wine with what she can get from the still. She won’t live much longer at this rate.”

Robert had never thought very highly of Emily, since she had been the sort of girl who used her looks to bypass having to actually think, but that didn’t mean he had no compassion for her. “What she needs is a doctor.”

“Dr. Grant?” Norma looked at him like he had suggested some kind of ancient tribal ritual involving beads and chanting. “He’s old and can barely manage to treat strep throat. The only reason people here still go to him is because there’s no one else nearer than Taos, and they charge extra if you’re not from the pueblo.”

“Well, there must be someplace in the USS where she can get treatment. How about Santa Fe or Albuquerque?”

“Julio can’t afford anything like that.”

Of course not. Money was always tight in the Ruiz clan. “I’ll think of some other way to help her, then. But not by indefinitely supplying her with free wine.”

Norma considered for a long moment. Then finally she said, “For your own good, Mr. Dubeck, and for your daughter’s sake, please don’t get involved. If you want to stop giving her the wine, fine. It would probably be for the best, anyway. As long as she’s got access to Julio’s moonshine, she isn’t likely to have DTs and die from a seizure. But if you get too involved with her life…”

Robert understood her meaning. The Ruiz family was unusual in Castaño for being known not just for their poverty but for their violence. But now a thought struck him, and he was surprised that he was only just now considering this possibility. There had been a time when he was good at picking up on subtle clues. He was definitely out of practice if something this obvious had been right under his nose all this time. “Would you mind telling me why Arthur got involved in Emily’s life?”

He already knew the answer before Norma said it.

“He loved her. They were having an affair.”