Across the Border

Debra Lee

Young Tomás and his friends were the first in their families to finish high school. Although there was nothing to look forward to, they were happy. Like their parents, they would work in the fields or in the new factory. Always, they would dream about the lost things they’ll never have.

“Turn here,” Roberto said.

Laughing, Tomás turned. “Where does this road go?”

“Who knows?” Benito said. “It’s an adventure.”

“Who cares?” Carlos was high on life. “Maybe it will take us to new lives in Estados Unidos.”

“So, we’ll be back tomorrow,” Tomás said.

“I’ve never seen the border,” Roberto said. “If we’re heading north, maybe we’ll see it tonight.”

The winding road was just wide enough for their car. Tomás said little as he listened to his friends. He focused more on the road, avoiding possible rocks and holes though the road appeared relatively smooth. When he heard Chelita’s name, he joined in the conversation.

“Told you he was still with us,” Benito said. “I’ll bet he hears her name in his sleep.”

“Estella does it for me,” Roberto said. “Tomorrow, I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

“What? You’ve never mentioned her before.”

“I keep her in my heart where she belongs. She is my dream of freedom. Tomorrow, if she says yes. I’m going to work. Next year we’ll have a boy, then two years after that, we’ll have a girl. Then another boy the year after that.”

Carlos said, “You’ll be saddled with children while you’re still young.”

“We don’t live that long. May as well start young and be happy.”

A quiet settled in the car as each boy thought about what Roberto had said. Their lives were short and none of their dreams would ever come to fruition. Unless they dreamt like Roberto. That was real life.

Tomás said, “You guys are too quiet. I need joy and happiness to drive.”

His friends remained quiet. The road was suddenly bumpy. He began to talk about the morning’s graduation ceremony, but the memories seemed to remind his friends of serious matters. They talked again, but not in the boisterous manner they’d maintained earlier. The road stretched before them with tall grasses and shrubs on both sides.

“I’m going to turn around,” Tomás said.

“Yes, let’s go back,” Dom said.

Tomás looked in the rear-view mirror just as he noticed a creek in front of him. There was nowhere to turn. He braked and said “Hold on.”

He had no idea how deep or wide it was. He’d crossed the water by the time the car stopped. All was quiet. He looked up and saw a star-studded sky. Had the car overturned? “Is everyone all right?” he asked.

“We’re fine.” Dom replied. “Why’d you ask?”

Tomás asked, “Where did you come from? Have you been in the car all along?”

“Of course, it’s my car. Who else has a convertible?”

Everyone had seen Dom’s convertible. Upside down in the blue agave field with Dom’s head and shoulders crushed under it. His body was exposed from his torso down to his feet. His jeans were purple with dried blood.

Tomás thought he must have wrecked his car. He looked around for his friends. He and Dom were alone. There was nothing between the stars and him except air. As he looked, one star shone brighter than all the others. “Elena,” he said.

“She’s waiting for you,” Dom said.

Someone tapped his shoulder. “Are you all right, Tomás?”

Tomás shook his head. His three friends were talking at once. “Why’d you stop?”

“If the car is wet, it’s best if we keep driving.”

“You don’t want the carburetor to rest while it’s wet. Keep driving and it will dry off. Look, there’s a highway up ahead. Speed will help it dry faster and you can turn around there.”

Tomás knew that about carburetors. He started the car and headed toward the highway as his friends’ chatter served as the background noise he needed to keep him centered. He wondered where the weird thought of Dominic came from.

Not having to worry about the winding road, rocks, and holes, he joined his friends in laughter and camaraderie as they rode through the night. They stopped at a café in Hondo close to a gas station.

Roberto said, “I’ll pay for the gas, cause when me and Estella get married, I won’t be hanging with you guys any more. This is my last rodeo.”

At a table inside, they drank guava and mango jarritos and toasted each other as they waited for their food. They flirted with the waitress whenever she came to the table. As she hovered asking, “Ready for more drinks with your dessert?” She looked at Tomás and said, “My friend Elena wants to talk to you.”

“Bring her over,” he said. He had no idea who Elena was, but was stunned when a raven-haired beauty rose at a table across the room. He hoped she was Elena. He was in love.

“This is Elena.”

“There’s an empty table next to ours. We can put them together if you guys want to join us.”

“Sounds like fun,” they all said.

The bus-boy helped the waitress move the boys to the other table. Tomás found himself sitting beside Elena. She wore little makeup on her angelic face. A faded rose colored her lips from being wiped with her napkin. Sitting, they were equal in height. As they talked, the conversations from his friends and the other girls faded into the background. He only heard Elena.

“Do you want to dance?” she asked.

He did. Tomás rose and offered his hand to her, but she was already standing. She wore a white peasant blouse filled with blue stars and blue capri pants with white stars on the pockets. His mind went back to Dom in the car, looking up and seeing stars, and somewhere, the word Elena fell upon his ears.

After a while, he noticed that his friends were dancing with the other girls from the table. The music slowed and Elena moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her heady perfume consumed him and at that moment he never wanted to leave her. Maybe Roberto was right. Life was short. Happiness like he felt might never be his again.

He said softly, “Marry me.”

“Sure,” she said, and they continued dancing.

Ear to ear and cheek to cheek, they told each other about their lives. They had a lot in common. Though they were the same age, he told her he was nineteen. She’d mentioned that when she got married, she wanted the man to be older than she was.

Finally, the music stopped. They walked back to the table.

Roberto said, “We’ve got to go. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us. Give me the keys. We’ll go fill her up. Kiss your girlfriend goodbye and meet us at the car.”

“Sure thing,” Tomás told his friends.

Holding Elena’s hand, he asked, “Were you serious earlier?”

“About what?”

“Getting married.”

“Sure, why not. I like you. We make beautiful music together.”

“Let’s do it. Tonight. Do you know where we can go?”

“Yes, I know a place.”

*

Over the next three years as he and Elena lived in a small cottage behind her parents’ house, he rarely thought of his friends and graduation night. A year after they met, they had twins, Ela and Tomasa. Tomás loved his life, his wife, and his children.

Several years later, Elena’s dad asked Tomás to accompany him to Hondo to pick up his brother who was coming for a visit. They stopped in a café where they were to meet Hugo. Conversation was light as they waited, then Hugo arrived. The two brothers hadn’t seen each other in many years. They talked about family and reminisced.

The waitress came to the table as Tomás listened to the happy conversation. “Your friends are waiting,” she said. “You’d better hurry. They’re getting anxious.”

Tomás looked out the window and saw Carlos, Roberto, and Benito waving to him. He smiled and stood, wondering why they were there. He made his excuses to his father-in-law who seemed not to notice him.

Outside at the gas pump, Roberto said. “Come on, we have to go. We were going to leave you, but we couldn’t find that old road we came on.”

“Really?”

“Yeah man, we saw you getting in a car with that girl. We thought you were deserting us.”

Tomás turned and looked toward the café. Puzzled he asked, “You saw me getting into a car?

“You’re such jokesters,” he said, throwing his head back and laughing. “The stars sure are beautiful tonight.”

The friends shook their heads, laughed along with him, and got in the car. They found the old road with no trouble and were back home while graduation parties were still going strong.