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After supper, he had to get back to his little house, make a couple phone calls, and pack.
By the middle of the next morning, he and Darcy were rolling north through the Davis Mountains and approaching Interstate 10 to El Paso (and Abilene, if one were to turn that way, which they did not).
Darcy had been nervous about driving through Fort Davis again, but they saw nothing out of the ordinary. Matt thought they should not stop and say goodbye to the Delbosques, since any word of a sighting of her might call down unimaginable hordes of reporters, camera crews, and even less-desirable sorts. Driving past the gate to the dude ranch where the Delbosques lived, Darcy stayed quiet and tense.
Once beyond Fort Davis she enjoyed seeing the loveliest mountains Texas had to offer—not quite in the Rocky Mountain class, but wonderful, nonetheless. On the far, downhill side of the mountains, she relaxed as the skies opened up to the vast arid rangeland beyond.
"Matt, tell me more about your grandmother and the place where she lives."
"OK, sure."
He thought for a minute.
"Abuelita Méndez, that's Grandmother Méndez, lives on the original Méndez property that her grandfather settled over a hundred years ago. It's on the banks of the Rio Grande River in New Mexico, just downstream from Las Cruces, which is now a fairly big city.
“Over the years, the children stopped farming the land and moved away. Some of the land was sold off. What remains is the family compound, with the main house and a couple of smaller buildings.
“My dad got married and moved to Albuquerque. My uncle lives in San Diego, California. Aunt Lourdes lives in northern New Mexico with her family. Only Grandmother Méndez is left, and she's nearly 80 years old.
"The whole family is worried about her. She's doing all right for now, but she's not getting any younger. We've tried to get her to hire some help, but she hasn't wanted it. She's kind of prickly about that. She's an independent cuss, you'll see.
“I'm going to tell her you're from Alpine and you'd like to live in one of the little houses in the compound and eventually save enough money to go to college. I'll tell her you'll pay a little rent. She'll like that, and you'll be close if she needs help, which also should appeal to her.
"It's a real peaceful and beautiful place, Darcy. And it's so out of the way that no one has ever heard of it. I think it'll be perfect for you, at least to start with. And I can come to see Abuelita Méndez as often as I want, no one will think anything of it. That is, if you don't mind."
"I won't mind, Matt. But I guess we'll have to see if your grandmother accepts me. If she doesn't, I'll have to think of something else."
"She'll accept you," Matt said. "She'll love you. How could she not?"
At the first opportunity, Matt left the Interstate for the old highway that followed the Rio Grande upstream to El Paso.
Matt wasn't worried about being spotted, what with Darcy wearing her black braids. Two Hispanics in an old truck? Nothing unusual about that. He just preferred the older, slower roads.
Darcy also seemed to prefer it. She loved the irrigation canals, the green fields of crops in the middle of the desert, and all the small buildings and signs of life.
Good sign, thought Matt. Abuelita Méndez lives on the same river, only in a prettier area.
"Darcy, are you sure you don't mind doing this?"
"No, Matt. I don't mind. I have to do something, go somewhere and live. I wouldn't have any idea where or how, without your help.”
“I mean, you’re probably the most famous person in the world right now. People would do anything to have you living near them. A beautiful young woman who's from another planet? You could live anywhere you wanted, in as big a mansion as you wanted. You could live like a queen!”
She winced. “Matt, there’s a saying you all have that I like. ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’ Have you heard that?”
“Yeah, sure I have.”
“I like it. It means that no matter what I do, there’s a price for it. If I lived at the Bar-S ranch with the Williams, or in an expensive apartment in New York or Paris, or a big house in Los Angeles, the price will be too high. I’d hate it.
“I’m looking forward to staying with your grandmother, Matt. I'm sure it'll be fine. In fact, I'm grateful.” She laid her hand on top of his. “I don't know what I would have done without you."
Grasping her hand gently, he said "I wish I could do more. But I'll stay there with you as long as it takes to get you set up and comfortable."
"That will be great, Matt. I'll really appreciate it." After a pause, she added, "What about your article, and the book?"
"Oh, yeah, that. Well, Crusty gave me a leave of absence to work on it. That's what I'm supposed to be doing now, don't you see. There's no telling how many weeks of research I may have to do before I go back."
He rolled his eyes at her.
Matt had a brainstorm as they drove through the little farming community of Fabens. He pulled in and parked in front of an old building sporting a sign saying "Ropa Usada." Used clothing.
"Do you think your clothes look like what a poor college student might own?" he asked.
"Not really," she replied. "I have a few pieces of my Olympic warm-up clothes left. I can't wear those. Mrs. Williams wanted me to take some of her clothes, but those wouldn't work at all. She did give me some undergarments, but I won't give those up for anything."
She rolled her eyes back at him.
"Yeow," said Matt. "I'll let you deal with your underwear. How about I take you shopping? Let's see what they have in this place. After all, nothing is too good for this world's most unique citizen."
He didn’t know if Darcy knew “ropa usada” meant “used clothing,” but it was fun to watch her enjoying herself shopping up and down the racks. Most all of the items, he decided, fit the “gently used” category.”
She ended up with quite a few selections, some from the children's department: blue jeans, shirts, shorts, t-shirts, jackets, shoes. At the register, the proprietor gave her a courtly bow.
"Es un gran placer de servirle, señorita," he said, a great pleasure to serve you.
To Matt's utter astonishment, Darcy replied.
"El gusto es mio, señor!" The pleasure is mine.
Matt raised his eyebrows at her while the man was bagging her purchases. Darcy wouldn't let Matt pay, unfolding a wad of twenties from a pocket of her warm-up pants.
"I used an ATM machine!" she whispered and raised her own eyebrows back at him.
Mount Franklin, the mountain that spears El Paso into two parts, was visible on the horizon hours before they actually reached it.
Darcy pointed out the rest stop where she'd got a ride from Mr. Hernandez and, as they drove towards downtown, the access road down which she had run to get to the rest stop. By Matt's odometer, it was something like twenty miles from the rest stop to the exit to Fort Bliss, and maybe another five or ten after that to the base.
"Do you want to drive through the base, for old time's sake?" he joked.
"No! No, thanks," she replied. "There are too many people and too much traffic here. Let's keep going, please!"
She sank down in her seat until her eyes were at the level of the window. In less than an hour they were through the pass and looking back at the other side of Mount Franklin. The mountains at Las Cruces loomed fifty miles ahead.
