The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya

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The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya 56someone to teach them to shoot, and the Army thought that Jose was just the one to do it. He wasordered to report in two weeks to Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio.It did not take Jose long to pack everything he owned into a small steamer trunk and catch thefirst train westbound to Douglas, Arizona, from where he could conduct his own personal expeditionacross the border and visit his family in Agua Prieta. He had not seen them since leaving for Americamore than a year earlier, but he had kept up a frequent correspondence with his sister Alba ever sincejoining the army. His father, still pretending to be angry with him for leaving the railroad job, wouldnot write. His mother and Concepcion still shared the nagging suspicion that despite the piles of lettersthat Alba tried unsuccessfully to get them to read Jose had actually died in the battle for Agua Prieta,and that all subsequent appearances were either the work of the Virgin or of Satan, depending on one'spoint of view.Alba and all the rest of the family issued a collective gasp at Jose's physical appearance when hecame through the door. The slight sixteen-year-old that had run away from home was now six inchestaller and a good deal more muscular than anyone remembered, the concomitant victim of militarytraining and just plain growing up. Jose's mother, Severa Gomez, fluttered about, convinced at least forthe moment that Jose walked among them in the flesh even as she was entertaining the notion thatperhaps he was actually an angel; Alfonso Montoya, his father, was instantly impressed and proud ofJose, even though he tried to maintain a stern face so as not to give anything away. Even Concepcion,who had planned to turn defiantly on her heels and leave the room as soon as she caught Jose's eye,decided to stay a minute longer.Silence draped over the front room of the house like a shadow as the family watched Jose stepacross the threshold. His limp, which Alba had told no one about, broke the spell. Suddenly there werequestions and exclamations and a legion of voices rising and falling so quickly that they became a part
The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya 57of the background noise of the universe. When the chattering quieted for a moment and everyone got itclear that his wound was sustained in combat, and that Jose had actually received a medal for it, thenoise once again spiraled upward and around the front room like the dust devil that had enveloped LaBrujita. Alfonso Montoya, so filled with pride that three buttons actually burst off of his vest, forgot allpretenses and gave his son the biggest hug that anyone had ever seen in Agua Prieta. Severa Gomezstopped fluttering and started to weep over her war-hero son. Concepcion withdrew to her roomwithout so much as a rustle of her black skirts.Concepcion was still in her room when Jose came to find her later that evening. Although shewas impressed by Jose physically after not having seen him for a year and a half, she made it clear tohim that she was still as uninterested in the marital bed as she had ever been since the miscarriage.This was in fact the cool physical reception from Concepcion that Jose had been expecting all along,since to his own self he felt neither taller nor more muscular nor more handsome nor more heroic thanwhen he left, and had never in any case supposed in his own mind the question of whether Concepcionwould begin to desire him if he were any of those things.With both Jose and Concepcion feigning disappointment and sorrow, the two decided that theonly proper thing to do would be to have the Church annul the marriage. Jose offered to speak to hisparents and plead with them to keep Concepcion under their roof as their very own, if that werenecessary. Concepcion was grateful for this offer without being effusive, since in fact she had alreadydiscussed this plan many times with Severa Gomez since Jose had ran away from home, and alreadyknew that her position in the Montoya household was secure whether she remained a Montoya or not.The last physical contact of the husband and wife came then, when Concepcion asked Jose if she couldlook at and touch the scars of his wound. Jose obliged without requiring her to return the favor, and thetwo fell asleep with each breathing their own private sigh of relief.Jose spent the next day with his brothers and his father, telling them about life in the American
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