The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya

13.07.2015 Views
The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya 68attraction rise between the two groups. He knew from long years of experience that apples were anextremely erotic fruit, and responded well to the kind of sexuality that he could now sense hanging inthe air. In a hurry to move this energy out into the trees while it was still young and fresh, the farmerpassed out his woven bushel-baskets as quickly as he could. He gave his simple instructions on applepicking-- bend the apple upward, try to keep the stem on, be gentle – and with that, the young men andwomen started to make their way in ones and twos and threes down the rows of pruned and twistedtrees.The chaperones who had escorted the young ladies from the nursing school, simultaneouslyaware of but immune to the smell of sex in the air, at first spent much energy making sure that soldiersand nurses in no way mixed as they went up and down through the orchard. This plan did not last long,as it was quickly evident to the pair that there was simply no physical way that the young men andwomen, who had scattered all over the orchard, could be kept segregated. They decided then that theironly course of action was to split up and patrol separately, each hoping silently that they woulddiscover some secret tryst under a tree so that the offenders could be punished. To that end they alsoenlisted the aid of the farmer, who had silent hopes of his own that any secret trysts would remainsecret, and who thus conducted his own patrol with his eyes as firmly closed as possible.Jose, as delighted as he was at the discovery of the women, had no intentions of trysting, secretor otherwise. Taking his bushel-basket, he set out for the furthest corner of the orchard with the ideathat the trees there might be fuller, and the picking more fruitful. The day was beautiful, and perfect forthinking of everything and nothing all at once. Jose became absorbed in the process, and the fruitseemed almost to fly into his basket with practically no effort whatsoever. He did not even hear thewoman behind him until she bit, as forcefully and as loudly as she could, into an apple of her own.Jose spun around at the sound. He was startled and unsure of what to expect, but the last thinghe would have expected was the young woman he found there, looking at him over the top of her apple

The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya 69with big, round eyes that were more intensely blue than anything that he had ever seen. Speechless,Jose stared back. She was one of the nursing students that had thrilled him earlier, and now he felt thethrill again, only this time on a more personal level. Jose felt it as an electric connection that arcedback and forth between the two of them, and as if to prove it the short hairs on the back of his headsuddenly were standing straight out at attention.Finally she took another decisive bite of her apple. Jose watched her jaws move as she chewed,and his own empty mouth subconsciously mimicked her movements. She found this funny and beganto giggle and speak, but Jose felt that her words were like a wave washing up against him, and nomatter how hard he tried to hold it the meaning of her words kept slipping through his fingers andreceding away. He continued to stare, which made her laugh even harder. He finally became awarethat her name was Eudora, and in return managed to choke out only a monosyllable: Joe. Eudora tookanother bite of her apple and nodded. She had stopped laughing, which would have made it easier forJose to follow her conversation had he not been drawn back into the blue of her eyes. He tried to thinkof something to say but his words, like hers, kept slipping away from him.She finished her apple and dropped the core into Jose's bushel basket. Smiling a half smile thatwas filled with knowledge, she turned and started to walk back in the direction of the farmhouse. Joseexhaled as if he had been holding his breath for the entire encounter. Released from her eyes and themovements of her mouth, Jose felt some sense of control return. He watched her walking away, herblond hair reflecting the sun in a myriad of shifting hues, her body curving underneath a long skirt andjacket. She looked back over her shoulder, still wearing her half smile, and called back that she liked tovisit the camp library on Wednesday nights. With a safe distance between them Jose was able tounderstand her words, even if the only response he could give was to nod his head.She disappeared through the trees, and Jose turned back to continue picking more apples.Thoughts of her filled his mind as he replayed the scene over in his mind. For the rest of the afternoon

Page 5 and 6: The Long and Storied Life of Jose M































Page 67: The Long and Storied Life of Jose M





















Page 111: The Long and Storied Life of Jose M

jose

montoya

eudora

storied

catrina

rifle

grayley

villista

agua

continued

The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya

The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya ... View more The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya

Delete template?

Save as template ?

The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya