Pie Town: A Novel

Part I

Chapter One

They come. The two of them, desperate, longing, alone, and displaced, they come because they are told to come. One beckoned from whispers speaking in lingering dreams, directed by stars and canyon voices. The other, obeying the orders of stern and reasonable men, men of piety and certitude. They come because they know no better, because they have nowhere else that will receive them. They come to settle what cannot be settled. They come to find what it is they miss and what it is they never knew existed.

Neither of them has a sense of this desert, the forests, Cibola or Gila, no knowledge of its wide open plains named, by the Spanish, San Agustin, a feeble attempt to wrangle a blessing in their uncelebrated discovery. They do not know the long winding dry springs, Largo and Mangas Creeks, nor have they walked the road through the tiny village of Quemado, with its famed lightning field, or across the meadows studded with short scrubby pinion pines. They have not lifted their eyes to see Madre Mountain Peak or ridden the dusty trails south to the Baldys, Whitewater, and Mogolion, following the tracks of elk and deer and lone gray wolves.

They do not know this is hallowed family land, my mother’s mother’s land, the land of my ancestors and the old ones. They have not learned that this is my family’s heritage, Zuni, gathered and scattered along this territory, centuries ago, living here long before the farmers, Catholic and Spanish, moved from settlements north and east to establish villages of their own, and longer still before the Panhandle Texans and southern plains homesteaders came riding into town, laying claim to earth and making borders on property that was not theirs to possess. They do not know that this is the place of aged secret trails and the sacred Salt Lake of my people and their tribes.

This is my home, the place where I took my first breath, landed my first step, laughed my first laugh, and shed my last tear. This is the place where I fell in love with red skies and clear black nights, the sky dotted with stars, and afternoon rains, the smell of sage, and the high-pitched cries of coyotes, the dance of red-tailed hawks. This is the place where I fell in love with silence and one man who knew the name of every flower and seed and who looked at me as if I were the sun. This is the place for which I long even when I sit among the spirits, float above clouds, glide across galaxies. This is my home, and by the time I came back, and though nothing had changed, it still seemed to me that I had been gone far too long.

These two will never understand, however, that I came not for this place, not for them, and not even for the man who grew bushes of sweet lavender and tall stalks of pink and rose hollyhock. I am here not for the man who thought I was the sun, but for the child who was born broken and unformed, the child who was to take my place but who arrived too early and too fast. I came for him, and as if he had been waiting, he knew me when I first appeared. Lady, he calls me, the one who was here when he was born and the one who has never left his side.

I doubt he will speak of me to these two newcomers because he rarely talks about me to others, not because he doesn’t know me or doubts my presence, but because he believes I am a gift to him and he worries that if he speaks of me casually or too much or to too many people, I might find him indulgent and selfish and leave. I doubt, however, that I ever could. Especially now. Especially as the winds speak of change, the clouds of coming storms. Especially as they arrive.

He is, after all, my connection to all that I lost in death, my link to loved ones and earth and desert, and I am his connection to all that he lost in birth, his link to all that is beyond the land with its low ceiling of sky. And together we rely upon the thin air that somehow offers enough breath and lift for us both, the weaving of our two spirits, and this place we both know best, this place the newcomers seek, this place we both call home, this place known as Pie Town.

Chapter Two

Pie Town." Father George Morris repeated the words the Monsignor had spoken. He echoed the name of his assignment without allowing for any emotion. He was not pleased, but he had no say in the matter. This was the place chosen for him. This was to be his parish, Pie Town, New Mexico.

His first ministry, his first call, was a three-point charge, three churches to serve as pastor, that was more than a hundred miles from the Catholic Diocese in Gallup and more than a lifetime away from everything he had ever known, every place upon which he laid claim, every sight that had become familiar. This was where he was instructed to start a new life, where he would live out what he believed had been dictated by God, discerned by pious and faithful men, and written upon his heart. Here was the place where he would exercise the lessons he had learned, the faith he had been granted, and the service for which he had been ordained.

Everything Father George had prepared for, planned upon, worked toward, it was all about to come to pass in a wide desert county surrounded by Indian land, mountain peaks, long empty plains, wilderness. He knew of Catron County because in his travel to Gallup to meet with the Monsignor, his journey west, he had studied every county in the forty-seventh state. He knew the parishes and the populations. He was hopeful he would be sent to Albuquerque or north to Taos. And even though he had been brought to Gallup and knew he was starting in the western corridor of the southwestern region, he had not expected this.

Pie Town, he said again as the Monsignor listened, letting the name of the town pass through his lips once more as if saying it somehow would help lead him to it.

You will report to Father Joseph, who waits for your arrival. You will move into the parish house just beyond the town limits. And you will begin your duties this weekend. I’m sure Father Joseph will fill you in on the existing ministries of the Catron County parish and all of the details of your call.

Father George waited.

Is there something else? the Monsignor asked. He glanced up at the young priest and then down at the clock on his desk. It was just after four in the afternoon, and he had one more appointment. He was hopeful he would have time for tea before the early evening services he was scheduled to conduct.

Father George shook his head, sensing his superior’s impatience. No, he whispered. It is my honor to serve God in this place and to serve you in the ministry of the Church in the state of New Mexico. It was a line he had rehearsed on the train from Cincinnati.

The Monsignor smiled. I’m sure you will find your first call to be a rewarding one. You serve a diverse congregation. There are Hispanics, Anglos, and Native Americans in the area. He stood up and held out his hand. We are pleased you are here. There has been much prayer offered on your behalf.

The young priest reached for the extended hand and bowed. He understood it was time for him to leave, that there was nothing more to say. He backed away, his head still lowered in reverence. When he reached the threshold, he stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door behind him, closed his eyes, and breathed out. And so it begins, he said, turning to walk away.

Father George Morris hailed from Grove City, Ohio. Before accepting this call to New Mexico, before the train ride from Cincinnati to Albuquerque, the bus to Gallup, and the taxi to the diocesan office, George had never been farther west than Dayton and no farther south than Beckley, West Virginia. He began seminary, also in Ohio, at age sixteen, without even finishing high school, and had never met a Native American or spoken a sentence in Spanish. At age twenty-four, a senior in seminary, he had requested a mission call, an opportunity to serve the Church in a developing country. He thought it was the will of God for him to leave the United States, leave the seductive ways of Western civilization, the wily temptations of such a secular society, and minister to simple and eager parishioners. His mentor and the other priests at the seminary, however, thought otherwise.

They did not know the reason for the young man’s request, had no knowledge of the details leading to his discernment process. They asked, but never learned, why he wanted to leave the country. And so, in the end, they did not agree with him. It had been unanimously decided by all those issuing the calls of young priests, making ministerial assignments to the recent graduates, that Father George Morris should stay stateside for at least eight years before being sent to serve in the mission field, which was considered too far away from supervision and community.

Father George walked down the hall, away from the Monsignor’s office, and shook his head. He was remembering the decision handed down by his mentor, the denial of his request to go to Haiti or join the Dominican Order in Trinidad. How much farther away from Western civilization and supervision could I be than I will be in Pie Town, New Mexico? He spoke out loud and then glanced around, making sure he was alone. He knew his tone was sarcastic and resentful. He certainly did not want to be found ungrateful or recalcitrant by his superiors in his first call. He knew that no matter what had been decided for him, created for him, after everything that had happened during his last year in seminary, this was to be his place of service, his place to exercise his vows and prove that he was capable of the authority bestowed upon him.

Father George headed out of the office in Gallup and to his sleeping quarters in the back of the building and wondered what the Monsignor knew about him, wondered what records had been kept by his mentor, what letters had been sent from Ohio to the Diocese of the Southwest, what conversations had been shared. He wondered if this was punishment or opportunity.

With one night left before he was to begin his ministry, he decided he would go to the chapel for private worship. As he entered the small room, where candles lining the wall flickered with the prayers of the sinners and saints from Gallup, Father George genuflected, made the sign of the cross, and moved to the altar. He knelt, alone in the chapel, and spoke the words one more time. Part intercession and part petition, it was the name of his own salvation. Pie Town was all that he said, and it was the evening’s final prayer.

Chapter Three

Pie Town. Trina woke from a deep sleep, whispering the name of the place from her dream, a name that brought her ease and delight, a name of a place that made her smile. She wiped her eyes, saying it again, Pie Town," and glanced around. She was in a strange house, waking to nothing that was familiar.

She could see that she had been sleeping on the floor of a small clapboard house, in the front room, a woodstove lit and burning. Trina sat up from her pallet of quilts and blankets. Hello, she said, hearing nothing from inside or outside of the cabin. She reached down and felt rags wrapped around her feet, stiffness in her thighs. That was when she recalled that she had left Tucson and had been walking for at least three, maybe four days. She lost track of the time after she left Globe and headed onto the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Her last memory of the walk was a truckload of men passing her alongside the road, Highway 60, she thought, seeing the brake lights, watching the vehicle as it stopped and began backing up.

She had jumped across a fence, run beyond the highway, out into the desert. And she had walked for miles, following only the stars and heading away from the faint sound of traffic. She must have collapsed, she thought, and wondered, as she looked around her at the walls of the rustic dwelling, the sparse furniture, the stacks of catalogs, and the worn planks in the floor, who had rescued her and what was going to be expected from her. Turning to her side, Trina noticed her backpack leaning against the wall. She reached for it and opened the top to see that nothing had been stolen. She looked inside the front pocket, pulled out her wallet, and counted her money. Not a penny was missing.

She pushed off the covers and stood. Her legs were wobbly, and she knew, without seeing, that the bindings had been wrapped around her feet because they were blistered and raw. It was painful, but she managed to walk toward an adjoining room, an old and well-used kitchen. An icebox had been pushed into one corner, a table with two chairs was in the other. There was a sink, a small stove, a kettle set on one eye, steam pouring from the spout, and a few cupboards, their doors latched.

Trina glanced out the window and saw an old woman not very far away, bent over, picking berries from a bush. High canyon walls loomed behind her. The woman turned and raised her head slightly just as Trina noticed her, just as if she had been waiting for her guest to wake up and call for her, and then she stood up. She smiled and nodded and turned to walk back to the house.

Hi, Trina said as the woman entered the kitchen.

She did not respond. She walked over to the stove, took the kettle from the eye, and dropped the berries into a cup. She poured water over them and handed the cup to Trina. She nodded, motioning the young woman to drink.

Is this tea? Trina asked and tipped the cup to her lips and took a sip.

Tea, the woman repeated.

Trina thought the taste was slight and bitter, but it warmed her. She took another sip.

The woman sat down at the table, and Trina followed, sitting across from her. The woman wore a thin gray braid of hair that circled the top of her head. She had dark brown skin and narrow eyes, broken yellow teeth, obvious when she grinned.

Did you find me? Trina asked. Did you bring me here?

The woman did not answer.

I don’t remember what happened to me. I was walking from Tucson.

Tucson, the woman repeated. You walk from Tucson.

Trina nodded. She remembered the phone conversation she overheard from the balcony at the Twilight Motel before she left, Conroe’s betrayal, the way a heart sounds when it breaks. She left without a fight, without an explanation, without hearing an excuse. She packed a few clothes in her backpack, took one hundred dollars from his wallet, a bottle of water, and a flashlight, and left the motel, left her life with the smooth-talking man from Abilene and started walking.

Where am I? Trina asked.

The woman lifted her chin, folded her hands as if she were holding a teacup, bringing them to her lips, motioning Trina to keep drinking. She wore bracelets on both arms, silver with large blue stones.

Trina followed the instructions and finished the tea. The warmth of the liquid, the unknown contents, seemed to calm her.

Are you Indian? she asked as she placed the cup on the table.

Apache, the woman answered.

Am I in Arizona? Trina asked, trying to remember the map she had read at her last stop, trying to remember what direction she was heading.

Apache land came the reply.

Trina recalled that out of Globe, she had started walking east on Highway 60, heading in the direction of New Mexico. From there, she was trying to get back to the last place she lived, get back to Texas. It had been dark, and then she remembered the truck and the group of men she had seen earlier that evening at the service station where she had stopped to eat a bowl of soup, how the brake lights on the truck flashed and how it moved in reverse, how the men smiled and rubbed their hands together when they saw it was her alone on the road.

I left the highway, started walking through the desert, she said, not sure why she was explaining herself to the woman since it appeared she did not speak English. I don’t know how far I walked.

Apache land, the woman repeated. White Mountains, she added. And then she got up from the table and walked into the other room. She returned with an old map and opened it for Trina to examine. Standing next to Trina, she pointed to the Apache Reservation, along the southeast corner of Arizona, in the Natanas Plateau. Trina had walked to the Salt River Canyon.

She smiled and reached over to Trina and patted her on the belly. She spoke words that Trina did not understand, and Trina assumed her hostess was asking her if she was hungry.

Breakfast, Trina said. Yes, I would like something to eat.

The woman grinned. She walked over to the icebox and pulled out a plate of bread and grabbed a jar of honey from a cupboard. She placed them in front of Trina and nodded.

Although she was embarrassed to be eating in front of the woman, eating what was probably the only food in the house, Trina could not stop herself. She ate three pieces of bread before she felt full. The woman only watched, nodding in approval. I was so hungry, she said, shaking her head, surprised at her appetite, surprised at how good the morning meal tasted. I have some money. I can pay you for the bread.

The woman shook her head as if she understood. I fix you shoes, she said. To keep walking.

Trina didn’t respond. She remembered she was wearing sneakers when she left Tucson. The red ones with the narrow soles. She watched as the woman left the room again, returning with a pair of buckskin moccasins, old ones with magazine paper stuffed in the heels. The strings were made of dark leather. You take these, she said and placed them on Trina’s lap. You take these shoes to Pie Town.

Trina was surprised. Pie Town. I dreamed about Pie Town, she said. I dreamed I was going to Pie Town, New Mexico. I saw it on the map at Globe. It’s straight east on Highway 60, the one I was walking on. She studied the old woman. How did you know? she asked. How did you know about my dream? How did you know that was where I was going?

And without answering, the old woman clapped her hands together, the bracelets sliding down her arms, opened her mouth wide, and laughed out loud.

Chapter Four

Oris Whitsett pulled up in his driveway, parked, and opened the door on the driver’s side. He slid his legs over and stood up. He was wearing an old dress shirt and nothing else but socks. He licked a finger, held it up to calculate the direction of the wind, and then nodded, lifting his chin in the direction of his next-door neighbor, who was watching.

Millie Watson, a widow since the 1980s, was rolling her emptied trash can from the edge of the road to the back of her house. She stopped when she saw Oris pull in. They had been friends for as many years as they had been neighbors in Pie Town, and that had been about half a century. Oris, she said rather politely. She glanced over his head toward the mountains. Wind’s picked up from the north. Means a change in weather. Likely we’ll have rain this week. She waited. You forget something?

The old man looked down, shaking his head. Got mud all over myself when I fell down in the cornfield out at Earl’s. He was irrigating. I couldn’t get dirt all over the seats, so I took off my britches. You know I haven’t even had this Buick a month. He smiled. Have I shown you the trunk? he asked.

About four times, Millie answered.

It’s big, Oris noted.

Millie made a kind of clucking noise, shaking her head, as she steadied herself over the trash can. She usually walked with a walker. You went way out to Lemitar this morning? You must have left before dawn.

Four o’clock, he answered. Before this wind picked up.

You get any corn? she asked, sounding very matter-of-fact.

A couple of bushels, Oris answered. He’s charging more this year. Said he needed a new tractor. He scratched his chin. You want yours now or you want me to shuck ’em for you?

Millie studied her neighbor. I’d prefer you put on some pants. She turned back to face the direction she had been heading. I can come for the corn after dinner. She wheeled the can ahead, walked through the gate, and placed the garbage can by the back door. She went into the house, leaving Oris outside by himself.

He walked around to the other side of the car and was leaning inside, grabbing his pants and shoes from the floorboard when his daughter, Malene, drove past and skidded to a stop just beyond the front of his driveway. She threw the engine in reverse, made a hard turn to her left, and pulled in behind her father’s new Buick.

She flew out of her car, looking much younger than her fifty-plus years. Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, Daddy, have you gone and lost your mind for good? She hurried toward Oris, pulling off her sweater and, once she got beside him, throwing it around her father’s waist.

Do not drive up here using that kind of language, Missy, he said, twisting to try to face her as she yanked the sweater sleeves into a knot behind him, his butt still uncovered. Your mother will not have it.

What my mother will not have is your ass hanging out for the entire neighborhood to see. She glanced around to notice who was watching. She shook her head. Fortunately, it appeared as if everyone who lived near her dad was away from home, everyone it seemed except Fedora Snow, who lived directly across the street and was clearly peeking out her front window. Malene smiled and waved, moving in front of Oris.

I told you Fedora threatened to call the police on you the next time you did something crazy. She rolled her eyes and faced her father. I bet she’s calling Roger right now.

Oris looked at the house across the street. As he peered in that direction, the curtains fell shut where his neighbor had been watching. Fedora Snow didn’t pay her phone bill. She can’t call the sheriff because she doesn’t have a phone. He flipped his third finger up, knowing he was still being watched.

Jesus, Daddy! Malene grabbed her father’s hand and pulled it down. Am I going to have to get you a room in the Alzheimer’s unit?

Oris yanked his hand away from his daughter and reached down, grabbing his pants. He stuffed the sweater, still tied around his waist, inside them as Malene tried to shield him. You can’t put me in your fancy nursing home because I have it written in my will that if you try to put me away I’ll take back the land I gave you when you got married.

Daddy, that was thirty-five years ago that you gave me that land. I sold that parcel and the house we built on it after Roger became sheriff. You can’t get that land back because it’s a business zone and Frank has his garage there and Midford built the pool hall behind it. It’s gone. It’s been gone. And I’m tired of you threatening me with it. She sighed, backing away from her fully dressed father. Here, she said, letting out a long breath, let me help you with the corn. She walked around to the rear of the car while he opened the trunk with his key, and she pulled out a basket. Looks better this year, she commented, steadying the container against the car and holding up an ear, studying it.

Quite a trunk, right? he asked.

Malene just rolled her eyes.

Actually Earl’s brother from Socorro already got the best of it. I didn’t even know the corn was ready until Fred told me at the diner. By the time I got there, most of the ripe ears had been picked. He stood behind his daughter and reached for another basket. He lifted it up, and the two of them walked toward the rear of the house. But with the wind picking up, I guess it’s a good thing I went this morning. They placed the baskets at the back door. Malene turned.

What was it Mama used to say about early morning winds in summer?

"Breeze before noon, storm