72 Hours till Doomsday (5 page)

Teresa had woken early that morning and busied herself making fresh huevos rancheros, which her entire family consumed with gusto. She seemed more herself that morning, even humming to herself as she loaded the plates and poured the coffee. Matias kissed her on the cheek and pinched the earlobes of both of his daughters. The stench of smoke had finally begun to clear out and it felt like a new life was beginning. He had gone down the road and bought ten buckets of seeds, spending the last of their cash on a dream and a prayer. He knew there would be strawberries again in that field.

He spent the afternoon walking the rows of dirt, dragging a rake and lifting his thanks to Our Lady. Only three lengths could be seeded today, but that was enough. He’d plant three more tomorrow. And the next day. Until it was finished. This was his field. He was wiping the sweat from his brow when a white man jumped out of a truck and walked towards him. Immediately the hairs stood up on his neck and his protective beast growled inside of him.

“Hola!”

“Hello,” he nodded at the approaching man.

“English?”

“Yes. Fine.”

“Do you work here?”

“Yes, until they burned the fields. Everyone left. It’s just me and my family here.”

“Oh really? But you are planting the field?”

“Yes. Of course. Life goes on.”

The man laughed, the lines around his eyes crinkled pleasantly.

“You are quite the man. What is your name?”

“Matias.”

“Well, Matias, I’m Rick.”

They shook hands. Like equals. He felt his body relax as he recognized that he wasn’t in danger.

“I am taking over ownership of this farm. Starting fresh.”

“Oh,” he clenched the handle of his rake.

“And I want you to work for me. As a manager.”

“Manager, huh?”

“Absolutely. You can oversee the planting and manage a team. Do you want to do that?”

He hesitated for a moment and looked over his shoulder to see his wife on the porch, watching them.

“I pay well Matias. You and your family will be taken care of.” He glanced over at Teresa.

“Si. Yes. Of course. Yes.”

“Great! I’ll be back on Monday. We’ll start work then.”

“Thank you.”

They shook hands again and Rick walked back to his truck. Matias looked up into the afternoon sky and smiled. There were no images of riches in his mind, only thoughts of love and gratitude. He waved to his wife and gave her a thumbs up sign, then turned back to the dirt. Kneeling in the freshly turned earth, he felt the blessings warm his skin and Our Lady standing there beside him. He scooped up a handful and brought it to his lips.

His field was a blessed field. This he knew for certain.