CHAPTER 20: "Next Stop--Los Angeles!"
The next morning, Don Diego woke up. To his surprise, the sun had turned blue, but the air still felt cool. He gazed at his tutor, who was sitting against a huge boulder. Jonathan sighed.
"Bad news, Diego." He gazed at the sky. "Number one, we overslept. I woke up just 15 minutes before you."
Don Diego rubbed his neck. "I'm not surprised. That long search for Felipe yesterday really wore us out."
Jonathan nodded agreement. "It certainly did. Number two, Jose has a stomachache. I've made him a potion out of the herbs we brought with us, but it hasn't taken effect, yet." He gestured toward the carriage driver as he spoke. To Diego's dismay, Jose lay curled on his blanket, his left hand clutching his stomach.
Diego furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "How are you feeling, Jose?"
"I've felt better." Jose smiled wanly as he lifted his head off his pallet. "Surely I'll be able to drive, soon."
Nodding, Diego smiled reassuringly. "Of course, you will. We'll stay here until you've recovered."
The caballero glanced at Felipe, who sat hunched against another boulder, examining an arrowhead he had evidently found. His reed mat lay rolled up next to him. Gazing at the boy, Jonathan chuckled.
"That boy's been examining that arrowhead for the last 10 minutes. You'd think he'd made a major scientific discovery."
Don Diego laughed. "To a little boy, everything he finds is a major discovery. I remember when I was that age."
"Si." Señor Spencer nodded agreement. "Better eat, Diego. The boy and I have already had our breakfast."
Don Diego ate some cold leftover tortillas and drank some water. He then sank wearily on the ground next to his tutor and leaned against another boulder. With a sigh, Diego gazed at Felipe for a long time. In his heart, he was truly worried. He had begun to fear, the day before, that Felipe might well be right. No one was going to accept him. He didn't even want to think about what the little boy's fate would be if that happened.
At last, Diego smiled wanly at Jonathan. "I want to thank you for sticking it out with us as you have." He glanced at his timepiece, then gazed at the older man. "You've been so good to follow on this long journey when I know you must have been anxious to return to my father's hacienda and resume my lessons."
Jonathan smiled back. "De nada. I wanted to help the boy, too, Diego, and I still do." He paused. "One vitally important lesson your parents and I have tried to teach you, you learned a long time ago. You have a real heart for the unfortunate. I'm pleased to know that's one lesson I won't have to resume teaching you when we arrive at your house."
Don Diego smiled his appreciation of his tutor's praise. "Gracias, Señor Spencer." He paused. "Right now, I'm terribly worried. What will we do if no one in Los Angeles will agree to raise him, either?"
"Diego, you're not a quitter," Jonathan chided. "Where's your faith, amigo?" He leaned forward. "You have several advantages in Los Angeles you didn't have in any of those other villages. You have your father, and you have influential friends, all of whom will back you up if they need to. Your father's influence alone will help us out a lot."
Don Diego nodded. "You're right, Señor Spencer. Thank you for reminding me." He paused. "If I know my father, he will spare no effort to help Felipe, when I explain the situation to him." He sighed. "I just pray that we will succeed when we get home. Poor Felipe! He's so discouraged. We've got to do something!"
"I know." Jonathan gazed at the boy, who had laid the arrowhead down and drawn his rosary out of his trousers. "If our prayers are answered--and they will be, Diego--that will soon change."
Diego certainly hoped so. Felipe was just too young to be left on his own. "Perhaps Padre Bernardo will agree to raise him. Maybe his church has room. If not, I'm sure he'll agree to keep Felipe while we conduct our final search for a home in and around Los Angeles."
"He will. You can count on it." The cultured tutor straightened his ruffled linen sleeves. He adjusted his white silk cravat.
The group sat in silence after that. After a long time, Jose pushed himself upward into a sitting position. Diego and Jonathan looked at him, concerned. "How are you feeling, now, Jose?" Señor Spencer asked him.
The driver smiled. "Much better, patrón. Gracias."
Don Diego and Jonathan smiled back at him, relieved. "That's good news, Jose," Diego said.
"Indeed, it is," Jonathan agreed. Beads of sweat popped on his forehead as the cultured British tutor spoke. He wiped them off with his handkerchief, then glanced at his shiny gold timepiece. "It's late morning, now, and it'll soon be time to prepare lunch. We'll stay in camp till after siesta, then we'll be on our way."
He rose to his feet and approached the wagon. Felipe looked at Jose, then at Don Diego, who smiled and extended his arms out to the little boy. Felipe trotted toward him and squatted on the ground next to Diego. The caballero put an arm around the boy's shoulder and gently hugged him to his side.
"Felipe, somehow, I just know that we'll find you a home in Los Angeles." He rubbed his fingers over the shoulder they rested on. "I have lots of friends there, amigo, and my father has a lot of influence. Together, we will find you someone to take care of you."
Felipe nodded.
"Meanwhile, we're going to stay right here till siesta's over. That'll give Jose ample time to completely recover from that stomachache he woke up with. When we find you that home we seek, I'll stop by to see you sometimes and see how you're doing."
Felipe nodded. He nestled against Don Diego's side. The caballero sighed as he gazed affectionately at the boy. With all his heart, he hoped that he, his father, and their caballero friends would succeed in helping Felipe. He silently prayed for God's blessing on their efforts, and asked the Lord to give Felipe a home of his own, with someone who would love him and raise him properly. Perhaps, in Los Angeles, they would at long last succeed.
THE END
©1999 by Kathryn D. Green
NOTE: Does Don Diego find a home for Felipe? To find out, read "In the Beginning."
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