told us that José had come from Mexico City with some concerns about the amount of money Diego was spending out here in Chihuahua. Diego was having to shell out dough like crazy to the various Mennonites he’d enlisted to help him realize his dream. Elias explained Diego’s rationale with the campo dwellers. This is what he says, said Elias. I understand and respect your religion’s stance on photography andartificial images but I also believe that by making this film we can help to preserve your culture and prevent it from disappearing. This presented a conundrum that stopped the Mennonites in their argumentative tracks. Diego then added that he was willing to pay them for letting him shoot on their land, or in their house, or wherever it was that he wanted to shoot, and that got the Mennos nodding again and shortly thereafter the deal was done.
That’s what they’re talking about, said Elias. Diego is trying to explain to José the reason why the Mennonites are being truculent. No offence.
I had stopped listening, really, because now Aggie and I had started to argue.
Marijke and the crew smoked and stared politely into the desert pretending not to notice me and Aggie hissing at each other in the wind. She kept her hand on the handle of her suitcase but she turned her head away from me when I tried to talk to her.
So, where do you think you’re going to go? I said.
Don’t worry about it, she said.
Well, obviously I’m going to worry about it, I said. Are you a total moron or what?
Let’s enjoy the moment, Irma, she said. She was quoting Marijke. José and Diego were shouting and throwing cigarettes out the windows. A spark skittered off the metal and landed on Elias’s arm and he swore in Spanish, puta , and extinguished it with his spit. Trucks packed full of Mexican or Mennonite families were passing us and they were all waving and smiling or very determinedly looking away, likeAggie when I tried to tell her that she was risking her life by leaving home.
I know, she said. So what. I didn’t know what to say then and wished that I smoked for real or that sparks would land on me.
Because the light, said Aggie.
What? I said.
Because the light, she said. What that guy said. She pointed at Elias who blew her a kiss. It’s funny, she said.
Stop taking my things, I said. I pointed at her ratty suitcase.
I’m returning it to you, she said.
We’re standing, lying, sitting in an empty field waiting for the rain. This time Aggie is with us, learning how to play Frisbee with Miguel and Elias, and apparently enjoying the moment as though it were her last. Oveja has now become her best friend thanks to a dozen zwieback she had in the suitcase. Alfredo has come here in his own truck, by himself, but he’s sulking and Diego is worried about him leaving before the rain comes. Alfredo says he is wasting his time and losing money that he could be making from his real job and that there’s so much stress at home because of this movie. Diego has taken me aside and asked me, again, to ask Marijke if she would spend more time with Alfredo. If maybe now she would agree to drive with Alfredo in his truck so that they can get to know each other and so that Alfredo won’t feel lonely and ignored.
I took Marijke aside to tell her what Diego had told me. I handed her my bottle of water.
He would like you to spend more time alone with Alfredo, I said.
Why? said Marijke.
To strengthen your relationship.
What relationship?
Your movie relationship.
That’s Diego’s job, she said. She drank the water that was left in the bottle and gave it back to me.
Diego jogged over to us. He looked worried. He was wearing white, gauzy pants that billowed out like sails when he ran. From a distance his head was a crow’s nest. He asked me if I had told Marijke what he had said about spending time with Alfredo.
Yes, I said, but she has reservations.
Please tell her that it’s important for the energy of the film, said Diego.
That’s what they’re talking about, said Elias. Diego is trying to explain to José the reason why the Mennonites are being truculent. No offence.
I had stopped listening, really, because now Aggie and I had started to argue.
Marijke and the crew smoked and stared politely into the desert pretending not to notice me and Aggie hissing at each other in the wind. She kept her hand on the handle of her suitcase but she turned her head away from me when I tried to talk to her.
So, where do you think you’re going to go? I said.
Don’t worry about it, she said.
Well, obviously I’m going to worry about it, I said. Are you a total moron or what?
Let’s enjoy the moment, Irma, she said. She was quoting Marijke. José and Diego were shouting and throwing cigarettes out the windows. A spark skittered off the metal and landed on Elias’s arm and he swore in Spanish, puta , and extinguished it with his spit. Trucks packed full of Mexican or Mennonite families were passing us and they were all waving and smiling or very determinedly looking away, likeAggie when I tried to tell her that she was risking her life by leaving home.
I know, she said. So what. I didn’t know what to say then and wished that I smoked for real or that sparks would land on me.
Because the light, said Aggie.
What? I said.
Because the light, she said. What that guy said. She pointed at Elias who blew her a kiss. It’s funny, she said.
Stop taking my things, I said. I pointed at her ratty suitcase.
I’m returning it to you, she said.
We’re standing, lying, sitting in an empty field waiting for the rain. This time Aggie is with us, learning how to play Frisbee with Miguel and Elias, and apparently enjoying the moment as though it were her last. Oveja has now become her best friend thanks to a dozen zwieback she had in the suitcase. Alfredo has come here in his own truck, by himself, but he’s sulking and Diego is worried about him leaving before the rain comes. Alfredo says he is wasting his time and losing money that he could be making from his real job and that there’s so much stress at home because of this movie. Diego has taken me aside and asked me, again, to ask Marijke if she would spend more time with Alfredo. If maybe now she would agree to drive with Alfredo in his truck so that they can get to know each other and so that Alfredo won’t feel lonely and ignored.
I took Marijke aside to tell her what Diego had told me. I handed her my bottle of water.
He would like you to spend more time alone with Alfredo, I said.
Why? said Marijke.
To strengthen your relationship.
What relationship?
Your movie relationship.
That’s Diego’s job, she said. She drank the water that was left in the bottle and gave it back to me.
Diego jogged over to us. He looked worried. He was wearing white, gauzy pants that billowed out like sails when he ran. From a distance his head was a crow’s nest. He asked me if I had told Marijke what he had said about spending time with Alfredo.
Yes, I said, but she has reservations.
Please tell her that it’s important for the energy of the film, said Diego.
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