Lopez laid the baby on his bed. “We don’t name reincarnated babies for two years. We’ll just call her Nena until then.”
The boy was fumbling with candle and flint, but Lopez could see by the faint light now radiating from his hands and forearms. He unlocked the closet, fetched his Remington and set it against the wall. His daughter had formed a body and head, but her face was still a cloud of light.
“Why don’t we name reincarnated babies for so long?”
“Because they might still go back to their heaven.”
“I don’t want her.”
Lopez lifted Luis onto the bed and looked into his eyes. Luis wasn’t a Latino like his father; he was a Hindú, probably. “Mijo, there are so few girls on earth that being a brother will make you very important. You’ll like her.”
The boy looked at the baby dubiously.
“I was glad you stayed,” Lopez added.
“But I was a boy.”
“Even though you were a boy, I was glad.”
“Is she going to take you back to her heaven?”
“Everything’s going to be fine.”
“I don’t want you to die, Papá.”
“I’m not going to die,” Lopez said and pressed his lips together. They were trembling. But just a little. He looked at his son. Better tell him the truth. “I won’t die, Luis, unless she does.”
By the time the doctor’s footsteps sounded on the porch, the baby had consolidated. Dr. Lo stood an inch under six feet. Wide shoulders. Tanned complexion. Thick white hair combed neatly back. He was some mix of Chino and Gringo, like many emigrants from the Francisco Ruins. Dr. Lo set a pistol down on the nightstand and sat on the bed.
“She’s a girl?” Lopez asked in English.
“Let’s find out,” the doctor said and took the baby into his lap. As he examined her, she began to cry. A sound like flowing water. “A healthy reincarnated baby girl,” he announced when finished. “Congratulations.”
Lopez took her back. “You think Se?ora Jenner would come down to see her?”
“The Jenner outfit moved to the Eureka Camps last month. One of her people up there gave birth.”
“Like…natural?”
The doctor nodded. “The mother’s reincarnated, but she delivered a girl. Only natural born baby girl I’ve heard about in ten years, maybe more. It’s a miracle, really. Story goes she was carrying wood when her water broke. She walked home and caught her daughter without a whimper.”
Lopez fretted his baby’s swaddling. “It’s too bad. With Se?ora Jenner gone, the closest woman must be…I don’t know.”
“You mean it’s too bad Se?ora Jenner took Se?orita Jenner with her. She was a pretty one. But word of your daughter will get around. I’m sure your daughter will bring you what you’re after. Now, it’s time I examined you.”
Afterward Dr. Lo sat across from Lopez. “The glow on your arms won’t last much longer. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“I’m her father now?”
“You are.”
Lopez picked up the baby. “How long ’til we know if she’ll stay?”
“Likely after the first three days. But there are reports of children as old as fourteen years going back.”
The baby began to cry, this time with the wail of a corporeal infant. Lopez asked, “If she does go back, how will I die?”
“Sometimes a seizure, sometimes the heart stops.”
Lopez nodded.
“How are you holding up?”
“It’s only been a few hours.”
“You could have waited for Robert. He’s reincarnated, yes?”
“He is, but he’s also trading down on the coast. Nena might have hung around long enough for him to get back, but…” He looked back to his daughter.
“She’s beautiful.”
Lopez flattened his daughter’s downy hair.
“Forgive my prying, but what made you pick her up?” Dr. Lo asked. “The chance to find her a mother, yes?”
“That’s part of it, but…” His voice trailed off. Why had he done it? Now it seemed like a foolish, impulsive thing. He changed the subject. “Do you think she’ll stay?”
“I think she will.”
“Is there anything else I can do? Anything that might help convince her to stay?”
“Try not to think about what will happen if she goes.”
In the morning, Robert returned on their horse. He was a stocky Gringo with a dark blond beard and a bald head the sun turned pink. Long ago, Lopez’s niece had married Robert’s brother, making him family. The niece had died in childbirth, but Robert and Lopez had been friends ever since, running the same outfit for near fifteen years.
When Lopez showed Robert his new daughter, the other man was clearly jealous. “Wolfy, why didn’t you wait for me?” Robert asked through a teasing smile. “Worst she could do to me would be drag me to my heaven.”
“Daaad!” Collin said and punched Robert’s leg.
Robert ruffled his son’s blond hair and then looked look at Lopez. “Seriously, Wolfy, what came over you? I didn’t think you had the huevos.”