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way to the village to visit her family, she was<br />
struck by a stray<br />
bullet from a battle between the rebels and<br />
the federales and was<br />
mortally wounded. One of her relatives<br />
arrived at the ranch to bring<br />
them the news, just as Tita and Chencha<br />
were combining all the<br />
ingredients for the mole in a large<br />
earthenware pan.<br />
That is the final step, which is done when all<br />
the ingredients have<br />
been ground as indicated in the recipe.<br />
Combine them in a large pan, add the cut up<br />
turkey, the chocolate, and<br />
sugar to taste. As soon as the mixture<br />
thickens, remove it from the<br />
heat.<br />
Tita finished preparing the mole alone, since<br />
the minute she heard the<br />
news, Chencha left for the village to try to<br />
find another nurse for<br />
Tita's nephew. She returned that evening<br />
without success. The baby<br />
was crying angrily. They tried giving him<br />
cow's milk, but he rejected<br />
it. Then Tita tried giving him tea, as Nancha<br />
had done for her, but it<br />
was no use: the child rejected that, too. It<br />
occurred to Tita that if<br />
she put on the rebozo that Lupita the wet<br />
nurse had left behind, its<br />
familiar smell might soothe the baby; it had<br />
just the opposite effect,<br />
and he cried even harder, because its smell<br />
told him he was going to be<br />
fed and he couldn't understand why there<br />
was this delay. He was<br />
frantically trying to find the milk in Tita's<br />
breasts. If there was<br />
one thing Tita couldn't resist, it was a hungry<br />
person asking for<br />
food.<br />
But she had none to give. It was sheer<br />
torture. When she couldn't<br />
stand it a moment longer, she pulled open<br />
her blouse and offered the<br />
baby her breast. She knew it was completely<br />
dry, but at least it would<br />
act as a pacifier and keep him occupied<br />
while she decided what to do to<br />
appease his hunger.<br />
The baby clamped desperately onto the<br />
nipple and he sucked and he<br />
sucked. When she saw the boy's face slowly<br />
grow peaceful and when she<br />
heard the way he was swallowing, she began<br />
to suspect that something<br />
extraordinary had happened. Was it possible<br />
that she was feeding the<br />
baby? She removed the boy from her<br />
breast: a thin stream of milk<br />
sprayed out. Tita could not understand it. It<br />
wasn't possible for an<br />
unmarried woman to have milk, short of a<br />
supernatural act, unheard of<br />
in these times. When the child realized he'd<br />
been separated from his<br />
meal, he started to wail again. Immediately<br />
Tita let him take her<br />
breast, until his hunger was completely<br />
satisfied and he was sleeping<br />
peacefully, like a saint. She was so<br />
absorbed in her contemplation of<br />
the child that she didn't notice Pedro coming<br />
into the kitchen. At<br />
this moment, Tita looked like Ceres herself,<br />
goddess of plenty.<br />
Pedro wasn't surprised in the least, nor did<br />
he need an explanation.<br />
Smiling delightedly he went over to them,<br />
bent down, and kissed Tita on<br />
the forehead. Tita took the child, now<br />
satisfied, from her breast.<br />
Then Pedro's eyes beheld a sight he had<br />
only glimpsed before through
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