Fat Crack Ortiz and Wanda Ortiz's Marriage

Fat Crack Ortiz and Wanda Ortiz’s marriage emerges in brief, consequential scenes rather than a narrated history. Wanda’s everyday concern for her husband contrasts with the independent decisions she makes after his death, when she arranges a funeral that reflects her faith and the needs of those left behind.

Domestic Life

After Brandon Walker leaves with food packed in a foam ice chest, Wanda comes out to the ramada and tells her husband that it is getting hot, asking him to come inside. Fat Crack says he is fine. Wanda, exasperated, returns to the house and leaves him where he is. The exchange offers a small glimpse of their shared household: her practical concern meets his quiet insistence on staying outside.

Farewell and Foreboding

Fat Crack’s calm response conceals a foreboding he cannot explain. He and Brandon have shared the Peace Smoke many times, but on this occasion Fat Crack has given it as a friendly gift of thanks and goodbye. He has also given away his medicine pouch and sacred tobacco. Wanda’s brief appearance does not establish that she knows the significance he attaches to these acts; the scene instead sets her ordinary invitation indoors beside his private sense that something is wrong.

Grief and Funeral Decisions

After Fat Crack’s death, Brandon offers Wanda his condolences. She tells him she knows her husband was ready and that it is all right. When Brandon asks about a service, she explains that the funeral will be held in the high-school gym at four o’clock Monday afternoon, with a Presbyterian minister, and that Fat Crack will be buried at Ban Thak, near his parents and his aunt Rita at Coyote Sitting.

Wanda’s arrangements also reveal a difference between their religious affiliations. Fat Crack was a Christian Scientist, whose faith did not include funerals; Wanda had grown up Presbyterian and believes in holding one. She insists that the service is for her, the children, and The People, rather than a matter of what Fat Crack wanted or did not want. In this final glimpse of their marriage, her grief takes the form of a decision: she honors the dead by making a communal space for those who remain.