Diana’s 1960 Buick Invicta

Diana’s 1960 Buick Invicta is both a cherished possession and an unlikely part of a family emergency. Restored as a classic and usually reserved for Diana Ladd, the red convertible is lent to Lani Walker for a trip to the reservation; when Delia Ortiz goes into labor at a funeral gathering, it becomes the vehicle in which Lani helps deliver Delia’s baby. Its role shifts from prized car to improvised support for a birth, and the aftermath leaves a visible reminder in its carefully restored interior.

Acquisition and Restoration

Diana acquired the Invicta from the widow of its original owner, who had put it up for sale at a charity auction. Diana paid far more than she should have for what was then little more than a wrecked hulk. The car, still carrying a web of spiders, was transported from San Diego to Arizona and delivered to the Ortiz brothers’ garage at Sells.

Leo Ortiz, experienced in keeping old cars and trucks running, welcomed the chance to restore a once-flashy classic. The work went beyond getting the car back on the road: Diana hired an upholsterer in Nogales, Sonora, to reproduce the Invicta’s distinctive red-and-white Cordaveen imitation-leather interior. Once Leo handed the finished car over to Diana, the restoration made it a personal prize as well as a working vehicle. Its powerful engine and carefully replicated cabin are both part of what gives the car its particular value in the family.

Diana’s Car and an Unusual Loan

Diana seldom let anyone else drive the restored convertible, including Brandon Walker. When she went into town on errands, she put on a scarf and took the car herself. Its bright red finish and classic design drew attention, but its importance is measured less by that public notice than by how closely Diana guarded access to it.

That makes Lani’s use of the car notable. On the day of the funeral, Lani had gone to Sells to spend time with Wanda Ortiz and deliver flowers in person. Her Camry would not start. Diana told her not to bother trying to jump it and expected to travel in Brandon’s Suburban instead, but Lani took the Invicta. Brandon objected when he learned she had been allowed to drive it, especially because of its 325-horsepower engine. His complaint about the car also offered a safer subject than his deeper concern about Larry Stryker, making the Buick a concrete point of family tension at a moment when other worries were pressing.

Emergency Use at the Funeral

Delia arrived at the Ortiz compound near noon, late in her pregnancy and expecting to attend the funeral services and feast. When labor overwhelmed her at the feast house, Lani and others helped her outside. The Invicta was waiting with its top down and engine running. Kath Fellows had taken the driver’s seat; she got out to help Lani guide Delia through the passenger-side rear door and onto the backseat.

As Delia’s contractions continued, the car carried her along a rough dirt road. Kath pulled over at the shoulder, and Wanda arrived beside them in her Dodge Ram. The pickup’s headlights illuminated the Buick’s open back door, allowing Lani to see that the baby was emerging. The convertible had not been prepared as an ambulance, and Lani had no previous experience delivering a baby. Still, its parked position, open rear door, and the light from Wanda’s truck made it the setting for the delivery. Lani used clean towels Wanda had brought, tied the umbilical cord with a strip snipped from a towel, and cut it with Kath’s Leatherman. She then held the newborn, wrapped in an oversized flannel shirt.

Aftermath and Narrative Significance

The car’s role did not end with the birth. The next morning, Lani asked Diana for the keys so she could take the Buick into town to be detailed. She acknowledged leaving a mess in the car; Diana told her it had not been her fault, but Lani still wanted to arrange the cleaning. At Smitty Coltharp’s shop, the red-and-white seats bore stains from the previous night. He also remarked on the dust inside and asked what had happened in the backseat. Lani explained that a friend of the family had been having a baby.

The restoration that had made the Invicta an object Diana protected also made the consequences of lending it difficult to overlook: the emergency altered its pristine interior. Yet Diana’s response and Lani’s offer to pay for the cleaning keep the car within their shared family life rather than turning it into a source of lasting estrangement. Its passage from guarded treasure to practical refuge gives the object a specific narrative function. The car does not resolve the danger of Delia’s labor, but it carries her to the place where Lani can help, while its altered seats preserve the aftermath of that night in material form.