“Yesterday, Leonardo complimented me on dinner,” she stated, her face perplexed as she darned my father’s socks.
I nodded. “Your tacos were very good.”
They had been simple pinto bean tacos but my mother could make a feast out of nothing. When she had added spicy chorizo and other seasonings to them, they exploded with flavor.
“Leonardo has never complimented me before.”
“What do you mean, Mama?” I asked, puzzled. “He always thanks you for the food.”
“Yes, but he never gives a compliment. You have to pull words out of that boy like pulling a bone away from a dog.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe he’s losing his shyness.”
My mother smiled. “He’s opening up.”
“Opening up?”
“Who knows all that he suffered with his uncle. Who knows what scars he has making him mistrust people.”
“He does have a lot of scars on his back,” I stated, my voice tight.
“They’re probably nothing compared to the ones he carries inside, but it looks like he’s starting to open up.”
While Leonardo was losing some of his morose behavior, Lucio was doing the opposite and his frequent bad moods started to concern me. When I asked him what was wrong, he would insist that I was imagining things. But he and his father seemed to be arguing all the time behind closed doors. Finally, I confronted him at the river where we could talk freer than in any other place.
“I wish you would just tell me what’s going on,” I implored.
“It’s nothing.”
“How can I help you if you won’t tell me?”
“Tina, it’s noth—“
“Stop telling me that it’s nothing,” I growled. “Even Matilde the cow would be able to tell that there is something wrong with you.”
He reached for my hands and held them tightly. “Okay, I’ll tell you. But I didn’t want to upset you.”
“What is it?” I asked, taking in a sharp breath.
“Since turning eighteen . . .,” he said, hesitating.
“Yes?”
“My father wants me to get married.”
“Married?” I muttered. He quietly nodded. “He wants you to marry Delfina, right?”
“He’s always told me I could marry who I wanted, and now he’s insisting I marry her,” he snapped.
“What are you going to do?” I asked, trying to keep the shakiness from my voice.
He frowned deeply. “Do you even have to ask?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t think I’d marry her, do you?”
“But if your father forces you—“
“He can’t force me,” Lucio declared. “He’s not going to make me marry someone I don’t love.”
My breath became more even. “He’s going to keep insisting. Don Clemencio is a stubborn man.”
He took my face in his hands. “He can insist all he wants. The only girl I’m going to marry is you.”
I had counted on Don Clemencio’s stubborn insistence but I hadn’t counted on his sheer perseverance because it seemed that the Montenegro family was continuously invited to the Sevilla Hacienda. A day would hardly go by without them coming for at least one meal. And Delfina continued her pursuit of Lucio.
Gregoria, the bored chaperone who always had to accompany Delfina, once told me when we were having a meal in the kitchen that she couldn’t understand how Delfina was making such a fool of herself by throwing herself at Lucio. According to her, it was obvious he didn’t want anything to do with her.
“Stop following me,” I heard him burst one day while I was tending the flowers in Doña Clotilde’s garden. Lucio had just stepped out the back door and Delfina trailed him. Neither one had seen me.
“Please don’t be upset with me,” begged Delfina, her face crumbled and her hazel eyes filled with water.
“You have to stop following me,” he said, getting control of his frustration as his tone lost some of its biting edge from earlier.
“I’m sorry,” she uttered with a small voice. “I didn’t realize I was bothering you.”
“I didn’t mean to be rude or ungentlemanly,” he exclaimed, “but please forget about me.”
“Our parents—“
“I don’t care what our parents think, and it would do both of us good if you tried to make your family understand that you can’t marry a person you barely know,” he stated. “I’ve got things to do. You stay here.” He stalked away without ever knowing that I was in the flower garden. I couldn’t help smiling as I went back to tending the orchids.
“Valentina,” a voice called my name. I looked up to find Delfina staring intently at me.
“What can I do for you?” I asked, surprised she had called out to me.
“Come sit with me on the bench.”
“I’ve got the garden to take care of and—“
“Please, Valentina. I’ll tell Doña Clotilde I needed you and made you come help me.”
“But—“
“Please.”
I nodded, not being able to avoid sitting with her. Up close, her eyes were a painful red and the saddest I had ever seen them. Usually, she was lively and full of life. The sunny day didn’t do anything to alleviate her burdens.
After dismissing her chaperone, Delfina turned to me. “How long have you been here at the hacienda?” she asked, as if it was a very important question.
“All of my life.”
“So you’ve known Lucio for a long time,” she said, some spark in her voice.
I nodded, wondering where this conversation was heading.
“I need your advice.” Her voice was almost breathless, her hazel eyes wide, and her pretty face in consternation.
“My advice?”
“I love Lucio.”
I took a huge, painful gulp and hoped she didn’t see the jealousy crossing my face. “You what?” I snapped.
“I love him. I love him with all of my heart.”
Incensed words rushed out of my mouth. “But he just told you to leave him alone.”
Her face lost all color except for the redness in her swollen, teary eyes. “You heard us?”
“Lucio’s voice is very loud.”
“I guess I can’t blame him for being rude,” she said, her voice breaking again. “It’s not the first time he tells me.”
“Then you can’t be a puppy begging a child to love her,” I blurted.
“I just thought that if he’d get to know me, he’d love me too . . . What do I do, Valentina?” she asked desperately. “How do I make him love me?”
“I don’t think you can make anyone love you,” I explained, hiding the thorns from my voice. I was starting to feel sorry for her.
“But there has to be a way,” she insisted. “You’ve known him since you were children—tell me what I can do.”
“Delfina!” called Leonor from her window on the second story. “Stop talking to the servant and come up here with us.”
“That’s it!” she excitedly told me, her face coming alive again. “His sisters should be able to help me.” She looked up to the window. “I’ll be right there!”
Delfina sprang up from the bench like a cat that had jumped onto a table full of food.
“Thank you for listening to me. If you think of anything, please tell me,” Delfina said, heading to the house.
I stared after her, shaking my head.
For the first time I was grateful for Leonor’s obnoxiousness. She had interrupted at the perfect time before my loose mouth got me in trouble. The things I wanted to tell her!
Stay away from Lucio!
He had made it perfectly clear how he felt about her. If a man had told me what he had told her, I wouldn’t be begging him. But that was me. Now Delfina would ask Lucio’s sisters how to win his heart. But his heart already belonged to me.
Chapter 27: Valentina
My mother had kep
t it carefully hidden all day. Neither my father, nor Leonardo, nor I noticed the lack of energy in her walk or the down turn of her expression. All of us were too busy at work to pay attention but in the evening when I arrived home with her, she ambled over to her bed and plopped down. With deep concern, I put my hand on her shiny forehead. My mother was boiling! She lost consciousness a few minutes later—only talking in intelligible words. I quickly sponged her face with a rag soaked in cold water. I tried to figure out what to do while my mind spun. I couldn’t leave her alone, but I needed to do something.
When I heard the outside door swing open, I rushed to it, almost tripping on the few pieces of old furniture we had. Leonardo eyed me with a perplexed look.
“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately.
“My mama,” I muttered as I tried to form words while I kept trying to slow down the anxious thoughts inside me.
“What?”
“My mama, my mama,” I repeated. It was all that would come out of my dry mouth.
He grabbed my shoulders roughly. “What’s wrong with your mama?” he asked, his voice almost as frantic as mine.
“She’s sick!” I exclaimed, finally finding my speech.” I quickly took him to my parents' room. He rushed to my mother.
“She’s burning,” he announced as he kneeled at her bedside and touched her skin.
“We need a doctor,” I declared.
He stood up. “I’ll go get him.”
“Doctor Mireles won’t see her unless we pay him first,” I blurted. “We’ve got to get some money.”
A few weeks ago, Doctor Mireles, the only physician in town, had announced that he was tired of not getting paid and would now take precautions before treating anyone.
“Don’t worry about money—he’ll see her,” Leonardo stated, as if it wasn’t a problem.
“But—“
For the second time that evening, Leonardo grabbed my shoulders. This time much more gently than previously.
“I’m not letting anything happen to your mother. Doctor Mireles will come. I promise you.”
I nodded. “I’ll take care of my mother while you get the doctor. Please hurry!”
“I’ll make sure someone tells your father what’s happening,” he announced as he rushed out.
True to his word, my father dashed in the house soon after Leonardo had left. His face was stricken and flushed as he sat next to my mother on the bed. He took the wet rag I had in my hands and patted her face with it.
“What am I going to do if she dies?” he asked desperately.
“She’s not going to die,” I stated.
A short time later, Leonardo stepped into the house with the doctor in tow. Doctor Mireles immediately examined my mother and stayed at the house for the rest of the night. None of us got any sleep as we waited and prayed that the treatment was working.
In the morning, her fever finally broke and Doctor Mireles left medicine for her. He assured us he’d be back to check up on her. She woke up a few moments later, groggy but with her full faculties.
“Mama, you really scared us,” I told her.
“I’m just a little sick.”
“A little?” I asked, smiling. “Just like a pig is only a little fat.”
“Yes, a little sick,” she insisted.
“Okay, Mama, if you say so.”
Instead of taking care of my mother, the next day I had to go back to work in the Big House to take my mother’s place in the kitchen. Even though my mother was still weak, Doña Clotilde grumbled that her head cook was taking advantage of an insignificant illness. She insisted that workers always faked as much as they could to indulge their lazy ways. In the entire time my mother had worked at the hacienda, she had only not shown up for work once—when I was born.
I really wanted to tell Doña Clotilde what I thought of her but restrained myself. Instead, I turned my evil eyes on her. She immediately clammed up and rushed out the kitchen like her daughters had done so long ago. Grumbling loudly, I did my work. I would just have to keep all of the anger inside of me like others in my situation were doing, where it was festering and growing.
As soon as Lucio heard about my mother, he cornered me in the kitchen where fortunately, I was alone.
“Is your mama okay?” he asked anxiously. I could tell he wanted to touch me, but we had made an agreement that we wouldn’t risk getting caught by reaching for each other in the house. There were too many eyes and ears in it.
“She’s fine,” I said, giving him a small smile as I filled the beef soup pot with spices for the caldo.
“What happened to her?”
I started cutting potatoes. “She had a very high fever.”
“Do you need money for the doctor,” he asked, his eyes digging into mine.
“Leonardo took care of the doctor.”
“He did?”
“Yes.”
“I guess he’s the hero again,” blurted Lucio with a tinge of jealousy in his voice.
I frowned, putting my hand on my hip. “It’s not about being the hero,” I chastised strongly. “It’s about caring for others.”
“I’m sorry,” Lucio expressed. “You’re right. I just wish he didn’t get to play the hero so much. He makes me look bad.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I stated,
He gets to live with you and come to the rescue of your family,” Lucio grumbled bitterly. “Soon, you’ll wonder what you’re doing with me.”
“Lucio!” I chided. “Stop it.”
“But—“
“Stop this jealousy,” I demanded. “I had to stay up all night with my mother. I don’t know why you’re doing this to me.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry to be putting you through this.”
But that twisted jealousy towards Leonardo didn’t end with my having scolded him. Lucio started paying close attention to his childhood amigo and started realizing what the rest of us already knew. Leonardo was changing into a softer human being. Some of his rough edges were disappearing and in their place grew some smiles and even laughter once in a while. The transformation was remarkable.
Lucio eyed Leonardo suspiciously, not understanding what was happening to his old friend. Lucio didn’t say anything about it. He just grew solemn if he saw Leonardo close to me. I decided it was best to leave whatever thoughts Lucio had about the matter to himself. But the day I accidentally tripped over the hacienda dog that was chasing a stray, yellow cat and I roughly tumbled to the ground, his twisted thoughts came splattering out as soon as Leonardo reached me. Lucio was too far from me to get to me first.
“Get your hands off her,” Lucio demanded as he rushed to me.
Leonardo ignored him and helped me to my feet. “Did you sprain anything?” he asked, his hands still steadying me.
“I’m fine,” I stated, hating the angry vibes in the air. “Bruised but fine.”
“I told you to get your hands off her,” Lucio snapped, roughly yanking me away from Leonardo.
“Stop that!” I demanded, jerking myself away from him.
“You’re hurting her,” Leonardo fumed.
Lucio stepped into Leonardo’s space, face to face. “It’s you that I’ll be hurting.”
“You can try,” Leonardo growled, not stepping back even a tiny centimeter.
I immediately flew in between them. “What’s gotten into the both of you?” I questioned furiously. “Aren’t you best friends?”
“Not any more,” stated Lucio.
“You two need to get it together,” I snapped.
Lucio tried to step closer to Leonardo as if trying to crash into him, but I stayed firmly in place. There wasn’t going to be a physical fight—not while I was here. My disgusted irritation with the both of them grew by the second.
“She loves me,” Lucio yelled at Leonardo. “Not you—me.”
“I know that,” Leonardo mumbled.
I needed this c
onversation to end. “Stop—“
“How could you do this to me?” Lucio asked Leonardo, his tone shaky. “We’re like brothers. How could you fall for the one I love?”
“I could say the same to you,” Leonardo muttered.
“But—“
“You didn’t love her before I loved her,” Leonardo insisted. "You just won her heart before I could.”
Astonished with what I had just heard, I put my hand on my right temple. How could this be happening? How could Leonardo be in love with me? How could I have not realized it all these years?—even after he had confessed about the flowers. There was no question as to my naïveté.
Lucio glared at him. “Leonardo, don’t—“
“You only noticed her because I would stare at her. You didn’t even know her name.”
“Stop it, you two!” I snapped. “I’m not a toy to be fought over!”
Lucio let out a frustrated noise. “This isn’t about who saw her first,” he told Leonardo with gritted teeth, “or even who loved her first. She chose me.”
“I know.”
“I—“
“Don’t say anything,” Leonardo muttered. “Whatever is done is done.”
He stalked off with both Lucio and me staring after him. His proud form disappeared in the distance as a stony silence enveloped the air. What had just happened?
Lucio and I didn’t talk about Leonardo again, refusing to acknowledge his confession. Even though I could tell that Lucio was more bothered than ever that Leonardo lived in my home, he kept his tongue in place. Maybe he felt guilty that he hadn’t considered his friend’s feelings when he was romancing me. Maybe he wanted to ignore the entire situation. Maybe now that the truth was out, he wanted to let it lay low until it dissipated into the air.
I just wished I could put the disclosures back into the air-tight jar they had come from and return to the way things were before the confessions. It made me uneasy to know how Leonardo felt about me. I most certainly didn’t want someone to love me who I couldn’t love back. And it put a heavy strain on my relationship with Lucio. I couldn’t say anything to Lucio about Leonardo anymore, not even about my discovery of how Leonardo had gotten Doctor Mireles to come to the house without giving him a single cent. I desperately wanted to share the surprising story with someone and how I had tripped upon it.
Leonardo kept coming home past midnight every day. I knew it because I would wake up when I’d hear noises coming from the outside. I’d peek out the window and find him returning from somewhere and going into the vegetable shack. When I asked my father about it, he told me that Leonardo had exchanged the doctor’s services for his own. Leonardo was putting up a wall in what would be Doctor Mireles’s new home.