by Marta Acosta
My friend suddenly started and looked around. “What was that?”
I listened, but the only thing I heard beyond the wind was a creature chittering in one of the trees, probably a squirrel. “Nothing, just the wind,” I said, leading him inside. I closed the door against the dust and leaves swirling on the ground.
Oswald was already in the living room, and I introduced the two men. I could tell from Oswald’s expression that he was surprised at Cornelia’s current beau. I filled glasses with ice, poured in pomegranate syrup, tequila, and grapefruit juice, and garnished the drinks with a slice of lime.
“What’s this?” Oswald asked.
“I just made it up. It’s like a Tequila Sunrise, but with pomegranate syrup and grapefruit juice. What should I call it? A Tequila Moonrise? But it has red streaks. Maybe a Blood Moon.”
“Blood Moon is another name for Xquic,” said Joseph. “I learned about her because there’s a corn hybrid named for her.”
I made him repeat the word and spell it. He added, “She was a Mayan deity, a maiden of the underworld. She had to gather corn to prove that she was a virgin even though she was pregnant. She had twins who defeated the death gods.”
“What is it with goddesses of the underworld and seeds, or seeded fruit?” I asked. “I’ve never heard of that myth, although I know a little folklore. I’m using some of it for a writing project now.”
Joseph said, “Does this have to do with that nut Don Pedro?”
I couldn’t tell him that he was right. “I’ve always been interested in folklore. I use it as inspiration for some of my stories.”
“Milagro writes fiction, you know,” Oswald said. He mentioned rather proudly that I had a degree from F.U.
I was thinking of how I’d like to write a story that connected the myths of Xquic and Persephone. I’d modernize it, and perhaps the underworld would be represented by the scary new sovereign wealth funds and the maiden would represent-
“Good evening, darlings!” Cornelia glided into the room so smoothly it was as if she was on rails. She was in one of her fantastic outfits: a narrow black skirt, an ivory blouse with a froth of ruffles at the cuffs and neckline, and elegant sandals with high heels. Her lipstick was as deep red as the ruby earrings that dangled from her lobes.
And damn if Joseph and Cornelia didn’t look smitten with each other. Oswald and I exchanged amused glances as they kissed hello and gazed into each other’s eyes.
We learned a little more about Joseph. After getting his degrees in plant botany and genetics, he’d worked for a large lab.
“Did you leave because you objected to creating Franken-foods?”
He looked amused. “Nah, doodlebug, I just hated being inside all day long. It makes me wound up.”
“You’re an outdoors type,” I said. “Oswald gets stuck in his offices for ages.”
“But I like what I do,” Oswald said. “I’ve got my weekends to stretch my muscles here. Joseph, if you like to ride, you’re welcome to use one of my horses and ride with Cornelia. She’s a wonderful horsewoman.”
“I bet she is, but horses and I don’t get along.”
“What animal does like you?” I asked.
“Human animals,” Cornelia said playfully.
We began a long discussion on animal psychology, and pack versus herd mentality. Joseph seemed to know as much as Oswald about animal behavior and physiology, but when Cornelia looked bored, he started asking her questions about her travels.
Our conversation was comfortable, but Oswald was exhausted. I saw it in his gray eyes and the distracted way he’d stare off. Joseph asked Oswald about his job.
Oswald said, “I talked to someone today about joining my practice. It would give me more time for other things.”
My heart jumped a little at the idea of Oswald spending more time with me.
“Such as expanding?” Cornelia said.
“It’s too soon to say,” Oswald answered.
“You can’t mean it!” I said. “Why do you need to expand? I thought a partner would let you cut back on the time you spend…”
Oswald gave me a tight smile. “We can talk about this another time.”
I hated that. I hated when people treated me as if I shouldn’t bring up an important subject, or make an observation. For a moment, I longed for the freedom of my haphazard single life, when I’d said whatever came into my head without worrying that I was violating someone’s sense of propriety.
“Let’s talk about it after dinner,” I said and returned my fiancй’s tight smile.
Joseph saw that I was upset and said, “Any chance I can see your garden before it’s too dark?”
I took him outside and we strolled down the paths that led between the planting beds. The breeze had settled a bit and only a few birds called now, turning over the evening to the chirping of crickets.
Joseph recognized most of my plants but asked about a few of the older rose varieties. He stopped in front of the mock-orange shrub and said, “Isn’t it too cold here for this?”
“Probably. I thought it would be protected against the frost here by the wall, and I’ll mulch and insulate it if we get a really bad spell.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in trying to impose your will upon nature.”
“I’m just imposing my will on this one shrub,” I said. “I’m not trying to do any DNA splicing with an iceberg. I’m just trying to help it survive.”
“Things are always best in climates that suit their nature. You can keep something alive, but you can’t force it to thrive.”
“Are you talking about life, not just plants?”
“Is there a difference? I hope your mock-orange makes it through the freezes, kitten.” He put his arm around me and we went back inside.
As I closed the door behind us, I thought I saw something, someone, among the trees. But the image vanished immediately. What the hell was going on with my eyes? I kept peering and finally spotted something very small, perhaps a squirrel, shifting through the shadows and leaves above.
We had coffee and a plum tart for dessert, and afterward Oswald and I left the other couple and went to the family room. “Are we going to have an argument?” he asked as he sat in an armchair.
“Yes, but first I want to ask you something. Something’s going on with my eyes.”
“Let me guess. Now you have X-ray vision. Can you see through my clothes?”
“I wish. But, no, it’s as sharp as before.” I could barely remember what it was like not to have perfect vision. “You know how I see outlines of living things at night? There’ve been a few times lately when I see something, but when I focus, it’s something else.”
“Like what?”
“Like just now I thought I saw a person in one of the trees, but it was only a squirrel or something. I mean, they’re not even close to the same size or shape.” I realized I was nervous when I began arranging the pillows on the long sofa.
“It’s happened before?”
“Yes, once, in the City. I thought I saw a person, but it was just a dog. Again, there’s the disparity of size and shape. Is it my eyes, or do you think…”
He stood and came to me, taking a pillow out of my hand and putting his arms around me. “I think you’re the craziest girl I know, but I don’t think you’re going crazy. I’ll call our ophthalmologist and see about an appointment for you.” He sat me down. “There are lots of causes, but the most likely one is stress, babe.”
I’d been under stress before and nothing like this had happened. “Is my vision changing again maybe?”
“It sounds more like a momentary visual distortion. We all have them-our brains misinterpret visual information until we focus. We’ll get it checked out. I want you to be able to enjoy our honeymoon.”
“All five days of it.” I leaned in to his body. “Don’t expand your business, Oz. Don’t you have enough to do already?”
“Businesses are like sharks, babe. They gotta keep moving forward.�
�� He rubbed my back. “I’m hoping I can get us set up comfortably and retire early. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like it’s too many decades away.” I looked into his eyes and saw the worry there. “I know you love what you do, and I don’t want to take that away from you, but what about our life together?”
“If you had more to do, you wouldn’t need me around all the time.”
“You knew who I was, what I was, that I was a writer, when we met. I haven’t asked anything of you but you. I don’t need to be rich or have things.”
“We need financial security, Milagro. Our kind needs to be self-sufficient. I want to be able to provide for my family, our children if we have them.”
I dropped onto the sofa. “We’re back to this again. We never resolve this. We just keep going around in circles.”
“It’s been a tough week. Let’s go to bed.”
I looked up at him hopefully.
“Our own beds,” he added.
“Oswald, if I’d died in that accident, what good would any of the Council’s benefits be?”
“But you didn’t die.”
“You don’t want me anymore, Oswald.”
He laughed. “It’s official. You are crazy, and I’m burnt out. Go to bed.”
I went outside first to look for Pal. Wandering through the field I turned back to stare at the house. The lights glowed from the living room windows where we’d left Cornelia and Joseph. It was a beautiful house, but it would always be Oswald’s house.
Pal had abandoned me yet again. I wondered if his owners were keeping him in at night now.
I went to my room, placed my wedding ring on the marble vanity, and washed up. I turned out the lights and went to the window to smell the fragrance of mock-orange before going to sleep.
The next morning, as I was getting dressed, I looked for my ring. It was gone.
seventeen
delusions, seductions, and evictions
I searched on the floor and on the bedroom dresser. I examined the sink, but the drain would have blocked a ring from being washed away. I crawled on the floor in the bedroom and bathroom, and even pulled all the sheets and blankets off the bed. Then I repeated my search. The ring was gone, baby, gone.
My bedroom door was closed. I had not heard anyone come in during the night. I tried to be calm as I went upstairs to our room. Oswald was sitting on the bed putting his shoes on.
“My ring is gone,” I said. “Did you take it for any reason?”
“Why would I take your ring?”
I told him that I’d put the ring on the vanity last night and that it was missing. “I looked everywhere.”
“I’ll help you look again.”
“Maybe…,” I began.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. Cornelia went to her room a few minutes after you went to bed. Unless you think Joseph snuck into your room while you slept.”
“I’m not saying that!”
We went downstairs and looked for the ring in the bathroom and my bedroom. I found a quarter under a chair cushion, my favorite pen, two rubber bands, and a mini tin of breath mints. “I didn’t put it in any of these places,” I said. “It was on the vanity.”
The sheer curtains at the window fluttered in the slight breeze. “The window,” I said.
Oswald went to the window and tried to raise it further, but it still stuck at about six inches. “Even if someone got past the dogs, no one could fit through that.” He glanced at the clock. “I’ve got to run. Don’t make any wild accusations until I get back tonight.”
I had no idea what Oswald had paid for that hunk of shiny rock. “I’m sorry if I lost the ring,” I said, even though I didn’t believe I had lost it. But how could it disappear? “We’ll find it.”
“I’m sure we will, babe. Remember what I said about stress.” He kissed my cheek. “I’m the one who should apologize for not really understanding what you went through with your accident.”
“Why won’t you trust me on this?”
“You said yourself that your vision is playing tricks on you. Besides, I’ve seen you take off that ring and leave it everywhere. Another guy might think you didn’t even like it.”
“Of course I like it! Do you think that I ‘lost’ it on purpose?”
“You’re overreacting. It’s insured, so if we can’t find it, we’ll replace it. In the meantime, try to decompress,” he said and left.
I knew that something was wrong. Even though I’d seen the chewed wiring from the car, the accident hadn’t felt like an accident. Even though, yes, I often left my ring around, I knew I hadn’t misplaced it this time. I also knew that I would have awoken if someone had come into my room.
I drank my coffee and stared out the window. Ernie’s truck pulled up beside the house. He got out and picked a cardboard box out of the bed of the truck. He saw me at the window and waved for me to come outside.
“Buenos dias, Ernesto. What’s up?”
He lifted the box toward me. “I got your rat catchers here.” He placed the box on the ground and opened the top. Two young black cats leaped out and ran into the garden. “One male and one female, both fixed,” he said as we followed them. They slunk through the flowers, smelling things and twitching their tails and ears.
“Are they house cats?”
“Nah, they’re a little wild. Leave some food and water out for them and they’ll settle in here.”
I was trying to approach the cats when they spotted an open access door that led under the house. In a second they’d slipped inside.
“See, they’re mouse hunting already,” Ernie said. “I hope they won’t get eated up by that wolf of yours.”
“He hasn’t been around lately. But he’s no trouble. You haven’t heard of any problems with him?”
Ernie shook his head. “A wolf’s a wolf, mama.”
I don’t know why I thought of Ian. I said, “He’s someone’s pet.” Ernie handed me a bag of cat food and a dark green bottle. I asked, “What’s this?”
“It’s that special liquor. Cornelia said you needed to cook something. This stuff’s so strong, you could strip paint with it.”
“Thanks. I wish they’d let me use tequila instead.”
I put out bowls of kitty chow for the cats. I hoped they wouldn’t kill any of the birds.
When I went back into the kitchen, Cornelia was standing in front of the coffee machine, looking at it expectantly. She wore sleek cream trousers and a thin white knit top. “Just a cup of coffee, Young Lady,” she said. “Joseph is coming soon and driving me to the airport.”
I didn’t know why she couldn’t pour her own coffee. I sloshed some into a mug and held it out to her. “I thought you were staying to help me prepare for the wedding.”
“But I have! I’ve given you the recipe and the sewing directions. You begin making the cake and work on Oswald’s tunic, and I’ll be back in ten days.”
“Where are you going?”
She told me she was going to her friend’s finca in Andalucia. “Her divorce has been finalized and she’s having a long celebration. It’s just the right time to leave Joseph,” she said with a smile. “Before he gets too confident.”
“You like playing games with men, don’t you?”
“It is my favorite sport, darling, and obviously something you enjoy as well.”
“I try to be sincere with them,” I said as seriously and sincerely as I could.
“But you don’t try very hard, do you? Now promise that you won’t drag Joseph into the night to smell the flowers while I’m gone or waggle your generous wares at him.”
“My engagement ring is missing, Cornelia. Have you seen it?”
“Of course I have.” She looked at me and said, “Americans like garish stones, but you can have it reset. I’ll give you the name of my jeweler, who will do wonders with all the gifts from your lovers. Although I know Ian’s taste is impeccable.”
“What an appalling thing to say! I
don’t have lovers!”
“Oh, darling, I don’t judge you. You’re young and all alone out here, bored and desperate for attention, what with Oswald working those long hours with gorgeous women who are devoted to perfecting their beauty.”
I silently counted to five before I said, “Cornelia, do you know what happened to my engagement ring?”
“No. It’s difficult enough to keep track of my own baubles.” She gave me a look of mock shock, hand to tidy booby. “Unless you’re accusing me of stealing your ring!”
“Not at all. I was only asking if you’d seen it.” I sat at the table and looked into her dark eyes. “I would like to like you, but I don’t quite trust you.”
She sipped her coffee before speaking. “You trust the wrong people and mistrust me who has always told you exactly what I think, just because I’m not ashamed of being a vampire.”
“I’ve done the best I can given the information I’ve had. But, Cornelia, if you try to hurt me or interfere with my wedding plans, I will retaliate.”
“Now you’re speaking like a vampire,” she said with a smile. “Milagro, I promise you that I intend to stand at your wedding with the deepest joy as you give your vows.”
I must have been out of my mind, because I almost believed her.
After she had gone, I loaded the plants I’d bought at the nursery and some compost in my truck and drove across the field to Daisy’s grave. I planted the tallest lavenders at the center of the plot and a low variety of rosemary around it, and finished with the thyme. I hauled water from the pond with a bucket. When I had finished, I stepped back and said, “There you go, girl. Now you’ll always have flowers. There’s rosemary for remembrance.”
When I returned to the house, I made another attempt to befriend the black cats. They moved away when I approached and began exploring the perimeter of the house. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about rodents while they were here.
Don Pedro called that afternoon and said, “How is my pretty little bat?”