by Manolo Mario
“Very well, I see the nature of your plan and can tell it will work. It better work. Make sure you deliver whatever numbers you’ve invented for your plan. They need to reconcile and show that you can make payments. I will go to the board next week and get it settled. Irrespective, how will I know you will live up to your silence?”
“Simple Campos, my interest is to make us all money … money that is in your bank in your possession. What greater guaranty do you need? What you do in your … spare time is your business. Forgive my youthful advice, but be careful. I would not want you to lose your influence and kill our deal because another impresario becomes aware of those activities.”
The banker raised his hands, beaten by this younger man. With the arrangement concluded, he rose and walked around the table to where Galo stood. Galo became apprehensive and imperceptibly moved his hand to the small of his back. “I have another appointment to attend to. You better live up to your end.”
Galo patted the banker on the back. In a louder tone, the strong baritone voice beamed through the office. “Thank you, Campos for being so understanding and supportive. My partners will be forever grateful.”
They walked to the door, where Carmelita Vazquez, having heard the booming voice, stood smiling. She walked Galo out to the front door of the bank. He whispered a lot of things to her all the way to the door. She blushed and smiled as she waved good-bye.
* * *
12 Café for Cubans is a long espresso, though in Havana was common to have it with milk.
13 Élan, verb, guts
Chapter 7
Two weeks passed since Santiesteban was humiliated at the start of his job. Yet, following the Captain’s orders, he mechanically worked through his apologies and made the effort to befriend the men. He needed to be careful in order to keep his recent past quiet. He appeared to have progressed when a day ago, the Captain’s aide, Luis brought him a nightstick. On this day, the lieutenant walked out of the station at mid-morning. He greeted a wonderful day. It was warm and the promise of it getting warmer was never in doubt. The breeze seemed to take the edge off what would have been a scorcher for a person not used to the tropics. He tugged at his shirt so as to straighten it and thought about how the uniform seemed to grow on him. He preferred the dark blue he grew up with, but took comfort in the fact that such a color, in this latitude, would be unbearable. The khakis he wore were not his favorite. He checked and adjusted his nightstick and began his morning foot patrol.
There were things that bothered him. Despite having rank, he didn’t receive a team under his command. The other lieutenants had squads, except for the Captain’s aides. The squads were not large, only groups of six or eight. There were other cops who shared the area of town assigned. They were of lower rank but not reporting to him. At some point he would need to speak with the Captain about these issues. But there were more important things to work through.
He learned this part of the city pretty well and the people of this part of the city got to know him, or they thought. He played along as they offered him café14 and toast, and pastelitos15 and such other wares each vendor and family offered. Without reliance on any strategy, he found money in envelopes handed over from businesses. These were token amounts in his estimation, a mere show of appreciation that would require some adjustment.
These people were friendly and generous. They were quick with a smile and a welcoming comment. God forbid a “good morning” wasn’t loudly pronounced. Such failure disclosed ill manners and would have started a feud over who had been wronged and someone being a pesao16. Along his beat, many ladies would be found sweeping or mopping the sidewalk in front of their home or shop, regardless if the area was dirty or not, it didn’t matter. The dust needed removing. One did not want the neighbors to think that one was unclean and uncaring.
Though extremely cautious of his antecedents, he said enough to share his pride in his little daughter and that he was obviously from Spain. He spoke of Madrid and kept as far as he could from mentioning Barcelona so as to avoid raising questions and casual commentary. There were still many people with friends and cousins back in Spain and who knew what could happen if a nosy individual pried too much. This was a constant peril that he would be prepared to deal with severely. It would require him to keep moving. There were many corners of the new world to hide and make a new life, but somehow this place had appeal.
So, he came to this new world not to run away solely, but also to make it a much better arrangement for him and his little princess. The people here were hard working, adventurers, and risk takers. They did well in comparison to the general public back in Spain. He needed to figure out a way to get his cut. Thinking about his inventory of skills, several enterprising ideas came to his mind, but he continued to return to the same thing. He lacked capital and did not have confidence in looking for someone to bet on his ideas. These ideas were not terribly bad, but if spoken aloud no one would have paid much attention. It all came back to the same thing. The one item he needed to solve for involved his skills, which were suited for protection work. His height intimidated many and his strong use of his nightstick when someone needed a lesson would be decisive.
At the time in La Habana, there existed the petty thief; the pushy beggar; the pickpocket, and of course the prostitute. One could also find the contraband of goods, the smuggling of people, and the side-business gambling. The people in these enterprises knew his peers and quickly dealt with the situations that would develop a lot faster than the police would.
The area of better opportunity led to a smuggler of contraband. There was better value to negotiate. Every once in a while, shots could be heard at night and invariably a body would be found in some out-of-the-way alley. Or perhaps it would wash up on some beach a day or two later. If so, the body would most likely be torn up in some fashion by a sea creature. The police would half-heartedly investigate, but never got anywhere. In many instances, a ship sailed with the assailant, or so everyone was led to believe. Such an area could be promising, but carry a lot more risk than he was willing to take at this time. He needed to build his capital through his known ways.
He served jail duty on this particular day. The jail was a bit crowded because of its size. The small, common holding area was barred and locked and typically held twenty to thirty people waiting to see a judge, as it did today. Some got to see a judge and the judge sent them back in the jail for an extended sentence of as many as sixty days. It wasn’t the judge’s whim altogether. Some were visiting with the judge a third or fourth time. The ones that got on the judge’s bad side would end up going to another, much harsher, situation. This other place held some truly hardened criminals. Any petty criminal, would definitely want to be on good terms and stay out of further trouble.
Santiesteban knew these kinds of people. He knew how to handle and control them. It was his primary skill and the basis for his success back in Barcelona. Working from a desk in the jail, he spent some time observing the dynamics of the group in the cell. Curiously, the people being held seemed to socialize and talk with each other as if they were out at a park on an afternoon stroll.
One person seemed to be a little more reserved and took to a far corner. He was an average looking fellow with a patchy beard and rounded nose. Despite his solitude, several other prisoners walked over to him from time to time and had a whispered conversation. The gestures exposed a sense of leadership and instruction from the quiet one. At several points, a prisoner would return from the court to wait until the paperwork was processed before being released. Each one would work his way around the room getting handshakes and pats from the others. Inevitably, he would walk to the quiet one and whisper something or other to which a nod and a directive passed. This continued throughout the day.
The clincher for the lieutenant came late in the day when a loud drunk was thrown in with the thinning group. The obnoxious drunk stumbled and slobbered and talked at the peak of his voice. He tried to convince anyone who would hear tha
t he wasn’t drunk, but merely released from his inhibitions to be able to tell the world of those who offended him. He grabbed shirts and pushed some of the other cellmates to get them to listen and agree. On one of his stumbles, he came square with the quiet one and talked as loud, but more spittle than actual words came out. Before the quiet one moved, three other cellmates grabbed the drunk and pulled him away. Encircling the drunk, a muffled poof and a gasp for air and suddenly the drunk sat silent. The guard on duty walked up to the bars, “what’s happened?” One of the prisoners explained, “Our new friend decided to quiet down for a while and get some rest.” The guard nodded, “Good! If you keep him that way, I’ll put in a good word with the judge.”
A few minutes later the quiet one was taken to the judge. He returned in a short time and was released a few minutes later. As the guard led him out, he said to let it be the first and only time he would care to see him.
Santiesteban followed shortly thereafter to see where he would go. Outside the building, he stood and lit a cigar observing the man who slowly walk away and turn the corner. Casually, he followed and kept him in sight for a few more streets until a few of the other cellmates from that day stepped to greet him. He saw one pleading in some manner before they turned the corner and disappeared. Santiesteban smiled and flicked his ashes away. He realized that it didn’t matter where he was, there was a way. A little investment of his capital is all he needed.
The capital came in the form of time. After that day, Santiesteban spent time at night out of uniform walking and looking for the man. Every morning he would review the previous day’s reports at the station. After a few days he noticed several reports of thefts, which seemed to hopscotch around the city. The statements seemed consistent. The thefts occurred at night with break-ins that did not seem to disturb others. All sorts of items of varying value were taken, but were never found. Typically, thefts ended in items getting sold in nearby towns or pawned to others, including loan sharks who would inevitably chase after the delinquent. Santiesteban thought he could visualize the pattern and tried to play his hunch.
The thefts made the papers and the police captain pledged to catch the thieves. This would mean more police would be assigned to the case and it would complicate matters. Assuming his hunch was correct, he needed to get to this man before the other cops did. He still had the advantage that he knew what the guy looked like and the other cops did not. He could not let this chance pass. It would set him back time he needed.
But tonight it would have to pass. This was his night to indulge himself at Lulu’s, an out of the way place. It was his escape and the one business he was able to obtain certain accommodations in return for letting certain solicitors go about their vocation uninterrupted. He needed this. Ever since his wife told him she was pregnant, she wanted nothing to do with him. It happened so soon after their marriage. The bed was cold. His princess was born and Esperanza had such a hard time, she would not recover. The complications of having to run away and change names made things worse. Therefore, he felt the right to find other places to meet this need. Even if Esperanza was all right, he thought, one could not pass up on what the girls at Lulu’s could do. And what a night it would be. He would be given drinks and a little extra attention.
* * *
14 Usually a short espresso
15 Crusty turnovers filled with fruit or ham, chicken or ground beef.
16 Literally a weighty person, so ill mannered that he weighed heavy on others.
Chapter 8
Santiesteban’s apartment sat on the second floor of a three-story building at a corner of two streets that were not primary arteries. It was fortunate, for the location faced the street and allowed a constant flow of air, which would be welcomed on hot days. The bad of it involved the street noise, which accentuated the sound of the trolley stop three blocks away. No one could lessen the sound of steel wheels on steel rails. There were the tenants and neighbors. From above, any footstep on heels would tic-tac loudly. Unfortunately, the lady liked to wear heels and she liked to pace or dance or a combination of both. The apartment below was less of a nuisance. It housed a professor whose lessons were mild. Every so often a student didn’t perform and the professor got quite loud. All of them were friendly and somewhat grateful a policeman lived there.
Esperanza took this time in the late afternoon to bathe the baby girl. Perhaps it was the heat, but the little one became very fussy and unsettled. A nice cooling bath would sooth the little one so she could tend to dinner.
Typical of these buildings, they didn’t rise above four stories. Stores and service providers occupied the bottom floor. Renters and sometime the owner lived in the apartments in the top three floors. The owner of this building did not live here. The tenants were a mix of immigrants and locals. Most were working people of modest means. They were good-natured adults. A few had children. The immigrants, as expected, were Spaniards who had been in La Habana for several years.
The apartment was tiny. A kitchen with a sink, pantry, icebox and stove occupied one corner. Water did run regularly. The stove operated with gas. And the icebox kept food remarkably well for such warm climates. Off the kitchen sat a small table with two chairs. A third high chair was pinned to the side to be brought into use as needed. The walls were in good condition and painted a light yellow.
Not too far from this table was a settee, a chair and a lamp on a table. Across from there, was the washroom, containing a washbasin with two faucets for hot and cold water. A step further and a working, flushing toilet fed from a tank on the wall above the seat took up the space. The customary chain hung down to operate the system. Across and perhaps a step away was a small tub with a pipe that ran high to throw water from above; a ringlet tied to the ceiling from where a curtain hung to limit the water from leaving the tub.
After climbing the steps, Santiesteban pushed the door open on this evening. He mouthed something to a neighbor that couldn’t be understood. He carried a loaf of bread under his arm; a newspaper wrapping what turned out to be chicken, a bag of potatoes and a bottle of rum. He stepped through directly to the kitchen and looked around nodding his head from side to side. He placed the food down, popped the cork off the rum bottle and poured himself half a glass. He turned back to face Esperanza.
“Is this the time to give my princess a bath? If she gets a cold and something happens to her you’re going to pay dearly!”
He took a big gulp from the glass, smacking his lips as he finished. Esperanza did not look back, but focused on her task.
“Nothing will happen. It is hot here and there is no chance to get a cold.”
He arched his shoulders back. “Do not defy me. You’re turning her into one of these over-washed Cubans, who have forgotten where they came from. She just needs a washcloth. If it’s good enough for me, it will be for her!”
“Since we’re in Cuba, don’t you think we should adapt? We’re not the only Spaniards here, you know. Why this morning I met our new neighbors down the hall. They arrived here yesterday from Sevilla.”
“So, now I know why you’re still washing my princess instead of getting our dinner ready. You spend your time passing rumors with neighbors instead of minding your home. You better be careful with whom you talk to. Remember we’re here by pure luck or did you think taking on the name Santiesteban was for our own humor?”
“Do I need to worry still? You said what happened in Barcelona was all a mistake? You promised you would change the way you went about your job in the new land and that we would not be needing to run somewhere else.”
“What? Don’t be throwing my own words at me, woman! First, I’ll do as I damn well please. And you will do as I damn well say. Who do you think you are? You better be aware of your place or I will have to show you again!”
He took another long draw from the glass, and it was almost empty. Esperanza, from the corner of his eye, grew tense and shook as she brought her girl onto a towel to dry. The distraction took the edge of his ir
ritation. He stepped back to fill his glass while she dried and dressed the girl.
Esperanza took a deep breath. “Now she is dressed. I’ll start on dinner.”
Santiesteban put his glass down and took his little princess. Esperanza moved for the kitchen and he stood in the way. As she passed him, he grabbed her arm and squeezed. “Don’t you ever forget that you answer to me!”
Her faced contorted and a tear appeared at the corner of her eye. She gasped, “Of course,” and pulled away gently.
As quickly as his temper boiled, it cooled with his princess on his knee. He bounced her and made funny faces. He lifted her and made her laugh. He picked up a rattle and made her reach for it over and over until her bottom lip curled. He gave it to her prompting a big toothless smile. He cradled her when Esperanza gave him the milk bottle and hummed to the princess until she finished and fell fast asleep.
~~~
Esperanza felt she wasn’t a great cook, but she took care to prepare her meals adequately. She browned the chicken in olive oil before placing it in a pot of rice to finish cooking. She also fried some ripe plantains, which were a local staple. It was something she tried from one of the neighbors and adored.
She served her chicken and rice and the plantains on plates and set them on the table. She sat and waited for her husband to put the baby in her crib and join her at the table. Despite her desire to be somewhere else, she did not want to create a reason for his temper to flare.
Santiesteban, after kissing the baby good night, came to the table and sat. He looked across to see Esperanza with her eyes closed and mumbling a prayer. He gazed down at the plate and saw the chicken and rice and the plantains. “What in the hell are these yellow-brown things on my plate? Where are the potatoes?”