Almost Never: A Novel (4 page)

“I’m sure you will find the woman of your life in Sacramento, the woman who will be the mother of your children.”

For Demetrio, this was a vain prophecy. He’d rather imagine Mireya’s marvelous vagina and her breasts like well-hung melons. She was the ideal, even the superlative,
mamacita,
who would bear him a whole legion of children …

“Did you hear me? There are lots of good and beautiful women in Sacramento; dutiful, not at all tiresome. What do you think?”

“I’ll see. Maybe I’ll give it a shot.”

This was the main subject of conversation en route. Hour after hour she insisted. Irksome to the son, who had to hold his tongue. Not a chance he’d spill the beans to Doña Telma; what if he told her that he was sleeping with a spectacular whore in Oaxaca, and even that he had screwed her in many different positions? A son should never confess such depraved sins to his mother. What a terrible lack of respect that would be—right? hence it behooves us to set this scene in a precariously balanced rowboat. A touch of anxiety, a hint of fright, perhaps a moment of relief or something of the sort, all anticipated hours beforehand. Apropos, we must relate a geographic detail Doña Telma and her son, Demetrio, discussed on their way to Sacramento in the first-class carriage—“first” implies the presence of ceilings and walls upholstered in green velvet … anyway, the point is that the Nadadores River runs parallel to the railroad tracks for two and a half miles. If you think that there’s no friction in this kind of kinship, there’s no point in mentioning the subject. But the mother thought there was, for she had heard that sometimes the rising waters covered the rails. An anomalous event that created the illusion that the train was floating. Many had witnessed this delightful effect from afar, but to experience it from inside the train: to feel afloat and derailed: which she never … maybe this would be the first time? Fear. And, it being December, the river is higher, they say, or the contrary: almost not. Hence, until they passed that stretch … just before La Polka station, where mother and son would detrain with their heavy suitcases. A bit more than a mile before said station the river bore east. And the only thing they, as well as the other passengers, saw at any given moment was a sprinkling of the rails: the one on the left: where: unwanted kisses: liquid moderation, which outside observers might have perceived as flotation. Probably not. The river had risen, undoubtedly, but not enough to produce a more or less virtual image … And having thus avoided serious difficulties Doña Telma offered her gratitude to God, and Demetrio seconded that, if only to cover his bases. They crossed themselves ostentatiously, though the one, full-fledged; the other, hypocritical. Anyway, they’d almost reached La Polka. Both had stood up, the son carrying the heavy suitcase to the exit: he staggered under its weight. His mother had warned him that they would have to cross the Nadadores River by boat. On the other shore a horse-drawn carriage would take them to Sacramento. Two old-fashioned conveyances that then and perhaps even now remain the same … Yes, there was the proof, at that point in the century nobody had yet taken the initiative to build a bridge: how difficult could it be so as to avoid the rowing nuisance? For how long had it been thus? And how about buying an automobile to replace the horse-drawn carriage. No, no modernity here, and hence we have mother and son trembling in the boat. Rowing the whole way. The narrow boat was agile. The current would never hold sway. A gentle pull, ah; a glimmer of danger: yes: as stated, the cloud of dust still to come: a mock or imminent attack? the latter: which is what regrettably occurred: the wheels churning dust off the ground: as if to replicate rusticity they arrived in town like a couple of clowns (dust even in their armpits)— Sacramento was three miles from the river. Before that: a third of a mile from La Polka to the riverbank, but on the other side. The load, for Demetrio. Suffice it to say that the aforementioned crossing was more perturbing than the dusty jaunt: a bath at once, compulsory, with brush, soap, and soap-root plant, as soon as they arrived at the home of Aunt Zulema, Doña Telma’s cousin, where they would stay, for the town had no hotels, not even a modest one, not even a hostel. In short, the clouds of dirt were an added touch. A form of welcome … aggressive? Constant coughing, starting with the coachman. The important thing is that mother and son conversed between bouts. She repeated that Sacramento had an abundance of … et cetera. Demetrio’s rude riposte:
You’ve told me more than ten times, Mama. And what if it turns out not to be true? Better just forget about it.
But the mother, wearisome and defeated, nonetheless hedged her bets:
At least in my day there were lots of beautiful women … I don’t know about now … Hopefully it will be like it once was.
And once it was like this and like that, and as the horse-drawn carriage made its way through the streets of the town: one over here, another over there, wow, such well-groomed beauties—abloom! such bodies! such faces! such tresses! through the dust …

The magic dust acting as a filthy screen: do the beauties bathe … and how many times a day? If so, as Demetrio imagined, it would be the ultimate consolation, because the gaga gawker was already fully engrossed in painting pictures in his mind. He could imagine them (almost) floating. And above all, how beautiful they must be when even with all this dust … was there really that much? Demetrio imagined them naked, like Mireya, sculpted, but, why the comparison when any one of them was ten times as good as … ? Walking loveliness: well-nourished. The agronomist probably thought that those he was watching (lecherously) would attend the wedding. A host of invitations—with any luck! At night, visual delerium: many baths in between … In the meantime the aftereffects of the strenuous journey: colossal exhaustion. For Demetrio felt as though he’d come from the other end of the earth. Hence there rose from his subconscious the utterance “Hi-ro-shi-ma”—disgusting! so many dead. No! he wasn’t in Japan but rather in this small place: where life was flourishing—gorgeous! so healthful, so removed from catastrophes and other degradations … To clarify: Sacramento was horrible. A town staked down in the middle of a desert in a broad valley: irredeemable ugliness, except for the local women … Divine wisdom, could it possibly compensate? or not? Still to be seen if all were really so angelic … and hot! And of foremost importance: capable of whipping up a hearty stew.

An incidental fact. The scene of the dust-laden ones’ arrival at their relative’s house may seem spurious after the chug-a-chug-chug of the trip: a whole day long. The weather was cool, pleasant: a hoax in the month of December. By the same token, a dust storm at that time of year: why?

A local phenomenon, and on to the next thing: the dirty embrace. Zulema, with her expansive happiness, bubbling profusely about so many things (unstoppable, incorrigible), and the recent arrivals with their timid pleas:
We want to take a bath. May we?
Or:
It’s urgent,
and other such phrases sprinkled about. But Zulema:
No! Wait! First let’s talk.
How unkind! Or do we need to know that the hostess hadn’t seen Telma in more than ten years? She’d met Demetrio when he was about sixteen, and now an agronomist, a bachelor; tall and thin; such a manly impression he made.
I’m so glad you brought him. He’ll find beautiful women here
—spot-on!—
I assume you have demanding taste. Well, you’ll find a lot to choose from around here, you’ll see.
But a bath, please. The deliberate delay was due to the absence of showers in Sacramento, no exceptions, not even for the wealthiest: so: by the bucketful. And putting the water on the woodstove to heat: a delay, even of two or three hours, would still be a delay: and: no way could they attend the wedding filthy.
Don’t worry, that won’t happen.
A terrible hostess, this Zulema. An old maid, and bitter to boot, a sweet face despite the wrinkles, obvious right away she wasn’t used to having guests; at the house, to be precise, because in her grocery store … but that’s another story altogether … Her obstinacy triumphed against the two clamors for cleanliness. The contingency plan: conversation! But mother and son remained silent. Even Telma’s eyelids drooped at the onslaught of words hurled their way. Silence as revenge and sleep as revenge. The three of them sat in the salon. The suitcases on the floor. The hostess still had not assigned her guests a bed or beds because she was summarizing her entire life, bringing them up-to-date. Unstoppable, incorrigible. A bother. If the dear lady had not had such a pretty face, Demetrio would have strangled her, in fact he felt quite like doing so, as he looked at his own large, bony hands, which he began to raise above his head as if he were learning flamenco, while the other continued with her verbal grist. Playing the fool, she made an awkward mention of the number of suitors who, shall we say, had sniffed her out: and: all rejected! any excuse would do, the premise being her pride (without adjectives) of feeling herself desired. A bit later it was she who took the initiative and said she had neither beds nor rooms available (liar, two closed doors in plain view, how odd!), that all three of them would sleep in the only bed she had: hers, quite creaky. If the dear lady hadn’t had a pretty face, Demetrio would have chosen to sleep on the floor, but the proximity of mature beauty: come on!: she was but a distant aunt. What if he brushed against those hanging breasts.
I’d like to sleep in the middle. May I?
The mother said nothing, she was already nodding off. But Zulema said:
Yes! Of course,
then calmed down, finally.

She didn’t even offer them something to eat. Didn’t even mention the subject.

Could Demetrio’s bony hands with their flamenco flourishes have soothed her?

No!

His aunt then embarked on a second discursive romp. She began talking about the family tree. Recounting those who had died and those whose whereabouts were unknown.

And bathing? It was getting late. Pressure. A brief lapse getting briefer whereby each minute became a stigma with meaning, not to mention the squeezed seconds: ticking: throbbing, a range of rudeness, more than one raised eyebrow between the guests. And the filth? More, then. And the redolence of the threads of their garments. And what about the wedding? A calamity, the only option was to wash in cold water. Alas, mention has already been made of the unseasonably chilly air. A shivering bath … The last to wash was the agronomist. Anyway, they were late and wouldn’t arrive in time for the service, better, at least. Such a predictable ritual … Let’s go straight away to the party outdoors, the mother, aunt, and son together … He, proudly wearing a fairly wrinkled gray suit, though of high quality … There simply hadn’t been time to press it. We have to take into account the jammed suitcase, packed with such haste in Oaxaca. The same goes for the mother and her pink dress—flamboyant: due to her haste in Parras: let’s proceed, it doesn’t matter anyway; the aunt was another story, with her well-pressed deep blue dress … The bride was a niece in her twenties, her belly six months gone and showing. The party would be held in the playground of the local primary school.

Dust …

As long as there’s dancing …

A dusty orchestra, and dusty beauties.

A crush of crinoline: encountered upon arrival. For Demetrio the sight of such concealing garments was regrettable. Harshly corseted women. Exasperating uniformity. Only the beauties’ waspish waists could be seen. No asses or legs—quite a pity! because, where’s the excitement? Busts, yes: though: no striking cleavage. Faces, yes: and what faces they were! Green eyes aplenty, enormous: most of the women were like cats: though a few dogs with brown eyes; a donkey or two, not even worth mentioning; one or another fox … let’s see … plenty of these in most milieus: and: now, yes: delight for the sake of diversity. So many women for so few men. And they kept arriving: in droves, really! and the men?: here and there. All to the advantage of Demetrio, who was recalling the moment he entered the Presunción brothel, yonder, that is to say, at the other end of the earth: in Oaxaca, oh, all those randy asses, who, compared with these Sacramento dolls, were hardly worth remembering. Moreover, one could conjecture that these beauties—so fair and so varied, glimpsed fleetingly and from afar—held the promise of many a hearty stew, each and every feature, but more of that later, hmm … Now for the most evident, the many eyes, and their honeyed looks above all … Perhaps up close Demetrio would find, if he decided to scrutinize closely, one or another telling detail: this one would make a good
chorizo con huevos;
that one was the queen of any of hundreds of pork dishes, and so on, but then came one: a goddess emergent, oh, and upon her his eyes settled—oh my!, he couldn’t stop staring at her, no, not even when the bride and groom arrived. Distractions? Not for him; for the others, perhaps. Unto himself:
She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life.
He espied the striking green of her eyes from thirty feet away. A vague moan escaped his lips, accompanied by a slight quivering thereof, and the muttering of syllables: and: his aunt and mother caught a glimpse of his hidden indiscretion. They spoke to him.

Some claim that when one person stares at another, the other will finally stare back: thus it came to pass between them; a magnet or—who knows what! (whose plan?)—the green: the setting, and the bodies passing back and forth between them: furtive interruptions, but no real distractions, because of the focus and the commitment between she who had just arrived and Demetrio, wow!: a honing in, to such an extent that her parents, who stood with her, had words for her. Her mother nudged her arm, as did his mother over here. Here, not a word passed, but there, father and mother whispered and wagged index fingers. Now they were both obliged to look elsewhere, although their bond had already postulated a “hence,” referent to when the newlyweds initiated the dancing … Which didn’t take long—thank goodness! anon!, along with all the lauding and applause … As a result, it was as if an invisible machine suspended in midair were moving
x
number of males in pursuit of seated females. In the end there arose a musical dynamic that consisted of holding waists and taking steps. Eighteen couples—giving it their all! The movements were quite corny, waltzing, which would have looked even cornier if viewed from the top of any tree: a changing—and pretentious?—flower, or something of the sort, whatever occurs to you. Couple number nineteen was missing. Let’s watch Demetrio ask the aforementioned woman to dance. The parents looked him up and down, from head to toe. His wrinkled suit at night—consider the advantage of the dim lighting—wouldn’t matter even when they did notice, perhaps later. Anyway. Couple number nineteen’s steps were discreet: he was quite tall (almost six feet) and she rather short (what would you call five foot two?). Be that as it may, they never took their eyes off each other; moreover, and because of their somewhat awkward steps, they were continually bumping into other couples. Sorry here, sorry there, and sorry yonder. Their dancing deteriorated as they sidled over to the edge of the dance floor, which didn’t matter because first and foremost they had to introduce themselves: he took the initiative: his name, where he was from, his profession, his reason for being in Sacramento, and the unrivaled privilege of being face-to-face with a
ranchera
goddess … No, how could he use such an inaccurate adjective; he must remain cool …