Niyati Keni - Esperanza Street

Mulrooney smiled again and Pastor Levi said, ‘I was born in Esperanza, ma’am.’

‘Of course you were,’ Lola Lovely said. ‘I probably knew your mother.’

Pastor Levi introduced his wife. Eveline didn’t possess the kind of effortless beauty that BabyLu had, or that Lola Lovely had once exulted in, but she’d taken some trouble for the evening. Her dress, long and plain in cut and the colour of an afternoon sky, flattered her. She’d applied a little colour to her face and, though it seemed obvious, inexpert somehow, the effect was agreeable, like a high-school teacher chaperoning at a prom. Lola Lovely’s eyes sparkled as she took her in and, beaming, she reached out and squeezed Eveline’s hand, pulling her gently towards the piano, where earlier I’d laid out a selection of drinks.

The priests turned to speak to Aunt Mary but only for a moment, for now Lola Lovely drew away the shawl that she’d draped over her cast so that Eveline exclaimed and the men turned to look. Mulrooney said, as Cesar had several days before, ‘I hope it’s nothing serious.’

Lola Lovely’s cast drew a nonchalant arc. ‘An inconvenience,’ she said serenely. I started towards the piano but she waved me away. She lifted a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label, her cast dismissing Mulrooney’s mild objections without even turning to look at him. She poured the priests a tumbler each. Neither man’s protest was sustained. Lola Lovely poured slightly more modest glasses for herself and Eveline and then raised her eyebrows at her daughter. ‘Fizzy drink?’ she said.

Dub stepped forward, smiled disarmingly at his grandmother. ‘I’ll get ours,’ he said. Lola Lovely moved to the settee and sat down. She looked for a moment as if she might commandeer the centre of it, leaving the men with too few seats, doomed to stand, but then she sat on one side and patted the seat next to her for Benny to join her. He shot me a look as he sat down. Lola Lovely arranged herself with more than her usual care, her feet neatly turned like a dancer. I saw Benny glance down at her feet and wondered if he too saw the artificiality of it. I knew from America that Lola Lovely had never been a dancer, though after she started courting she took to affecting a certain gait and poise when walking or sitting. She was always pleased, America said, when later, in those circles, people often asked if she was, though she never quite confessed, admitting only to loving the ballet . I imagined Lola Lovely’s disappointment when her daughter, despite being sent to the most expensive dance academies, showed neither aptitude nor interest.

Aunt Mary left for the kitchen and it was while she was out of the room that the doorbell rang again. I expected her to come out into the hall as I opened the door to Eddie Casama and his wife but she did not. I showed them both into the sala. My eyes were drawn to Dub as I followed them in. Dub had got home late and, kept occupied by America in the kitchen as she doubled up on ingredients and grumbled good-naturedly about stretching the chicken, I hadn’t had a chance to warn him. I saw now how his easy manner wavered when Eddie’s eyes levelled with his and appraised him for longer than they might have. If the older man was troubled in his turn by Dub’s height, his beauty, he showed no sign.

By the time Aunt Mary returned, Connie had seated herself and I’d served both her and Eddie their drinks. I was surprised, knowing how old-fashioned Aunt Mary was about certain things, preferring to welcome invited guests herself. ‘I’m so glad you could make it,’ she said easily as she came in. She was unreadable as she shook first Eddie’s hand and then pressed her cheek to Connie’s.

‘Eddie rearranged a few things,’ Connie said.

‘I hope I haven’t caused you any trouble,’ Aunt Mary’s voice sounded sufficiently concerned but not apologetic.

‘We hardly see you,’ said Eddie, ‘or your boys,’ he smiled at Dub. ‘Joey Robello was saying only the other day how you hide yourself away.’ Aunt Mary showed no outward tremor at Eddie’s casual mention of Judge Robello.

Beside Eddie, his wife fiddled with her necklace. Connie Casama’s face was somewhat heavy-set with age, but she was nonetheless a handsome woman. She looked eagerly at Lola Lovely, at her cast, her face twitching into sudden concern as she said, ‘Does it hurt still?’

‘What beautiful pearls,’ Lola Lovely said emphatically. ‘Quite symmetrical.’

‘Eddie bought them for our anniversary last year,’ Connie cupped the beads in her palm, displaying them. ‘In Singapore.’

‘Of course, old pearls have an incomparable lustre,’ said Lola Lovely. She looked Connie over, smiling. ‘Would I know your mother?’ she added.

They sat down to dinner late, for Lola Lovely insisted on more drinks all round and made no move to get up from the settee. When they finally moved to the dining room, all eyes were on the platters steaming at the centre of the table. Pastor Levi patted his belly. ‘America’s a real artist,’ said Eveline, at the sight of the food. America had excelled herself, for she knew instinctively that her skill in the kitchen was her only weapon and, moreover, that it was only through Aunt Mary that she might get to wield it. As a result, the conversation foundered as people started to eat.

After a while Eddie said, ‘This was my favourite as a boy. But you couldn’t have known.’

Aunt Mary looked pleased. ‘America decided on the menu. I rarely need to instruct her.’

‘She’s been with our family for years,’ Lola Lovely said. ‘I remember the day I employed her. Skinny thing she was then.’

‘Fresh from the fields to the market to the kitchen,’ Mulrooney said, through a mouthful. ‘Not packaged in plastic in some mall.’

‘Progress has its price,’ Eddie said.

‘Progress is an interesting concept.’ Mulrooney leaned forward. ‘We only measure our progress in relation to our fellows.’

Eddie smiled down at his plate. ‘You’re a revolutionary through and through, Father. Surely even your ideals must at times be checked by pragmatism?’

‘That sounds so completely reasonable. You’re a politician, Eddie, more than a businessman.’ Levi said cheerfully, spearing a piece of fried fish.

‘I’m not an evil man,’ chuckled Eddie. I wondered if he enjoyed his reputation.

‘How handsome you’ve both grown,’ Connie said looking at Dub and Benny. ‘You might even be courting now, Dominic.’ Dub blushed lightly.

‘You must have your pick of the local girls,’ Eddie said and I saw how Dub struggled to look at him. ‘No one special?’ Dub opened his mouth to speak and then stopped, glanced at his mother, then up at me. I felt helpless. Aunt Mary looked puzzled and her gaze lingered over her son, before considering me briefly.

Connie laid her hand over her husband’s. ‘Filipino men are famous for playing the field, I guess. But there comes a time when a man has to choose ,’ she said. Her husband smiled evenly and let his hand rest under hers, putting his fork down to pick up his glass.

Once again, Dub started to speak and faltered. I saw Benny look at his brother, assessing him with his artist’s eyes. For a moment, Aunt Mary looked alarmed and then her gaze swept the table and she turned to me and said briskly, ‘More rice, Joseph,’ though the bowl was still half full. And to Pastor Levi and Eveline, ‘I don’t believe you’ve tried the pork yet.’

I didn’t return straight away. America needed my help to turn a sponge while she iced it. I wasn’t gone for long, but when I returned the air seemed charged and Eddie was flushed. A space had been cleared on the table and Pastor Levi was drawing an imaginary Esperanza with his finger. ‘But that area must have at least a thousand households.’