Chapter 4 #2
Soon, the servants brought in the main course, filete chemita, seared steak with mashed potatoes.
The head of the table was always the first to taste the main dish.
Everyone watched as Lo’s father cut into the steaming steak.
The center was a lovely soft pink. A few of the servants lingered nervously.
If her father didn’t like it, they would have to remake the dish.
He chewed for several moments, then sputtered into a coughing fit.
Would he choke, done in by a piece of expensive meat for all his sins? Or even better, what if one of the servants had poisoned him?
Lo wondered: Was it wrong that she hoped so?
She looked down before anyone could catch the anticipation written all over her face.
“Are you okay, senor?” Juan Felipe asked.
“Papá.” Sera rushed to him, holding her glass of water. “Drink this.”
Her father swatted her away, splashing the water both on the table and on Sera. “Now look what you’ve done.” He snatched the cup and took a big swig. A few coughs later and he was okay. Still breathing. Still alive.
Lo dabbed her mouth with a napkin to hide her disappointment.
Sera still stood at his side, gently patting his back. “Are you okay?”
“Enough,” her father growled. “Sit back down.”
Sera backed away, eyes watering. She put on a small smile before saying, “Yes, Papá.” How could she still love him? Lo gripped the sides of her chair and pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth to keep from saying anything.
The dinner continued as Lo’s father and Juan Felipe discussed dull topics like business and Las Cuatro. “I’m happy that you’re interested in my daughter, my boy,” her father said. “Not just anyone would be suitable for her.”
“Thank you, senor.” Juan Felipe set his hand on Lo’s thigh.
She gripped her fork, for a moment pondering what would happen if she stabbed those wandering fingers of his.
No, no, the blood would stain her new gown, which would be such a shame.
“My father’s worried that the arrival of Fortune’s Kiss will turn Milagro upside down.
We’ve already heard rumors of common families sending their eldest children so they too could become aristocrats. Isn’t it absurd?”
“Indeed.” Lo’s father tipped his glass. “I’m none too concerned. None of that riffraff have the smarts needed to win the game.”
Did they not believe the legends of how las grandes familias came to be?
No, surely, they just did not want anyone else to benefit from Fortune Kiss’s miraculous power.
People as vile and greedy as her father and Juan Felipe would want to decide who could be among them.
But didn’t that make them just as bad as el orden antiguo?
Lo choked down the rest of her meal. Not soon enough, the meal ended and the servants cleared the table. Gracias a Dios, her father dismissed everyone before leaving.
“Shall we go for a stroll, Lorena?” The way Juan Felipe stared at Lo, eyes full of burning hunger, made her dinner threaten to come back up. He wanted to devour her like a second helping of flan de cajeta.
“I’m sorry. It’s been a long day and I’m exhausted.” Lo smiled sweetly. “Perhaps we can go a different day?”
Juan Felipe’s mouth hung open. He wasn’t used to being told no, especially not twice in one day. Still, they both knew he couldn’t make a scene. Not here.
“Fine.” His voice was cold. “I’ll see you later, Lorena.”
No, you won’t. Lo waved as he left.
As Carmen took Sofía upstairs for her bath, Sera rushed out of the room, face red and mouth downturned, still feeling the sting of their father’s dismissal.
As Papá walked into the kitchen, Lo could hear muffled yells and the sound of breaking glass seeping through the walls.
Her father must have been letting the cooks and kitchen staff have it, likely blaming them for his coughing fit.
Her cheek still tingled. She did not want to be in his line of fire, so she ran to her room.
The flickering candlelight cast a myriad of dancing shadows across Lo’s bedroom wall. Even as she lay in bed, her heart refused to stop drumming, all her senses on high alert. The excitement of Fortune’s Kiss pirouetted across her mind, alongside the horrible things that happened today.
After tomorrow, none of that would matter. No more lying or acting pleasant to make horrible people happy. As exciting as that was, a small voice in her head kept asking: But what would you be without those things? Who are you if you aren’t playing that role?
She shook those thoughts away. That could be figured out later, once she was free, but for now, there was still much to be done.
She strained her ears until distant sounds throughout the house had quieted.
Then she rose from the bed, crept to her door, and peeked into the hallway.
Not a light or noise. Holding her breath, she journeyed through the hall past Sera’s and Sofía’s rooms, then down the stairs.
Everything inside her trembled. She half expected a servant to leap out of the shadows, but no, they were all asleep in their quarters.
Soft moonlight seeped in through the windows, illuminating the way as she passed the kitchen and parlor to the other end of the hacienda.
Mamá’s suite.
She reached for the doorknob, but hesitated.
It had been years since she or anyone else had crossed the threshold.
After Mamá left, it had become a forbidden area.
The servants didn’t even go in there to clean.
Lo wiped her clammy palms on her nightgown and took a deep breath.
There was no time for dawdling. As quietly as she could, she opened the door and stepped inside.
An overwhelming wave of nostalgia hit her.
The familiarity, the memories, all of it was as thick as the dust coating the furniture.
The suite was exactly how she remembered, though the room didn’t feel as big as it once did.
Moonlight wafted in from the balcony, spotlighting the mosaic tiled floor and luxurious rugs, along with the warm orange walls.
The stone fireplace stood at the far end of the room, opposite her mother’s bed, which was full of fluffy pillows and crisp white blankets.
The only other sign of decay was the dried-out plants Mamá used to dote on.
Lo tried to soak it all in. If she shut her eyes, she swore she could catch a faint whiff of warm sunshine and rosemary. Mamá’s signature scent.
As a child, this place had been her sanctuary. Back then, she thought it was normal for a husband and wife to sleep as far away from each other as possible.
She shuddered. The last time she visited this room had been on a muggy summer’s night much like this one.
A nightmare brought her here, one she couldn’t remember, but it had been bad enough to send her scrambling inside.
Mamá always let her snuggle up in bed with her whenever Lo got scared.
And Mamá’s tender fingers stroking her hair and the softly sung lullabies would vanquish any frightful thoughts or unsettling feelings.
Lo walked to the fireplace and crouched in front of it.
Mamá had once told her of the hidden coins that were only to be used in an emergency by her and her sisters.
Sure enough, behind the soot-stained cobwebs and rotted wood sat a pouch full of golden coins.
A lot of them. Enough to attend an extravagant weeklong ball dressed as a new princess every night.
Beside the pouch, Mamá’s silver comb sat with years of dust collected on its surface.
“Until I return, keep this hidden and safe for me.”
Lo gently pulled it from its hiding spot. When she was little, the comb had nearly swallowed her small hand. Now it fit delicately in her palm. It was just as beautiful as she remembered, if not more. Even though she could never bring herself to wear it, it was her most prized possession.
She pulled the Fortune’s Kiss poster from her nightgown pocket and smoothed it out on her lap. A teardrop hit the paper. Lo squeezed the poster and pressed her lips together to keep a sob at bay as more hot tears dripped down her cheeks. “I’m coming, Mamá. I promise.”
No matter what, she would get her back. If she and Mayté won, she would use her wish to make it so. But Dios forbid, even if they didn’t win, she would trade anything she could for Mamá. Sell her soul if she had to.
And maybe then, once she had Mamá back, Lo wouldn’t be so broken.
As dusk’s orange glow filled her bedroom the next evening, Lo got to work.
Her father had been preoccupied the entire day and Lo hoped that he would stay that way.
She grabbed her packed satchel and changed into a turquoise dress.
The silk hem hovered inches above the floor.
Lacy ruffles blossomed at the sleeves and around her neck.
Subtle flowers and butterfly patterns winked when the light hit just right.
Everything about the dress was elegant without being too constricting or heavy.
She had to look her best, but also be prepared.
No one could say for certain what awaited her inside Fortune’s Kiss.
She pulled her curls away from her face and pinned them back with her mother’s comb. Only now did it feel right to wear it.
The door creaked open.
Lo’s heart stopped.
Sera and Sofía stood in the doorway. Their bronze faces looked extra pale with red splotchy cheeks matching their bloodshot eyes.
“What happened?” Lo asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
Sofía’s lips quivered, and she burst into tears. “Don’t leave us! Please!” She bolted into the room and hugged Lo’s legs.
“Wh-wha—?” The walls wobbled and closed in.
Sera did a much better job at keeping her composure, though her eyes glittered with moisture. “Please don’t go. If it’s because of yesterday I’m so sorry, but you can’t go to Fortune’s Kiss. Papá says that everyone who goes never comes back.”
Lo’s blood ran cold.
He knew.