Meet Me Under The Ombu Tree (28 page)

‘You will one day.’

‘Did you have lots of girlfriends in America?’ she asked masochistically.

‘Lots,’ he replied casually, and his hand grabbed the back of her neck fondly.

He squeezed it a little too enthusiastically. ‘You know, Chofi, I’m so happy to be back, I can’t tell you. If I was told now that I would never leave Santa Catalina again I would be the happiest man alive.’

‘But didn’t you like America?’ she asked, remembering the tone of his letters which all suggested that he had lost his heart to it.

‘Sure I did, I had a great time, but you only realize how much you love something when you leave it for a while. When you return you see it in a totally different light because you are suddenly able to stand back and see it the way it is. All the things you previously took for granted you suddenly love with such intensity, because you know what it is to be without them. Do you know what I’m saying?’

She nodded. ‘I think so,’ she replied, but she clearly didn’t for she had never left Santa Catalina like he had.

‘You take it for granted, don’t you, Chofi? Do you ever stop and look at it in all its beauty?’

‘Yes, I do,’ she replied, not sure whether she really did or not. He looked at her with a wry smile, the crow’s feet at the ends of his eyes extending and deepening as he did so.

‘I learnt a valuable lesson while I was away. My friend Stanley Norman taught me.’

‘Stanley Norman?’

^l
Sf.
I have to tell it in English, it won’t work in Spanish.’

‘Okay.’

‘It’s a little story about “the precious present”.’

‘The precious present.’

‘It’s a true story about a little boy who lived with his grandparents. His grandpa was a serene and spiritual man who told him wonderful stories. One of the stories he told his grandson was about the “Precious Present”.’ Sofia thought of Grandpa O’Dwyer and suddenly felt sad. ‘The child was so excited about it and would always ask his grandpa what exactly this present was. The old man told him that he would find out all in good time, but that it was something that would bring him a lasting happiness such as he had never experienced before. Well, the little boy kept his eyes peeled and when he was given a bicycle for his birthday which made him very happy indeed he thought that this must be the “Precious Present” his grandpa had described. But by and by he grew bored with his new toy and realized that it couldn’t be the Precious

Present because his grandpa had told him that it would bring him lasting happiness.

‘Well, the little boy grew into a young man and he met a lovely young woman with whom he fell in love. At last, he thought, this is the Precious Present that will bring me lasting happiness. But they fought and grew restless and in the end went their separate ways. So the young man travelled and saw the world and in every new place he thought that he had at last found true happiness, but he was always looking to the next country, the next beautiful place, and found that his happiness never lasted. It was as if he was searching for something unattainable, but searching nonetheless. And this made him very sad. Then, having married again, having had children and finding that he
still
hadn’t discovered the Precious Present that his grandpa had told him about, he became very disillusioned.

‘Finally, one day his grandpa died and with him died the secret of the Precious Present - or so the young man thought. He sat down miserably and recalled all the happy moments he had shared with his wise old grandpa. And then it dawned on him, after all those years of searching. What was it about his grandpa that made him so satisfied, so contented and so serene? What was it about him that made you feel like the most important person in the world when you talked to him? Why was it that he created such a peaceful atmosphere around him and passed it on to everyone he met? The Precious Present wasn’t a present after all in the material sense of the word. It was in fact the here and now, the present,
el momento - ahora.
His grandfather had lived in the moment, savouring every second. He wasn’t existing in the tomorrow, for why waste your energy on something that might never happen? And he didn’t dwell in yesterday because yesterday is gone and doesn’t exist any more. The present is the only reality and in order to attain lasting happiness one has to learn to live in the here and now and not worry or waste time thinking about anything else.’

‘Hey,
vamos chicosl
⁹
shouted an agitated Agustin, already cantering around the field stick and balling.

‘What a divine story,’ Sofia said, thinking how much Grandpa O’Dwyer would have liked it. That was part of his philosophy.

‘Come on, Chofi, we’ll play together again - we play well that way, don’t we?’ he said, breaking away from her to mount his pony. Sofia watched him canter off into the field. His story had made a deep impression on her.

Santi was thrilled to be playing with his brother and cousins again on the farm that he loved so much. He was filled with a bursting energy and
joie de vivre,
and felt at that moment that he could conquer anything and anyone. He cantered around the field aware of every smell, every colour and everything that belonged to Santa Catalina and inhaled it all in long, deep breaths. He loved it like a person. As the match began he was firmly existing in the moment, not wanting to hasten the arrival of tomorrow or think about yesterday.

Sofia was playing with Santi, Agustin and Sebastian. On the opposing team played Fernando, Rafael, Niquito and Angel. It was a friendly match though not without the usual competitiveness that arose when all the family played together. Their shouts echoed across the field as they roared up and down, sweating with exertion in the heavy, damp air.

Paco enjoyed watching his daughter play; in her he saw his own aggressive love of the game reflected, and was proud of it. She was the only girl he knew who played to such a high standard. Sofia embodied all the qualities that he had recognized in Anna when he had first met her, although Anna disagreed with him wholeheartedly. According to her, she had never been nearly as daring or outrageous as her daughter; those qualities she could only have

inherited from him.

The cousins were used to Sofia’s presence on the field and no one minded. They had tolerated her participation in the match against La Paz that time because they had won, but they prevented her from ever playing in a match again. They knew they could treat her like a man but other players who were unused to playing with a woman just couldn’t bring themselves to act naturally around her. Therefore Paco agreed it wasn’t right that she should alter the tone of the match. She was allowed to play only with her cousins. For Sofia, she didn’t care as long as she played. For her polo was more than a game, it was liberation from all the constraints imposed upon her by her mother. On the field she was treated like everyone else. She could do what she wanted, shout and scream, vent all her fury, and what’s more, her father applauded her.

The late-afternoon sun cast long, monstrous shadows which seemed to have a life of their own as they fought one another like medieval lancers on the grass. Once or twice Fernando nearly rode his brother clean off his pony, but Santi just smiled happily at him and galloped off. Santi’s smile made Fernando feel even more irritated. Didn’t he realize that his aggression had nothing whatsoever to do with the game? He’d push him harder next time. At the end of the

match they gave their ponies, glistening with sweat and snorting froth, back to the grooms who had been milling around the pony lines in their
bombachas
and berets.

‘I’m going to the pool for a swim,’ announced Sofia, wiping her forehead which was damp and itchy from where her hat had been.

‘Good plan, I’ll join you,’ said Santi, jogging over to her. ‘You’ve improved your game since I last saw you. No wonder Paco lets you play all the time.’

‘Only with the family.’

‘Quite right too,’ he approved.

Rafael and Agustin joined them and, patting Santi firmly on the back, mobbed around with him like they used to. Everyone had forgotten now that he had been away and life continued as it always had done.

‘See you at the pool!’ Fernando shouted to the others, as he gathered his
tacos
together and piled them into the back of the Jeep. He watched his brother wander off with his cousins and wished he would just disappear back to America. Things were fine without him, but now everyone would worship Santi again and place him back up on that darned pedestal. He swallowed his feelings of inadequacy and climbed into the driving seat. Sebastian, Niquito and Angel made their way in the opposite direction to their houses which were situated at the other side of the park, signalling that they too would meet at the pool.

Sofia undressed in the cool darkness of her room, wrapped herself in a towel and then made her way through the trees to the pool. Sunk into a small hill surrounded by tall plane trees and poplars, the water glistened seductively in the soft light of evening. The scent of eucalyptus and cut grass hung in the still, humid air and Sofia, remembering Santi’s words, gazed at the beauty surrounding her and savoured it. Dropping her towel she dived naked through the mirrored surface that lay before her flat and glossy, a fine playground for the large number of flies and mosquitoes that skated about on top of it. After a while she heard the deep, gruff voices of her cousins and brothers as they approached, and then the loud roar of Sebastian’s moped, and suddenly the tranquillity that she had been enjoying was shattered and lost.

‘Hey, Sofia’s naked!’ announced Fernando when he noticed his cousin’s shimmering body beneath the water.

Rafael shot her a disapproving look. ‘Sofia, you’re too big to skinny dip,’ he complained, throwing off his towel.

‘Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport!’ she shouted back, not in the least bit

disconcerted. ‘It’s lovely, I know you want to.’ And she laughed wickedly.

‘We’re all cousins, what does it matter?’ said Agustin, shedding his shorts and diving in naked. ‘She’s got nothing worth seeing anyway.’ He spluttered when he came up for air.

‘I’m just thinking of my sister’s dignity,’ persisted Rafael anxiously.

‘She lost that a long time ago. With Roberto Lobito. Ha!’ laughed Fernando, dancing around the edge, his white bottom contrasting with his brown legs and back, before he too dived into the water.

‘All right, but don’t blame me when Mama gives you the bollocking of a lifetime.’

‘Who’s going to tell her?’ she laughed and splashed around with the boys. Santi stepped out of his shorts and stood naked by the water’s edge. Sofia couldn’t help but allow her eyes to scrutinize his body as he remained without inhibition, hands on hips. Unable to stop herself her gaze rested in wonderment on that part of him that had always been insinuated but never revealed. There she lingered for a moment transfixed. She had seen her father, brothers and cousins naked before but there was something about Santi’s nakedness that won her admiration. There it hung, proud and majestic before her, somehow bigger than she had expected. Then something pulled her eyes back to his face and she saw that he was watching her. His expression was clouded with anger. She frowned at him, trying to work out his thoughts. He then dived in, slicing the water with a noisy splash in an attempt to force from his mind the image of his cousin rolling naked with Roberto Lobito.

Conscious that he was in her vicinity, Sofia swam about pretending not to notice him and splashed halfheartedly with the others. She tried to work out why he could possibly be angry with her. What had she done? Anxiety stole her enthusiasm and she felt depressed.

Suddenly Rafael alerted them to the arrival of Anna, who with an irritated expression was marching purposefully up to the pool.

‘You’d better duck, Sofia,’ he whispered urgently. ‘I’ll get rid of her as quickly as possible.’

‘I don’t believe it!’ she gasped. ‘That woman’s a plague.’ And pressing herself up against the wall her brother pushed her head under the water.

‘
Hold
, boys - have you seen Sofia?’ Anna asked, her eyes darting from one to the other.

‘Well, she played polo with us and then made her way back to the house. We

haven’t seen her since,’ Agustin replied earnestly.

‘She’s not here,’ said Sebastian. Anna then noticed that they were all naked and a splash of colour stung her pale cheeks.

‘I should hope not,’ she replied tartly, though it wouldn’t have surprised her. Then smiling at them all from under her sunhat she told them to send her daughter home if they saw her. Once she had gone Sofia arose to the surface, spluttering and gasping for air, then dissolved into coughs and laughter.

‘Close one,
boluda,’
chided Rafael angrily. ‘You just don’t know when to stop!’

Santi watched her from the other end of the pool and felt a stab of jealousy he was unable to explain. He suddenly didn’t want her swimming naked with all the boys. He wanted to slap her for dating Roberto Lobito. Of all the men she could have chosen, why had she chosen him?

The following day Santi awoke feeling foolish. He had allowed his feelings to flare out of control. Why should he care who she dated, he asked himself. Then he explained his rage by persuading himself that he was only protecting her like a brother would, or in her case, should. But then he thought of her writhing naked in the arms of Roberto Lobito and was so overcome with nausea he had to sit down. Damn it! She could date anyone
except
Roberto Lobito.