Read PEG BOY Online

Authors: R. G. Berube

PEG BOY (5 page)

 

With only two
days before the celebration of the Christ Child’s birthday, the village bustled
with excitement even though the recent catastrophe had interfered with the
proper preparation for the feast. Money that would have gone for food and gifts
had been siphoned for repairs and necessities. Still the spirit of the holiday
could not be undermined.

La Posada
was a way of increasing the festive mood of the season and the children looked
to the event long before its time. It is a celebration that begins twelve days
before Christmas. The children go from house to house re-enacting the plight of
the Holy Family as they sought refuge at the inns of Bethlehem. On the twelfth
day shelter is given by those who are visited and a celebration is held at
which gifts of food are distributed to the children. It was performed with
little enthusiasm when the time came for the village to begin the pageant. Many
families did not have homes. The somber quality of the season was one that even
Padre Lipolito could not lighten with his sermons of being thankful to God that
things had not been worse and for the sparing of so many lives. Many felt that
it would have been simpler and kinder if God had left well enough alone.
No
quake would have been a more prized blessing. If God had wanted to spark the
spirit of the season he had chosen a most peculiar way to do it!

For the next
two days Santiago barely saw his father. Don Emilio had been spending almost
all his time in the village conferring with the priest. He would return in the
evenings and for hours, read newspapers and clippings given him by the priest,
oblivious to everything that was going on around him. He seemed obsessed.

Santiago
waited for his father to return and when no noise was heard from his room, he
went to the kitchen to investigate what had been of so much interest. Many
papers were still scattered about and by the light of the fire he began to read
the bold face type across the top of several pages. The announcements were of
great riches being discovered in the mountains of a place called California, to
the north. It was said that people from all over the world were going to this
place – that many were becoming instantly wealthy. Santiago looked at the artist’s
drawings of the great houses alleged to now belong to these ex-miners. He saw
sketches of the maps that showed where the mountains were that contained the
gold. Everywhere, the people spoke of the excitement of the new discovery.

Santiago
wondered about his father’s intentions. He remembered the promise made that
nothing would be done without his consent. He continued to read throughout the
night, and the excitement in him mounted and made his heart beat fast. The
newspapermen had spoken of those who told of their adventures and of the
relative ease with which the fortunes could be had. One merely had to bend and
scoop the sand of a river bank and walk away with nuggets worth more than a man
might earn in a lifetime. They spoke of the things that could be purchased with
this wealth. He read of hundreds of men who were becoming as rich as kings.

The following
day Don Emilio informed Santiago that Padre Lipolito had invited them to share
Christmas dinner with a few selected parishioners after mass.

“You must look
your best, Santiago. Put on the new shirt that your mother made for you. You
have outgrown much and are growing quickly, my son.”

Don Emilio had
noticed how tight the boy’s clothing had become and wondered if his son was not
embarrassed to have so much of himself  revealed.

“Why are we
going to the priest’s for dinner, father?”

“Because we
have been invited. It is not proper to decline.”

“Does it have
anything to do with what you have been talking to him about? I know he has been
giving you many newspapers. I have looked at them. Are you thinking of leaving
here to go off to this place called California? Why do we need to go to the
priest, and why must we change everything so suddenly?”

“Santiago, we
have not been in circumstances like this before. They require new thinking.
There are things that I want you to hear from the priest, so please be patient.
Remember that offers have been made on this land, and it is something I can not
ignore. This may turn out to be a memorable Christmas. We must be willing to
keep open minds and listen to all possibilities.

“What
possibilities?” Santiago was both excited and worried by his father’s
implications.

“You will have
to wait and find out at the dinner. It is my present to you. I hope you will
like it.”

The boy said
no more, but spent the next few hours thinking about the things he had read. He
thought of being somewhere without Fidel and of not knowing how he would live
with the pain of that absence. He thought of not being able to touch and feel
the boy who had become so much a part of his inner life and thoughts.
Santiago’s breath was taken by the thought of being away from Fidel. Yet he
also felt a great excitement as he recalled the tales told in the newspapers
and he found himself continuously returning to the wonder of them. His
imagination placed him in adventures so captivating that he forgot no plans had
yet been made. He felt unfaithful to Fidel and with this a sorrow filled him so
that he felt a need to be with his lover more than anything. Santiago bolted
through the door before Don Emilio could stop him.

It had not
occurred to Santiago that Fidel would not be at home, but visiting relatives in
the nearby town of Vitarte. Not until he was almost there did he remember Fidel
having spoken of going on the visit with his mother. Santiago continued in
hopes that he would find Fidel not yet gone but before he arrived at the house
he could see from afar that it was darkened. He sat on the step by the door,
trying to hold down the terrible feeling of doom that was beginning to fill
him. The sky was gray with heavy clouds that threatened rain and the air was
cold and whipped through his finely woven blouse and he shook as he cried.

It was
mid-afternoon before he reached the rectory in Santa Cecelia. Santiago expected
his father to be angry. He was sure all the guests had arrived and had already
been served. He had missed the mass and he did not know what excuse he would
make for his behavior, for he could not state the real reason for his flight.

Santiago was
met at the door by the housekeeper and was told they had finished dinner and
that all the guests were in the library. Don Emilio came out to speak to him.

“Where have
you been? What possessed you to go running off when you knew we were expected
here? My God, Santiago, I became worried when you did not return and had
difficulty explaining your behavior to the priest and the others. Tell me...,
where were you?”

“Father,
excuse me. I do not know why I did this thing. I suddenly had the feeling that
I had to run..., to get away somewhere. I..., I felt as though I were being
suffocated and needed to walk!”

“You must have
walked damned near to Lima! You’ve been gone almost eight hours. I think you
owe me a better explanation than this.”

More than
anything, Santiago wanted to say he hated the thought of leaving if it meant
having to leave Fidel. He wanted to tell his father just how much he loved the
boy and that they were more than just friends, sensing that his father already
suspected the nature of their relationship. But he could not be sure and was
unwilling to confirm or accept it and decided not to make it an issue.

“Father I am
sorry for the embarrassment I caused you. When I thought of all the people who
would be in church and that we would not be with mother and Emilio, and that we
might be leaving this place it all began to make me feel like I was going to
fall apart. I did not want to be with anybody and needed to get away by myself
to think. I walked to Fidel’s house but they were gone. I just wanted to talk
to him about all of this.”

Don Emilio
heard the pain in his son’s voice and understood the trauma the boy had
experienced. He also understood Santiago’s anguish of possibly losing his
friend. Sometimes Don Emilio thought the relationship too close and too serious
and had begun to wonder about the amount of time the two boys spent together. A
shadow of suspicion crossed his mind but he had always pushed it away before it
could take form.

“I know that
things are difficult for you, son. I understand how much you suffer from all
that had happened to us. Still you must also understand that life goes on. We
have only each other now. We must each think of what is best to do. The priest
has made a suggestion that I believe deserves consideration. Please be courteous
and let him explain it to you. Will you do that for me?”

Santiago had
always trusted Don Emilio and saw no reason not to do so now and promised that
he would try to keep an open mind at what the priest had to say.

With great
care the Padre explained what he had heard was happening in California. Some
time ago the priest had received word of the discovery of gold from his
long-time seminary friend, Padre Juan Carlos who was priest at Mission Dolores
in San Francisco. When Padre Lipolito had begun receiving word of these
happenings his interest was piqued by the accounts of the discovery and
subsequent excitement in the newspapers sent to him by his friend.

Don Emilio had
approached to ask Padre Lipolito his opinion about what he thought he should do
to deal with the feelings of depression and sadness had had begun to experience
after his wife’s death. Padre Lipolito suggested a change of location and
moving to Lima. He also suggested another alternative and saw Don Emilio’s eyes
spark when he handed him the clippings that had recently arrived. But the Padre
had a more subtle reason for suggesting California. For some time he had
suspected an unhealthy relationship between Santiago and the Timuco boy. There
were rumors that Fidel was a
maricõn
, and that some of the village boys
had been sexually involved with him. He had seen solid evidence that there was
more than just friendship between the boys. Padre Lipolito had known Santiago
since birth and knew the boy had the kind of nature that would lend itself to being
easily persuaded into that kind of sinning. It would be good for the Cali boy
to be separated from the source of this sinful temptation. The Padre was eager
to convince Don Emilio to leave Peru. It would be a mission that he had to
accomplish for the sake of Santiago’s soul. The priest often found himself
confronted by disturbing thoughts when he looked at the Timuco boy, and he
hated him for it. He would catch himself following Fidel from afar, riveted by
the boy’s long flanks and dark eyes. The disturbance beneath his cassock
resulted in self-flagellation as painful penance and punishment for the evil
thoughts. To the priest, Fidel Timuco was the devil incarnate!

Once Padre
Lipolito was finished his explanation of why he believed it would be advantageous
for Don Emilio and his son to consider his proposition, he simply suggested
that they think about it. The priest offered to drive them into Lima to help
find a buyer for the land.

“I have
friends there who we can rely upon for good advice and honest offers. This can
all be very complicated, and I would consider it an honor to be of assistance.”

The priest
failed to say that he already knew of the person who was interested in
acquiring the land, and that his efforts would not go unrecognized. Santiago refused
to say more than he would give the prospect thought. He saw how his father was
excited with the idea and had to admit that he too was titillated by the tales
the priest told of adventures some men had faced in that wilderness. Sitting by
the fireplace in the priest’s study, the place lent an air of mystery and
remoteness as they listened.  Don Emilio and Santiago were fascinated as Padre
Lipolito recounted all he had read about the great bonanza in the northern
hills.

As the priest
had begun telling these stories during the Christmas dinner, people who had
attended the Christmas dinner and were about to leave, joined them to hear
more. They sat and quietly, envying Don Emilio and his son for courageously
striking out for unknown lands. The priest told of what he had heard about the
booming town of San Francisco with its amazing people and questionable
reputation and of his friend, Padre Juan Carlos, who wrote of his concern for
the madness that seemed to enter many who came to the city. He said that lawlessness
prevailed and nothing short of total hysteria made his reason for being there,
necessary.

It was decided
that Don Emilio would go to Lima to inquire what his property would bring and
to see if the money would be enough to cover the cost of passage and
necessities, on the second day after Christmas.

 

With Don
Emilio gone, Santiago spent all his time with Fidel. He helped Fidel and
Carlota Timuco with the work of rebuilding the damaged parts of their cottage.
Carlota had grown fond of the gentle boy and admired the love and loyalty that
her son showed for Santiago and had come to look upon him as a second son.

Three days
passed before Don Emilio returned. Santiago and the Timucos had just completed
the evening meal when they heard the familiar sound of the Cali wagon on the
road. Santiago ran out to meet his father and hugged him as he led him inside.
Don Emilio bowed to Señora Timuco and took the seat she offered him. She placed
a full bowl of hot soup and bread before him and pushed the bottle of wine
within his reach. While his father ate, Santiago noted the seriousness in his
eyes.

“Santiago,”
Don Emilio said, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We will be leaving
this place to find our fortune. Please say you are willing to come with me, for
I have sold the land and many of the tools, and now we have the money we need
to do this thing. I have made arrangements. With the help of Padre Lipolito, we
will set sail in six days.”

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