Page 205 of The Moon Sister
‘Sí, Mamá. At least she died doing what she loved.’
‘But she was so young! Not even forty yet! And it is so sad she was never able to return to Sacromonte to see her daughter.’
‘Yes. Many times I asked her if she would come here, but she always found an excuse. Having seen Isadora, I think I know why. She is the image of her father!’
‘I suppose she is, yes,’ María agreed. ‘And very like him too. Gentle and kind and very, very patient. She follows Angelina around like a puppy.’
‘Mamá, do you think we should tell Meñique that he has a daughter?’ asked Pepe.
‘Lucía always made me promise that I wouldn’t, but now she is no longer here . . . What do you think?’
‘I heard Meñique is married now, living in Argentina with his wife and two children.’
‘You mean he has finally moved on from Lucía?’
‘Yes. Is it fair to disrupt his new family with such news, I wonder? But equally, is it fair for Isadora never to know her father?’
‘She has had Ramón here, Pepe, and me and Angelina. One thing I must tell you – never did I receive a penny from Lucía after she left. Even though I sent you a telegram saying we had moved and the money should be sent care of the post office.’
‘Yes, Mamá, I received the telegram and I swear I was with her when she sent the money to you regularly. None of it ever reached you?’
‘No. Even though Ramón has been down to the post office in the city once a week for the past five years. They said that nothing had arrived.’
‘Well, then we can assume there is a very rich man at the post office, who is driving around in a fast car. Why did you not tell me if you needed help?’
‘I was not going to beg from my family.’ María shook her head. ‘And we have managed, Pepe, somehow.’
‘Mamá.’ Pepe stood up and walked over to her. ‘I am so sorry. If I had known I would have helped, but I did not. Anyway, now I am back and I can look after you. I brought all my savings here and if we are careful it is enough to keep us fed for many years. And also . . .’ Pepe fingered his moustache.
‘Yes?’
‘I reminded Papá about Isadora before I left. Then I asked him to give me some money for her. After all, Lucía was her mamá, and by rights, all she earned and everything she owned should pass to her daughter.’
‘You are right. And did he give it to you?’
‘He said it had been a difficult year, that thecuadro’s wages had been eaten up by new costumes for the show. He gave me some, but nothing like what Lucía was owed by him.’
‘So, he does not change,’ María said with a deep sigh.
‘No, Mamá, he does not. But before I left, I took the liberty of selling Lucía’s furs and all her jewellery. I did not get what I should have done, but at least Isadora now has a good sum for her future. Tomorrow I will go to the bank in town and open her an account. With luck, as Spain’s fortunes change for the better, her inheritance should grow. Perhaps we should not tell her, but give it to her on her eighteenth birthday.’
‘Yes.’ For the first time, María smiled. ‘Then at least she will have something to begin her adult life with. Best we forget all about it until then. How long are you staying, Pepe?’
‘Well, there is nocuadroany more. After Lucía’s death, they all went their own ways, and I have had enough of being on the road. So’ – he took his mother’s hands in his – ‘I have come back for good, Mamá.’
‘Then that is news that does make me happy! And you can use Ramón’s cave as your home.’
‘He lives here with you?’
‘Yes, he does,’ María nodded, no longer wishing to hide her love for the man who had been everything her husband had not. ‘I hope you understand, Pepe.’
‘Mamá, I do. I may have idolised my father as a child, but it did not take me long to work out who he really was.’
‘Without Ramón, I would not have survived,’ María shrugged. ‘And what about your father? Where is he?’
‘I left him in San Francisco. He likes California because of the weather. He has a job playing at a bar in the town.’
‘Is he alone?’ María asked, realising it no longer hurt her heart to do so.
