Page 62 of After the Fire
So he told me.
He told me that they were both involved in the multi-million-dollar scam, that Susana never knew nor suspected anything. And that he and my grandfather, together, decided that it was better to lay low for a while until the waters calmed down. The plan all along was for my grandfather to retreat to that small town, work for a while to pay for his life there, and then as soon as he was able to, he would go back to his family. The judge had been paid, so it was only a matter of time until things cooled, until people high up forgot about what they had done. Everything lined up exactly like what Catalina had explained to me. Except Susana.
“But Susana did not take it well,” he said. “We were prepared to say that he had a sick relative in Europe that he needed to take care of, something along the lines of your grandfather being the only heir and whatnot. But she was adamant that people would sniff it out, and she wasn’t going to be subjected to any type of humiliation in front of her peers. And that’s how the story was born. She wouldn’t even listen to anything I had to say.”
“I don’t understand why you kept going with it,” I said, confused at the role Pedro played in all of this. “Why didn’t you just come out and tell the truth?”
“I don’t know, honey. We were in too deep, I guess.” He took a deep breath. “By the time I had time to process it, your grandparents’ friends had rallied around Susana, and it was too late to take it back.”
I looked at him, studying his face to see if I could figure out his thoughts. I was never good at reading him, but I did know he had a weakness for Susana.
“But you had to know the impact that would have on everyone. I mean, it’s three decades later, and we are still living with the lie. It’s a bit too extreme, don’t you think?”
“Honey.” He intertwined his fingers on his lap and looked at his hands. “We did what we could.”
“What you could? You literally destroyed a whole family, decades’ worth of people. Multiple generations. For what?”
“Victoria,” he said. His tone was firm. “You don’t understand.”
“Of course I don’t understand! This is crazy.” I stood, my hands fisted by my thighs, my breathing coming in faster and faster. “Do you realize what you did?”
“Victoria, you are being too sensitive about it,” he said. But his eyes betrayed him. He seemed lost, sad, maybe guilty. “We did what we could with what we had.”
“Andate a la puta que te parió,” I spat. “Fuck you for thinking that the consequences of your actions would go unnoticed and wouldn’t have any impact. Do Dad and his sisters know?”
Probably not.
“That’s up to Susana,” he said.What does she have on him?Why was this man so loyal to a woman who only cared about herself?“It’s not my secret to share.”
“What are you even saying right now? Seriously? Listen to what you’re saying. You wrecked a family because what, Susana was too frail and too selfish to even care about her own children? And you were too blinded by unrequited love that you did anything you thought would make her yours? You are a fucking coward.”
“Victoria—”
“Did you know he died in a fire? Did you also consciously decide to keep up with the charade? To make Susana look like the victim in all of this?”
His shoulders sagged, and he looked decades older than the last time I’d seen him. “Victoria, honey—”
“Leave. Now.”
“Sometimes good, decent people do bad things. And sometimes they actually believe they’re doing what is right.”
I stood and walked to the door, yanking it open and tapping my foot on the hardwood to get him moving. His eyes were sad, but he stood and left, walking slowly up the hallway and down the giant marble staircase of Susana’s house. It baffled me that this man still thought that what they did was good, the best they could have done. When the best thing, always, was to tell the truth. Maybe I was too polarizing, maybe, but for me, there were no in betweens. You were either good or bad.
A few minutes later, I heard my grandmother’s cadence of steps, followed by a few barked instructions to the maid.
“Victoria?” I heard her voice coming up the stairwell, her tone even, like always. She didn’t seem flustered like the last time I had heard her, but I knew she was putting on a front. “Come downstairs.”
I took my time, and as soon as I came down the steps, I saw her standing in the foyer with Pedro by her side. He looked crushed, his shoulders slumping and his eyes soft. He looked tiny compared to the woman right next to him. Not in stature, but in power. Powerless. Had I been too harsh on him? And was he right to protect her at all costs?
As soon as she saw me, she turned to the living room and Pedro followed, a sign that I should do the same. It was always like this with her in this house, a silent command, only allowed to be broken if Susana approved.
“What did you do?” she said immediately. She stood in the middle of her living room, the place as immaculate as always. It had no signs of life, like no one actually lived here. This house was Susana’s most valuable possession, herinas a respected member of society. Appearances, starting with the way she looked, followed by her home.
“I’m not here to talk about this, Susana,” I said. “Especially without my father and brother here to listen to what I have to say.”
“Of course you are,” she replied. Her hair was perfect, not a single strand out of place. She must have recently gone to the salon because it was shinier and darker than normal. “You are in my home, and you will do as I say.”
“¿Por qué siempre temenos que hacer lo que decís?” Why do we always have to do as you say? I was sure she was going to reply with her usual:because I’m your elder and you should respect me, orbecause without me, you are nothing. More of her superior crap.
