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The Children of Cortés

A Chapter

Ana Luna, Remigio’s wife, had been working at La Ilusiòn since she was practically a child.  She had been taking care of all the ins and outs of the household for years.  She was also very close to Claudia.  She cried when Argelia died just like her own children did, and tried to make herself useful whenever there were issues in the house. The day the fence was trampled by the men from La Lucha, she cried all night.  She could see Remigio was worried, as was everybody else.  She felt the livelihood and well-being of every single person there were in jeopardy.  Stories came from near and far regarding families who had been forced to leave their farms.  It never occurred to her that they could be next.  Reality continued to sink in day after day.  The general morale of the workers and the family was in a steady downhill.  Ana had not been able to have children, and she worried that the current situation would mean she would not get the help Claudia had promised so that she could see a doctor in San Joaquín.  There was no way that Ana could bring this up now.

Every day at 7 PM, Ana and Remigio would have dinner at the small cottage they had in the property.  Remigio would tell Ana about his day, the crops, the laborers.  He would listen when Ana talked about the recipes she had put together, the new aprons she had sewn, the groceries she had picked up and any gossip from the other maids.  He disliked, however, when she talked about Claudia and the things she had done for her during the day.  Ana and Claudia were practically friends, but there was a servitude status Ana constantly acknowledged and he did not like.  True, Ana did work for the Cortés family just like he did, but he still found it hard to accept.  Remigio often brought up the fact that they were servants, not friends of the family.  Ana thought he was too self-conscious and told him they should be grateful for a free roof over their heads, meals and salaries.  All they had to do was save their pay, since they had no expenses.  Once they had children, they could probably move into one of the small houses in Requena and have more privacy.

Ana and Remigio had been married five years and were devastated about the fact that they had been unable to have children.  After trying old fashioned remedies and consulting with Dr. Rizik, who had said that there was nothing wrong with either one of them and that they were totally equipped to produce a child, Remigio often thought about finding a specialist in San Joaquín.

On their second wedding anniversary, Remigio had organized a small gathering at his mother’s house.  They invited family and a few close friends.  Remigio’s mother, Ludovica, asked Ana again when they were having children.  She suggested that it could be Ana’s fault that they had been unable to conceive, and said “every-one-of-my-sons-is-as-as-fertile-as-a-rabbit-just-look-at-all-the-grandchildren-I-have”.  This, unfortunately, had been a hurtful topic for quite some time and Ludovica would bring it up incessantly at every opportunity.  Ana felt demeaned and hurt, and started crying instantly.  She cried and cried and couldn’t stop.  Ludovica looked at her in disbelief as the tears continued to pour down her face, onto the floor, and soaked the new rug her cousin Clara had brought her from Tenares.  Remigio gave her his handkerchief, but that wasn’t enough.  The men in the house offered their handkerchiefs, but all were soaked instantly. They moved the rug outside, and started getting towels.  Ana continued to soak all towels.  The women would take turns going outside and squeezing the towels so that they could use them again.  Pretty soon, they had to move everything outside.  The oak table, which had been a gift from Lazaro’s widow. The armchairs from San Luis.  The curtains that Ludovica had inherited from her mother.  All had to be moved so that it wouldn’t get wet.  The children, given the opportunity to have fun with the situation, laughed and jumped around.  Remigio had never seen so much water inside a house.  He felt bad for his mother and the damage that the tears were causing, but also felt bad for Ana, who would not stop crying.  The tears flowed through the living room, then to the dining room, then to the small room next to the kitchen.  They formed a slow, steady flow. They decided to take Ana out of the house for everyone’s safety, but Remigio’s cousins Sandra and Olga were not spared the torrential outburst that soaked them on the spot as they each held her by an arm.  Outside, the grass and plants benefited from the unexpected watering.  They would not have to be watered for the next six months.  Suddenly, after 6 hours, Ana stopped crying.  The family, exhausted and wet to their bones, began inspecting the damage and were seen shaking their heads again and again.  Remigio took Ana home but didn’t use the car in case the crying continued.  He asked his cousins for a horse and cart and placed Ana in the back. Once they got home, he laid Ana on the bed, after drying her off carefully.  He kissed her on the forehead and she fell asleep immediately. 

The next morning, Ana got up early as usual.  She seemed tired and confused, but otherwise fine.  Remigio did not dare take her to his mother’s house again.