CI: Love Among The Wretched Blooms

Capítulo 2 

Eusabio is pretty damned slow about following Ocatavio’s orders to fetch Maricruz’s ration of milk and food for that day.  His lips say sí, but his body language says “No, not if I have anything to say about it!” He doesn’t, but his mouthy, jealous girlfriend, Ofelia, does.  Mari will have to wait till Ofelia and Useless get it on in the storeroom first. 

Meanwhile, Octavio gives Mari a broad hint that her personal hygiene could use a boost.  If she’d bathe and put on a clean dress afterwards and maybe a pair of shoes then she’d look a whole lot prettier, he says.  Useless finally comes back with the milk and foodstuffs but gives them both grief saying Lucia is going to have a fit.  Tav says get over it, that he’ll explain and handle things, not to worry all ready.  Mari takes the stuff and Tav learns that her pet monkey was named after him.  Apparently that makes Tav feel special and he smiles a sparkling smile that should send shivers down to Mari’s tippy toes.

Mari is so keen on pleasing Octavio that she bathes with soap, washes and combs her hair, puts on a clean dress and even the old pair of shoes she has, even though they’re too small for her.  She heads over immediately afterwards to show her “new look” to him.

Back at Narvaez’s hacienda Ofelia gripes to the cook about Maricruz getting daily food rations for her family.  “—Must be that she’s a bit loose and Don Octavio being a man and all, well….”  The cook says no problem; she’s known Mari for ages and she and her gramps are good people.  Mari is especially good natured, too, she adds.  “—You just don’t like her because you know that Eusabio has got a thing for her!”  Ofelia mouths off some more and denies Useless is anything but faithful.  “--He can’t stand that trash and says she disgusts him.”

Outside the main house, Lucia tells hubby Miguel that she fibbed to Tav about him going to town to try to sell Tav’s portion of the rancho.  “--Tell him something.  You’ll know what to say.”  Miguel goes around to poolside and finds his kid brother moping about.  He tells Tav that he just got back and turned down an offer because the guy only wanted to pay one million pesos when they both know it’s worth twenty times that.  Oh well, then, says Tav, how about if I put an ad in the papers in Mexico City.  That way the ad will be seen nationwide and I’m sure to sell it then!  Miguel tries to dissuade him saying he doubts he’ll get even a nibble.  Tav doesn’t want to hear it.  “—Put the ad in, Miguel!”  He walks off in a huff.  Miguel growls to himself.  “Sure thing.  Besides, if anyone does call who’s interested, I’ll know how to discourage them.  This land is Narvaez land and only ours!”

Tav is angry again, and he is moping by the pool when Mari comes by.  She tries getting his attention by yelling at him from the far end of the garden.  He sees her but just ignores her and walks into the house without a word.  She goes back home in a funk. 

Mig and Lucia want to prevent any prospective buyers who call to speak to Octavio and they know it’ll be difficult if neither of them is home.  They’ll have to think of something cuz Mig is never going to let his brother sell out.   How far will he go to stop his brother, Lucia asks?  As far as he has to, answers Miguel!

A while later, Tav drives over to Mari’s place and apologizes for his own funky attitude.  He meets her sis and Abuelo Ramiro.  He stays for a while and gets to know them all quite a bit more.  Ramiro emphasizes to their guest that Maricruz’s mother and father were married.  However, she lives with gramps cuz mama’s long dead and they have no idea where her daddy hangs his hat these days.  (So much for respectability, Gramps!)

We beam to the big city to a manse that would put drug lords to shame.  In the bedroom there’s a middle-aged rich guy, don Alejandro, holding a picture to his chest and crying to himself over his lost love, Lupita.  She, according to the guy’s butler, was a gal who was lowborn and poor as a church-mouse, and apparently unacceptable as a wife because of it.  The rich guy wonders whatever became of her.

While Tav’s visiting with Mari’s family, Ofelia tells Lucia there’s a buyer for the property.  Rats!  Lucia tells Ofelia to give this and any other calls like it to her or hubby from now on.  Octavio isn’t to know when any buyers call to answer the ad.  She grabs the phone and tells the caller that they’ve already sold the property.  Yeah, the price was so good the person snatched it right up!  Je-je.  

When Tav comes upstairs and asks Lucia if she’s received any calls she lies that she had no idea he’d already put the ad in and says nope, no callers so far.  She races downstairs to the kitchen and tells Mig the bad news that there’ve been two callers already.  He’s worried that they won’t be able to keep Tav from speaking to at least one or two people over the two-three days the ad’s going to run.  Not to worry, says Lucia, she’ll neutralize everything.  None of the servants will give Tav the calls; they’ve got strict orders that they only go to either her or don Miguel.  He’s to pretend to his brother that he’s tired of battling with the upkeep of the place and that he is eager to sell in the meantime.  He’s such a fool, insists Lucia, that he’ll never be the wiser.

India Maria wanders over to Ramiro’s shack and nearly gets shot by him, till she explains she was only there to pick up the basket from the other day. FF>>

Mari’s back at the hacienda stables picking up her ration of food.  This time Useless tries to proposition her over an extra sandwich he has for her.  He tells her to be nice and he’ll make sure she continues to get food without a hassle once don Octavio leaves there for good.  She becomes furious, hands back the sandwich and storms off to find Tav.  Lucia and Miguel are there with Tav and Mig makes a lot of lewd remarks about her.  Lucia warns Octavio from getting any serious ideas about the girl who seems to be enamored with Tav.  “—She’s a wild animal!  Ugh!”  Yeah, but what a looker, notes hubby!  Tav says to get real and to cut out the crude crap already.  She’s just an innocent young girl!  Lucia walks off and the two men follow. “—Hah, the innocent one around here is you!”

Lucia asks Mari what she wants.  She’s there for the food, right?  Lucia bluntly asks if she’s interested in Octavio.  Mari nods, but….huh?  Head back home, advises Lucia, because it’s not right or polite for a girl to provoke men this way.  Mari has no idea what she’s talking about.  Tav turns to Lucia, embarrassed and then apologizes to Mari, pretending it was just a stupid joke that fell flat.  He and Lucia fight over whether she had to right to send her off like that.  Eventually he joins Mari and walks her back to the end of the property.  She asks Tav why Lucia was so rude to her.  He tries to explain as simply as possible that she’s so pretty his SIL was jealous of her because of her husband.  She still seems not to understand and he tells her to forget about it.  Not to worry.  He asks her not to come looking for him or to ask for her food at the main house again. 

Tav has to explain, again in very simple terms, almost as if he’s talking to a ten year old child, that he’s probably going to leave the hacienda and she’ll never see him again when he does.  Also, she shouldn’t make enemies of his brother and his wife or they might stop helping her once he’s gone.  She clings to him and begs him not to leave, not now, not ever!  He tries to tell her not to get emotionally tied down to him, and not to take seriously whatever she thinks she feels for him. Because one of these days she’ll meet some young man from her own class that will make her just as happy.  She doesn’t think so.  From the looks of it, when he hugs her and tries to comfort her, he’s trying to reason with himself as well.

In the meantime, Simone comes over to visit with Lucia.  Lucia mentions that her BIL is attracted to the wild little neighbor girl.  Simone doesn’t see a problem if it’s just a dalliance of sorts.  Well, still and all, says Lucia, she’s going to have to intervene.

Tav tries to talk Mari out of crying and kisses her cheek to comfort her further.  (Big mistake!) The two of them feel the same electricity, one-to-another.  He tells her again not to go any further than the stables. She tells him then how Useless tried manhandling and propositioning her over the sandwich he’d given her and then said how once Octavio leaves, he’d treat her bad if she didn’t give into him.  He promises to put the guy in his place and to make sure she’s respected even after he leaves.

Tav gets back to the stable area and asks Jose Antonio (another brown-eyed hunk of eye-candy) to tell him when Eusabio gets back from wherever he’d gone.  He walks into the house and finds Miguel with Lucia.  Tav tells Mig that he wants a milk cow sent over to Maricruz’s hut so she won’t have to come to the ranch for milk.  Miguel is all QTH?

Mari gets back home and asks her abuelo to find out where her father is for her and to write him a letter so he’ll be interested enough to visit and shower her with all sorts of goodies, like new clothes and shoes.  Ramiro doesn’t have the first clue where he is or how to find one, supposedly, but Mari is sure her abuelo is smart enough to do it if he puts some effort into it.  (Viewerville has a sneaking suspicion that he could too--and with very little effort!)

Tav angrily adds that he wants Miguel to put Useless in his place.  He tried to proposition Mari over some food!  Miguel’s response is to kid Tav over being jealous.  Tav grabs him by the collar and looks like he really means business!  Miguel is slack-jawed impactado.  Tav repeats what he wants and says he doesn’t want her having to put up with this again after he’s gone.  Whatever it costs, take it out of his share of the sale of the property, period.  Miguel is still on his own obnoxious, chauvinist wavelength.  “—Wow, this has gone farther than I thought!”  Tav is ready to break his face but Lucia talks some sense into both of them and says to hubby that of course Tav has a right to spend his part of the earnings from the sale any way he pleases.  “--Yeah, and I assure you once I have my share you’ll never see me around these parts again!”  He storms out of the room.  Miguel and Lucia both look like they wished he’d up an left already.

India Maria follows Tav outside and suggests that she’ll take the foodstuffs to Mari’s hut instead of her coming there again and that way avoid any more problems for Mari.  Tav is fine with that.

Once Useless is back, Tav heads to the stables.  Tav, is on the warpath and he's looking like he is out for blood.  He yells over to Eusabio.  “—Hey!  Are you interested in Maricruz??!!”  (Wow, is that a gotcha question or what?)  Useless freezes while he thinks of something he can say to lie his way out of this one.

At the same time, Mari gets Ramiro to agree to find her daddy for her.