Chapter 2

After two weeks Alejandro was thoroughly annoyed with his son sleeping most of the day and reading all night long.

"Diego, this can't go on any longer. You can't keep your nose in your books all the time or only occupy yourself with your pointless experiments. When was the last time you went to the pueblo? Victoria is having a hard time now that Zorro has left her and and she needs a friend to comfort her!"

"Father, I don't think I'm the right one to comfort Victoria, and by the way, my experiments aren't pointless."

Diego didn't want to think about the heartache he was causing Victoria, unsure if he could resist her tears knowing he was the reason. He had avoided visiting the tavern or talking to her
either as Zorro or as Diego ever since he broke up with her.

"Really Diego, you don't behave like a friend to Victoria. While she cries her eyes out, you do nothing - or whatever it is you're doing. It can't be very healthy from the way you look, either."

Alejandro eyed his son critically, who looked worn and tired.

"You need to get out of the hacienda and I have exactly the right thing for you." Alejandro put the letter he had been holding in his hand on the table in front of Diego.

"What's this?" Diego glanced at the letter suspiciously, not knowing what his father was planning for him.

"It's a letter from your cousin Rafael in Monterey, inviting us to the christening of his son, Alfonzo. He asks you to be the godfather. Rafael already has two children in the three years he has been married - and what about you? You aren't even engaged!"

"Father, please..," Diego was in no mood to talk about engagements or marriage. It only reminded him of Victoria and how it felt to have her in his arms, to kiss her sweet lips..

"Diego, you are daydreaming again!" Alejandro interrupted his thoughts. "Is everything alright with you? You looked so sad for a moment. Did you hear what I said?"

"Ah. You were talking about Rafael..," Diego tried to recall his father's words.

"I said that you should be honored to become the godfather of Rafael's son."

"But Father, I don't think this is a good idea," Diego tried to object, "maybe you.."

"Diego, I'm an old man. The boy needs someone to be there for him should, God forbid, something happen to his parents. Who would be better suited than you? A young, healthy man who will probably live up to an old age if you continue avoiding all dangers."

How could he explain to his father that the chances for Alejandro to survive his son were at the moment much higher than the other way round. Diego knew that he had been a little too careless as Zorro recently and that it was mere luck he hadn't been shot.

"You already declined the honor when his daughter was born two years ago, because you were in France at the time. Rafael would be truly offended if you turned him down again, especially since you were such good friends as boys, always getting into mischief together."

"As you wish, Father," Diego gave in, finding no argument to get out of the situation. Since he had been clearing the area of bandits in the recent nights, Zorro would hopefully not be needed for some time, provided the alcalde behaved for the time he was away. "I'll ride with you."

"As much as I'd like to visit your cousin again, you have to go alone. There are some bull auctions at Santa Paula I have to attend next week. Unless you want to trade places with me and go to bull auctions while I make the two day ride to Monterey?"

Diego rolled his eyes. His father knew too well how much these auctions bored him. "Then its settled, you'll ride in four days."

Z Z Z

A week later, Diego arrived at his cousin's home.

"Diego, welcome to our home. It's good to see you again." Rafael embraced his cousin and Diego bowed over the hand of his wife, Margarita.

"It's been some time since we last met."Diego stated. "My father sends his regrets but business at the ranch and a bull auction prevents him from being here. You'll have to be content with me." Diego tried to manage a smile.

Rafael led his cousin into his hacienda, which lay on the outskirts of Monterey. "Diego, I must show you around since you haven't been here for so long. We have made many improvements to the hacienda, not only because we needed more rooms for the children. It is not as splendid as your home in Los Angeles, but we get along well."

Margarita's parents were invited to dinner and they spent a pleasant evening, though Diego couldn't avoid being confronted with his own unmarried state.

"Diego, you really should get married. There is nothing better than having a family and raising children." Margarita beamed. Motherhood seemed to agree with her and she couldn't stop talking about her nearly two years old daughter and her newborn son.

After dinner Margarita's parents returned home and Margarita went to bed early to care for her son, leaving the two cousins alone for a sherry in the parlor.

"I don't drink alcohol," Diego declined out of habit.

"Diego, just one glass. What happened to you, Diego? Before you went to the university in Madrid, sherry was your favorite drink!"

"Some of my experiments required a steady hand and a clear head." Diego thought of his many encounters with the lancers or the alcalde in recent years. Ever since he had put on his black mask he had been on alert, always ready to help those who needed him. In Los Angeles, it had become part of his image as weak Diego that he never drank alcohol, although it was mainly a necessity to stay alive through his next fight as Zorro.

"Diego, why don't you forget your experiments for a moment and have some fun? You don't look too happy to me." Rafael handed him the glass and Diego took it, slowly sipping the brown liquid he hadn't tasted for years.

"I could get used to it," Diego started to relax. "I won't mind visiting your wine cellar during my stay."

"That sounds much more like the old Diego from our childhood," Rafael toasted him and began to recount some of the mischief Diego had led Rafael into as boys, making them both laugh in memory. "Uncle Alejandro never let me close to his wine cellar after that."

"But I'm sure he has forgotten it over the years," Diego smiled, "I never thought of it again until you just reminded me."

"Uncle Alejandro was still cautious during my last visit," Rafael laughed. "You were always the daredevil, Diego, and all the girls had a crush on you, admiring your recklessness. I always thought you'd be the first one to marry. Whatever happened to the girl you mentioned in your letters from Spain? Didn't you intend to marry her? What was her name?"

"Zafira. She left me standing at the altar in Madrid and I never knew why, until I met her again a year ago in Los Angles."

"Was she the reason you never married, carrying a broken heart all these years, Diego?" Rafael said sympathetically. "You can trust me, Diego."

"No, that's not it." The wine started to take effect and loosened his tongue. "There is.. there was another woman I fell in love with when I got home from Spain..."

"Tell me about her. Why didn't you get married?"

"There were reasons we had to wait, we never thought it would take that long, but she agreed to wait when I asked her for her hand," Diego looked miserable.

"You were engaged?" Rafael exclaimed, surprised. "You never wrote about it in your letters."

"It was kind of secret..," Diego explained.

"A secret engagement, that really sounds more like the Diego I used to know. What happened? You sound so sad. Did she take back her promise?"

"No, it wasn't her. A few weeks ago I found out that she'll never love me and I released her from her promise. So actually I'm a free man again for the first time in years." Diego looked at the dark liquid contained in the wine glass which he had unconsciously twirled between his fingers the whole time.

Rafael patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that Diego. It sounds like there is much more you are not telling and if you you want to talk, you can trust me. I wish you all the happiness a family can bring and I'll hope you'll find it with the right woman. Why don't you try to forget everything while you are here and enjoy yourself a little?"

Diego managed a small smile. "Maybe I should." He lifted his empty glass to Rafael, who refilled it on cue and they both sat together for another hour, talking about inconsequential things until the bottle was empty and it was time for bed.