Chapter 10 [Original Rancho Vega, Los Angeles, CA]
Tensions bubbled throughout that afternoon. Carlos bristled at Ricardo's and his other guests' attitudes. Aloofness kept Elena at a distance from them. Discretion led Felipe to remain at his office downtown. Rejection and Loss stung Angelina. Mercedes, Maria and Victoria, however, refused to let her drown in Emotions' tempest.
Yet Manolito brooded….
[Hall Before Diego's Garden]
Angelina led her guests through the patio doors. Nostalgia prompted her to point out their family's special possessions along the way. Her finger pointed toward a painting here, a special vase there or perhaps Doña Victoria's antique desk languishing under Dust's shroud….
…well it did until Angelina's ever-present rag evicted that….
"I am sorry." Angelina shook her head. "I thought Alejandra was using it."
"It is quite the pity! What a magnificent walnut desk." Maria shook her head. "Perhaps your father would accept a buyer for it? Mercedes, what do you think?"
"Manolo and Papa will agree. I cannot believe this!" Mercedes sighed. Frustration frothed inside of herself.
"Then it is settled. I will support you." Victoria nodded.
"Support them on what?" John watched them from down the hall. "Please do not tell me there is another argument. After that breakfast…." He let his words trail off.
"Ladies, I will be right back. John, there is something you should see." Victoria walked up to him. Purpose put Amorous look in her eye. She rubbed his arm.
He glanced at the cousins and cousin-in-law. "Now I know there's something going on."
"It's a small thing…well…will you not just see? Please?" Victoria half-asked, half-coaxed.
He raised an eyebrow. "What are you up to, Victoria?" Experience smelled a Montoya-Level Scheme cooking a mile away.
"Why do I have to be up to anything, my Husband? Just look…" Victoria opened the door next to them. "The desk."
He peered into the room. Boxes created a virtual maze winding throughout. Trunks peeked out from Oubliettes. Faerie Dust danced in Sol's beams. Then toward the very back, Desk gleamed its greetings.
"We-ell!" He tipped his hat back on his head. Admiration coaxed a whistle past his lips. "At least they dusted that!"
"Angelina did that just now." She quirked an eyebrow. "That was her desk, John."
He sucked in a deep breath. He navigated his way through the cardboard labyrinth. He inspected the desk. His eye ran over the slight chipping. "It's a fine antique desk. And of walnut?" He raised an eyebrow. "You can bet Don Diego paid handsomely for this."
"He loved her." She sighed heavily. "And now it sits here."
"Don Carlos should move downtown and turn this house into a museum. I'm not much into this. I'll bet people here would be." John surveyed the stacks of boxes. "I can only imagine what's in them." He nodded. "And that's what you want to ask about? Victoria…do you have any idea what it will cost to have this crated and shipped?"
"John…." Victoria gazed into his eyes. Those pools akin to Siren's voices from Myth mowed down Resistance and Practicality.
And, as with every other time, he never had a chance….
"All right. I'll speak with Ricardo and Manolito. Perhaps we can come up with a suitable offer. I don't want to cheat Don Carlos…attitude or not." John embraced her. "I know how important these things are to Mano and Mercedes."
"And to the rest of us. I have looked at her portrait. It is very strange. I almost feel as though she is there." She brushed her hand across the desk. "You did not see Angelina when we looked in here." She narrowed her eyes. "¡Ay!" She patted the walnut.
He nodded. "I can imagine given what we heard this morning. Come on. She and the others are waiting." He led her back out of the room and closed the door again. "Have you seen Manolito and Ricardo?"
"They are off talking about some thing or another." Victoria shrugged the point off.
John nodded. Manolito's looking for something. I just hope he doesn't cause problems himself! He rolled his eyes. He followed her back through the patio doors and stopped in his tracks.
Fauna sat along each wall. Scent and Color delighted the onlookers' senses. Roses hung on their arbor overhead. Neglect however showed in their yellow and browning leaves and falling petals.
"These are a work of art! They are a pleasure to look at and…" Maria inhaled Lilac's scent. "…their scent is delightful!"
"Don Diego collected the seeds and shoots. He brought them back from Spain and France." Angelina sniffed Lavender's perfume. "At one time, this whole patio brimmed with plants." She pointed to the bare earthen patch. "There was a fig tree there." She shook her head. "This area is like the tavern."
"As someone once told me, a person has to walk with a woman in a garden to appreciate it and her." He cleared his throat.
"You remember! How splendid!" Maria clapped her hand. A smirk spread across her face. "I imagine what this patio looked like in its day. Quite the shame."
"I try to keep it up. Abuela slaved over it. I will not see another garden of its like again." Angelina bowed her head.
"You will not see a garden. You will see two, Prima." Mercedes rubbed Angelina's shoulder. "We do not have tropical plants. Do you have seeds?"
"I do. I save cuttings." Angelina fingered the plants' leaves. "Lavender calms me."
"I've seen doctors use it," he recalled.
"Then we shall plant it as well." Victoria inspected the plant. "I remember seeing such deep purple across those very fields as well. Manolito could not stop talking about it. He loves their scent." She coughed. "I am talking about a pot at our hacienda, John."
"Manolo likes this?" Mercedes turned to Angelina. "Can you show me how to plant these?"
"I will plant them." Angelina affirmed. "Just like Bisabuela's tavern, Bisabuelo's flowers will move as well. We will find a place. Vamanos. I want to show you the parlor. I will tell you a story there." She led them back through the doors and down the passage.
Gunshots echoed ahead.
"Now what? Get your father!" John gnashed his teeth. "Manolito, what have you found now?" He ran down the hall.
"JOHN!" Victoria slapped at the wall. "Oooh! SO HELP ME!"
"Un minuto. Can you shoot?" Angelina opened the door to her right. "Felipe is going to be so angry." She found an oak cabinet in front of herself. She flung the doors open.
"I can shoot a pistol or rifle. Maria can as well." Mercedes hustled in behind her.
Angelina checked a pistol's chamber. "It is full." She gave that one and a gun belt to Mercedes. Then she did the same for each rifle. She grabbed a box of shells and another rifle. She shut the doors again. "Ricardo showed Manolito the secret."
"Secret?" Maria took a rifle from Angelina. She checked the chamber and reset it for firing.
"I will show you!" Angelina ran into the parlor. She skidded to a stop in front of the fireplace. "¡El panel está abierto!" She muttered a few choice curse words under her breath.
"Panel? What?" He held his pistol in hand. "Wait a minute! You don't…"
"It's Zorro's passage. Come on! They need us!" Angelina yanked on his sleeve.
"Victoria, find Don Carlos. Secret or not, Mano and Ricardo need help right now! I'll handle it." John stepped toward the fireplace.
"We will handle it. Vamanos." Angelina led John into the fireplace. "Keep your head down."
Mercedes followed them. Maria brought up the rear.
The panel scraped shut behind them.
Secret passages? Gunfire? What else did you not tell us, Manolito? Victoria rushed off to find Don Carlos.
Surprises were not welcome….