The Gift
Chapter 1
It had starting to rain heavily only half an hour ago and Victoria's patrons in the tavern were taking their time with their drinks, waiting for the rain to stop until they left the tavern again. The tavern door was opened and gush of cold rain entered together with the lean figure wrapped in a cape dripping puddles on the floor. As the boy removed the hood from his head, shaking the rain from his hair, Victoria recognized him.
"Felipe, come in," she urged him. "What are you doing outside in this rain?"
The mute made some gestures she didn't understand, but looked at her questioning pointing to the back of the room.
"Are you looking for Don Alejandro or Don Diego?" she asked, and the boy nodded.
"Don Diego isn't here, but Don Alejandro is sitting at the back over there with some friends. He came in shortly before the rain." She took off his coat and led the boy over to the table.
Felipe started to sign urgently to Alejandro pointing outside, and the caballero made a face as he understood the boys request.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Victoria asked curiously, as Don Alejandro and Felipe put on their capes to go outside. "Can't you wait until the raining has stopped? You'll get soaked to the bone if you go out now."
"Unfortunately, it can't wait," Alejandro explained, wrapping himself in his coat. "Diego asked Felipe this morning to pick up some books and other orders from the port in San Pedro. On his way back Felipe was surprised by the rain, and the wheel of the cart was damaged in a hole on the road at the entrance of the pueblo. Now all the goods are in danger of getting wet if we don't carry them inside."
"Can I help you with unloading?" Victoria offered.
"I don't think that is necessary," Alejandro said. "Crates with books are too heavy for a woman to carry, but if we could store them here somewhere?"
"Of course, Don Alejandro, you can put them in my storage room next to the kitchen,"
"Thank you, Victoria," Alejandro said gratefully.
The two men went outside and returned twenty minutes later, each of them carrying a box. After they had put them in Victoria's storeroom, they went back and forth until they had stored everything in the room.
Victoria had agreed to keep everything in her storage room until the next day when the de la Vegas had time to fix the wagon and drive it into the pueblo.
In the evening she needed some towels but Diego's boxes were blocking them. As she shoved the boxes aside, the top one tumbled over, and a package fell out. When she picked it up to put it back, she noticed the torn wrapping, revealing something white and pointed. Curiously, she looked closer and suddenly she had a woman's comb in her hand. It was made from mother-of-pearl and had the shape of a tall peinata to attach a mantilla to the head. As she looked through the tear of the package, she could also see a piece of white lace, which was probably the matching mantilla. As she packed everything back, she wondered why Diego had ordered a mantilla and a peinata from Spain? A gift for a woman from Diego? It was the kind of gift a man gave his bride or his wife. Was it for the woman he was secretly in love with? Did he plan to give it to her for Christmas and finally declare his love for her? And propose? Who was she? It was a question that kept her mind occupied.
The next day when Diego and Felipe retrieved the boxes and loaded them on the wagon, she was tempted to ask Diego about it, but he was in a bad mood because one of his books was damaged by the rain, and she didn't want to add to it by telling him she knew what he had in his box.
In the following weeks she kept an eye on Diego whenever he came to the pueblo trying to find a hint who she was but there wasn't anyone he showed an interest in, at least not in her presence.
