Show Me Chapter 31
Victoria sat at her workstation, stirring her tea pensively as she watched passers-by exchange greetings with each other. It had been several days since Triana Sofia Rodriguez's identity was discovered, and to say everyone was reeling from the shock was an understatement. Imelda and Héctor had spent a lot of time on the phone when they got back, fielding questions from reporters and customers about what had been going on.
Wanting to respect Riya's privacy, the couple agreed not to tell anyone about what was going on. There had been another detail that the Riveras were keeping private—mostly to avoid scaring off members of Rodriguez's family and upsetting Riya (whose mother was mentioned prominently in the letter).
A letter had been discovered in de la Cruz's mansion a few weeks earlier and Héctor immediately sent it off to Miguel. It was very different from the de la Cruz letter, which had detailed "seizing my moment" and "whatever it takes". Since the whole "I-can-communicate-with-the-dead-so-please-don't-think-I'm-loco" routine probably wouldn't fly with investigators, Miguel had agreed to say that the letters were sent to the family anonymously.
I'm not sure if it's safe for me to write this letter, but please tell Arita that I love her in case anything happens to me.
Basically, I think Ernesto murdered Teto Rivera—I found a guitar case with a sticker on it that belonged to him and I saw Ernesto searching the ground frantically for something when we were in México City last week. Call me loco, but I think he's done something to Teto and I have the proof—I found a train ticket back to Santa Cecilia from México City that Teto was supposed to use way back in December 1921, shortly before Los Posados.
I haven't seen or heard from Arita in almost eight months….I'm worried that I'll never see her again.
RIIINGGG! RINNNG!
Jumping up out of her chair, Victoria headed for the door, putting her teacup on the table in the vestibule. Seeing that it was Gustavo, she immediately brightened and went to greet him hello.
"Hola Vici," Gustavo said as he greeted his girlfriend with a quick kiss. "I just wanted to drop in and see how you were doing. I've heard it's gotten a bit loco around here."
"Here and everywhere else," Victoria said. "We've been trying to keep everyone updated on what's going on. Gloria's been in touch with Torres' granddaughter and I feel like I'm going loco myself with everything going on here."
Steering Victoria towards the couch, Gustavo said, "Why don't you start at the beginning, mí amor?"
Almost half an hour later (with multiple interruptions from Rosita and the twins who were curious about Victoria's new relationship), Victoria managed to finish telling Gustavo what had been happening.
"What if we could talk to your bisabuela, Vici?" Gustavo said. "I think she may know more than what's going on?"
Sighing softly, Victoria said, "Maybe we should bring this up with mís abuelos, mí musico."
"Absolutamente no!" Imelda said when the couple brought up that idea later to the rest of the family. "I already told you both that I don't want that woman setting foot anywhere near our house!"
"And how do we know that this isn't some sort of trick?" Héctor said, glaring at Gustavo sharply.
"How do—" (Oscar)
"We know—" (Felipe)
"That you're not—" (Oscar)
"Just leading us on a wild goose chase?" The twins finished together sternly. Both of them were well aware of their papá's trickery and were not all that keen to trust their mamá. Especially after the way that their sister had been treated by their parents.
Crossing his non-existent heart, Gustavo said, "No te estoy engañando*. Victoria told me about what has been going on and I want to try and help."
"Besides, Mamá Imelda," Rosita said. "We're stuck. Your mamá might be able to help us. Coco did say that she wanted to get to know her better and that she may know something that she couldn't say earlier."
Knowing that Rosita was referring to Imelda's relationship with her estranged padre, Coco said, "Mamá, tenemos que darle una oportunidad*. She's been wanting to have a relationship with you and I want to get to know her better. Dejar que lo pasado sea pasado."
"And Mamá Imelda," Julio said timidly. "I think if we listen to her, maybe she has some information that we can send to Miguel."
Josefina had been delighted at receiving an invitation for lunch from her daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter, coming over the next day. Upon stepping into the workshop, she looked around, a sense of wonder taking over.
"Es asombroso, Imeldita*." she said to her daughter. "I love it. You've done well."
"Deja la charla, Madre*," Imelda said icily, "I just wanted to ask what you knew about Jorge Rodriguez, other than the fact that Papá would have preferred it if I had married Rodriguez instead of Héctor."
Not wanting to comment on that fact, Josefina took a deep breath. Earning her daughter's forgiveness would be a huge step forward, but for now that meant admitting some things of the truth about Rodriguez.
"He would have never heard of leaving México, Imeldita," Josefina said. "If anything, he would have wanted to stay here. I remember once, when you were little, how you two would play explorers together. He loved exploring new places, but he always wanted to make sure to come back home. A mamá always notices those things."
"If that's the case," Héctor said, "where is he in the Land of the Dead? De la Cruz wouldn't care about whether or not he's still remembered."
"I wish I knew, Héctor," Josefina said. "But I want to do anything I can to help. And I can't apologize enough, Imeldita for what I did to you. If I could turn back the clock, I would."
Knowing that giving her daughter a hug might be a bit overkill, Josefina settled for patting her knee reassuringly before she left. Baby steps were key in this and Imelda knew that things were slowly getting better. It would just take time.
After Josefina left, Imelda sank back into her chair as Héctor put his arm around her. "Why do things have to be so complicadas? Where is this man?"
"Maybe we just need to accept the fact that he just doesn't want to be found, Mamá," Coco said.
Héctor nodded, agreeing with his daughter. "We'll drive ourselves loco if we keep wondering 'what if', mí amor. The only thing that we can hope for is that he's found peace and that he's happy, even if he's met La Muerte Final."
Imelda sighed, knowing that both her husband and her daughter were right. There was seemed to be nothing more they could do about the situation. But there was one thing they could do, Victoria thought.
"We'll waste time if we keep searching in the same places," Victoria said. "We can try putting up coded letters at various places in the town and see if that brings us closer to finding her. This way, she can communicate with us on her own terms when and if she's ready to go public."
Translation
*I'm not leading you on
*we need to give her a chance
*To let bygones be bygones.
*It's amazing, Imelda.
*Cut the chit-chat, Mother.
*The bodyguards