Page 22 - Fiction Rough draft--The Great Elopement_La Gran Fuga, setting rural PR, early 1940’s_Float

He could tell by Petronas' voice that she was trying her best to stay calm. But when tio Cundo

mentioned abuelo Cleofe, his father and Petronas previous husband, she raised her voice. “

You know, that man is now on his third wife. He is a terrible example to you all!”

Edmundo thought to himself, if I was Petronas husband , I would leave too​. But he tried to

shake the thought away. He had to be grateful. And mama would call for him soon to go up to
New York. He just had to wait and be patient. He decided to listen.

Apparently the young lady across the room was Tio Cundo’s sweetheart. He remembered

seeing her and Tio going for long walks . She wasn’t the family’s first choice for Tio Cundo, who

would inherit the family store. That girl is ​“una vaga” ​, Petrona would say. Una vaga-a lazy

one-​which meant she would be of little help to their family if she wasn’t willing to work hard.

Again loud noises from the kitchen: ​“The priest is not due in town for 2 months! She can’t stay

here that long. Besides, Don Manuel will hear of this soon. This was poor thinking on your part,

Cundo!”

Don Manuel was a farmer next door. He worked in the sugarcane fields.He did not own the

farm. He was a jornalero, a hired hand, a worker of the large sugar cane farm . Whenever

Cheito saw Don Manuel in his family’s store, the man seemed tired , hungry , quiet, and didn’t

stay for very long. He rarely sat and drank Pitorro (moonshine) to socialize with the neighbors.

That moonshine made his family store quite famous in the town. It was made in the back and

sold only at night. The authorities didn’t think it should be sold. But the men sure seemed to

like it after a hard day's work. Not Don Manuel. Some thought he was a little bit ​“orgulloso” or

haughty. Too good for the rest of us​, is what he heard Petrona say once.

Suddenly the pretty lady woke up, and looked straight at Cheito. She asked him, ​“ Is my father

here?” She ran to the window and looked outside. Cheito was speechless . He didn’t know

exactly what to say or do. He decided to at least introduce himself, he knew that was the polite
thing. “ My name is Jose Luis . But people call me Cheito. What is yours?”
​

-” Me llamo Delma. La novia de Cundo. Me voy a casar con el.”
​

Cundo’s soon to be bride. Why is she here , in this house, now?, he thought. . And why is she

not out in thekitchen with him, but in this room, talking to him?

Cheito started to realize the shouting and debating in the kitchen were more serious than he

thought. It was only made a little better by the thought that he didn’t mind looking at pretty

Delma. She seemed nice enough. But her being here was creating a big havoc. And then she

said to him.
: