“That’s easier for you than for us,” replied Miki, raising his voice.
“Of course,” Don Rigoberto thought. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying, but sometimes he gets it right.”
“It’s not your father but ours who married his maid, an ignorant, lousy half-breed, a chola, and made us the laughingstock of all the decent families in Lima.”
“A marriage that isn’t worth a damn besides!” Escobita reminded him again, gesturing frenetically. “A farce with no legal basis at all. I suppose you’re well aware of that, Uncle Rigoberto. So stop acting like a boob, it doesn’t suit you at all.”
“What should I be aware of, nephew?” he asked very serenely, with a curiosity that seemed genuine. “And I’d like you to explain the meaning of that word ‘boob.’ It’s a synonym for imbecile, isn’t it?”
“I mean you’ve gotten involved in a huge mess out of pure ignorance,” Escobita exploded in anger. “A motherfucking mess, if you’ll pardon my language. Maybe without meaning to, thinking you were helping your good friend. We grant your good intentions. But none of that matters, because the law is the law for everybody, in this case most of all.”
“This could mean serious personal problems for you and your family.” Miki’s voice was filled with pity, and as he spoke, he put his little finger back in his mouth. “We don’t want to scare you, but this is how things are. You never should have signed that paper. I tell you that objectively and impartially. And with all my love, of course.”
“We’re telling you this for your own good, Uncle Rigoberto,” said his brother, adding nuance to their argument. “Thinking more of your own interest than of ours, though you may not believe it. I only hope you won’t come to regret your mistake.”
“Soon they’ll be in a rage, and these animals are capable of hitting me,” Rigoberto realized. The twins were letting themselves be carried away by anger, and their looks, gestures, and expressions were increasingly aggressive. “Will I have to defend myself against these two with my fists?” he wondered. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been in a fight. In the Academy of La Recoleta, surely, during some recess.
“We’ve consulted the best lawyers in Lima. We know what we’re talking about. That’s why we can assure you that you’re now involved in one huge goddamn mess. Forgive me for using such ugly words, but we men have to look truth in the face. It’s better that you know.”
“For complicity and concealment,” Miki explained in a solemn tone, saying each word very slowly to emphasize its hostility. His thin voice kept breaking and his eyes were ablaze.
“The annulment of the marriage is under way and the judgment won’t be long in coming,” Escobita explained. “That’s why the best thing you could do is help us, Uncle Rigoberto. The best thing for you, I mean.”
“In other words, it’s not us we want you to help but my papa, Uncle Rigoberto. Your lifelong friend, the person who’s been like an older brother to you. And we want you to help yourself and get out of this fucking predicament that you’ve gotten yourself and us into. Do you understand?”
“Frankly, I don’t, nephew. I don’t understand anything except that the two of you are very upset.” Rigoberto chided them with serenity, affection, and a smile. “Since you’re both talking at the same time, I confess you have me a little confused. I really don’t understand what this is about. Why don’t you settle down and calmly explain what it is you want.”
Did the twins believe they’d beaten him? Is that what they thought? Because their attitude became immediately more temperate. Now he saw that they were smiling, nodding, exchanging complicit, self-satisfied glances.
“Yes, yes, forgive us, we went a little too fast,” Miki apologized. “You know we love you very much, uncle.”
“His ears are as big as mine,” thought Rigoberto. “But his flutter and mine don’t.”
“And forgive us above all for raising our voices to you,” Escobita added, waving his hands in the air for no reason, like a frantic monkey. “But things being the way they are, it’s just as well, you have to understand. This craziness of my doddering old papa has Miki and me running around in circles.”
“It’s very simple,” Miki explained. “We understand perfectly that while my papa was your boss at the company, you couldn’t refuse to sign that paper as a witness. Just like poor Narciso. The judge will take that into account, of course. As an extenuating circumstance. Nothing will happen to either of you. The lawyers guarantee it.”
“In his mouth, the word ‘lawyer’ is like a magic wand,” Rigoberto thought with amusement.
“You’re wrong, Narciso and I didn’t agree to be your papa’s witnesses because we were his employees,” he replied amiably. “I did it because Ismael, besides being my boss, is a lifelong friend. And Narciso did it because of the great affection he’s always had for your father.”
“Well, that wasn’t much of a favor you did for your dear friend.” Escobita was angry again; his face turned red, as if he’d suffered sudden sunstroke; his dark eyes were flashing. “The old man didn’t know what he was doing. He’s been senile for some time: For some time he hasn’t known where he is, or who he is, and least of all what he was doing when he let himself be bamboozled by that damn worthless chola who he wanted to get his rocks off with, if you’ll excuse the expression.”
“Get his rocks off with?” Don Rigoberto thought. “That must be the ugliest expression in the Spanish language. A thorny, reeking phrase.”
“Do you believe that, if he was in full possession of his faculties, my papa, who was always a gentleman, would marry a servant who, to make matters even worse, must be forty years younger than he is?” Miki backed up his brother, opening his mouth wide and displaying his large teeth.
“Do you believe that?” Now Escobita’s eyes were red and his voice was breaking. “It’s not possible, you’re intelligent and well educated, don’t kid yourself or try to kid us. Because not you and not anybody else can pull the wool over our eyes.”
“If I’d believed that Ismael was not in full possession of his faculties, I wouldn’t have agreed to be his witness, nephew. Please let me speak. I understand that you’re very concerned. It’s to be expected, of course. But you should try to accept the facts as they are. It’s not what you think. Ismael’s marriage surprised me a great deal too. As it surprised everyone, naturally. But Ismael knew very well what he was doing, of that I’m certain. He decided to get married with complete lucidity and absolute knowledge of what he was about to do, and of what the consequences would be.”
As he spoke he saw indignation and hatred intensify on the twins’ faces.
“I’m assuming you wouldn’t dare repeat the bullshit you’re saying now in front of a judge.”
Escobita got up from his seat, in a rage, and took a step toward him. Now he wasn’t red but ashen and trembling.
Don Rigoberto didn’t move from his chair. He expected to be shaken and perhaps hit, but Escobita controlled himself, turned, and sat down again. His round face was covered with perspiration. “The threats have come. Will punches be next?”
“If you wanted to scare me, you’ve succeeded, Escobita,” he acknowledged, as calmly as before. “You’ve both succeeded, I should say. Do you want to know the truth? I’m dying of fear, nephews. You’re both young, strong, impulsive, and with credentials that would strike terror in the heart of the cleverest man. I know them very well because, as you recall, I’ve often helped you out of the situations and difficulties you’ve gotten yourselves into since you were very young. Like the time you raped that girl in Pucusana, remember? I even recall her name: Floralisa Roca. That was her name. And naturally I haven’t forgotten either that I had to take fifty thousand dollars to her parents so you two wouldn’t go to prison because of the charming thing you’d done. I know very well that if you wanted to, you could make mincemeat out of me. That’s perfectly clear.”