All three of us laughed so loudly we stopped some conversations and drew the amused looks of some of the guests. I didn’t know whether it was the mimosa and the wine or what, but I felt as happy as I ever had since I had left my grandmother. Maybe, just maybe, I, too, could end up living in a palace and forever be Cinderella.
Was that too much to ask? Was I filling up with too much pride and conceit?
Was the ojo malvado, the evil eye, watching and waiting somewhere in this grand room?
Fortified with the courage I gathered from my new rich and powerful friends, I gazed about, just daring it to show itself.
I was not the poor, innocent little girl whose heart was shattered years ago when she was dragged away from the only family and world she had known.
I was Delia Yebarra, I thought, and I was a raging river now. Señora Baca was right.
Yo no voy a ser derrotada.
I would not be defeated.
6
Adan
Before dessert was served, Señor Bovio was introduced. He made a speech about his candidacy, why he was running, and how much he appreciated the support he was getting from the people present at this dinner and from the community. He pledged to give his candidacy a real and determined effort, and then introduced Adan, who stood up to applause.
“My son and I are partners in business and partners in life, in all either of us does,” Señor Bovio said, looking at Adan so proudly it brought tears to my eyes. “He’s going to watch my back as I go forward.”
Everyone clapped harder. Adan and his father hugged, and then Fani’s father stood and pledged his support, announcing that he was donating a quarter of a million dollars to Señor Bovio’s campaign. I think my mouth fell open. I had no idea how wealthy these people were. He could buy my whole village and more with that donation, I thought.
I gazed around at these people, these men in their fine tuxedos and these women dripping with diamonds and gold. Look where I am, I thought. How did I get here? Where will I go from here?
The waiters and waitresses brought baked Alaska around for our dessert. Immediately afterward, guests approached Señor Bovio and either gave him envelopes with checks in them or pledges for money. The supporters and well-wishers surrounded Adan as well.
“C’mon,” Fani said. “We don’t have to stay here any longer.” She led me out and then to her room on what she called the east end of the hacienda.
For a moment, I thought I had entered a castle in some fairy tale. Fani’s bedroom was at least twice the size of Tía Isabela’s. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what her parents’ bedroom was like. She laughed at the expression on my face.
“I have never seen such a room, even in pictures.”
“It’s not my fault,” she said. “My father thinks I’m a princess. And don’t say I act like one, either,” she added before I could speak.
“I do not think even a princess has such a room or such a grand bed.”
“Probably not. My father had it custom-built. It’s a good two feet wider and longer than the normal California king-size bed.”
The four posters went all the way up to the ceiling. Carved in each were angels with their heads and eyes skyward, so that it looked as if they were ascending to heaven. The headboard was a work of art itself, depicting dawn, the sunlight waking the birds and opening flowers. Whoever had done it truly had to have been an artist. It looked as if everything was in motion.
“How do you sleep in such a beautiful setting? There is so much for your eyes to feast upon.”
The bedroom had grand arched windows with light pink velvet curtains and gold sashes. There were two gold chandeliers with the most unusually shaped bulbs I had ever seen. They curved up at the ends and looked a little like the beaks of birds.
To the right was a sitting area with her own entertainment center, and to the left was a vanity table with a counter that ran at least ten feet to the entrance of her walk-in closet. It was twice the size of Sophia’s, with another vanity table and mirrors on the walls.
“I sleep very easily,” Fani said. “Everything in here was custom-made for my comfort, even this mattress,” she said, pressing down on her bed. “Go on, sit on it.”
I did. I really didn’t think it was that much more comfortable than my own, but I smiled and said it was amazing.
“Come in here,” she said, leading me into her sitting area. “Go on, sit,” she commanded, pointing to an oversize ruby-cushioned chair with gold tassels. “I have a bottle of white wine.” She went into her closet and returned with the bottle and two glasses.
I watched her remove the cork and pour the wine.
“Daddy put a little refrigerator in there for me,” she explained, “so I wouldn’t have to bother the servants or go down for something all the time. To thoughtful Daddy,” she said, and tapped my glass with hers.