It's Just Lola (21 page)

“I didn’t lie to him.”  Lola wanted to beg Enriqueta to stop making her feel bad.  She
’
d been so excited and happy about Mehmet, and now she felt ashamed.  “How could I tell him?  He wants to marry me, and he’s a wonderful person.  How could I admit that I lied about having a husband who died of...what was it again?  Malaria or yellow fever?” 

“It was yellow fever, and you’re a terrible liar.” 

Lola’s embarrassment changed to fear.  “I pray that I don’t have to talk about it.  He asked a little about
F
ather, but seemed content not to press the matter.  I just couldn’t live with the shame of having him know.”

“You must do what you think is right for you and Estela.  I truly hope
you’re
not making a mistake
.
I
’
d hate to see my little sister hurt again.”  Enriqueta gave Lola a kiss on her cheek.
 
“Rosita
’
s coming for a fitting tomorrow. I’ll see if she can give me some advice on find
ing
a place to live.”

“
N
o, Enriqueta
, y
ou mustn’t leave
.
  Mehmet says he still has to travel a lot, even if he doesn’t go back to Turkey.  He says you should stay to keep me company when he
’
s gone.”

“Really?
  It was his idea?
”

“Yes.  He was very clear that he
’
ll travel with an easy heart if he knows I w
on’t
be alone all the time.  He
’
s going to try to build up a business of his own trading within the Americas.  He
’
s convinced that all his business with Turkey will be lost once his sons get old enough to take his place.  He thinks that may be why his father-in-law was generous when he left.  Anyway, he
says
it
’
s good for Estela to have Blanca to play with.  In his
country,
brothers often live in the same house, and their children are raised together.  Of course, he enjoys your company, too.”

“You just make sure he doesn
’
t intend to enjoy my company too much
.
  If he thinks I
’
m in line to be wife number three, he
’
s sadly mistaken.”

“How could you even think such a thing
?
”

“Sorry, dear sister,” Enriqueta stroked Lola’s hair.  “Thank your husband-to-be for his kind generosity.  I
’ll
gladly stay as long as you need me or want me around
—but I still want a lock on my bedroom door
.”

~ ~ ~

Mehmet and Lola were married in a civil ceremony with Luis and Enriqueta signing as witnesses. 
Concha made them all a special meal, and Tía Francisca brought up a cake. 
Enriqueta
started yawning shortly after dining and retired early
, taking the children with her.

Once they were alone,
Mehmet
picked Lola up and walked toward
the
bedroom with a big grin on his face.  Lola was suddenly very nervous.
  Her cheeks grew hot as he set her on the bed.  Was she supposed to undress in front of him?

“I’ll give you some time alone,” he whispered as his lips brushed her cheek. 
“I’ll change in the bathroom.”  He turned off the lamp before joining her in the bed.
  Lola was so tense that she jumped when Mehmet touched her.

“Lola,
don’t be afraid. 
I don’t know what
terrible things may have
happened to you before we met
—”

“I was—“  He stopped her with a finger on her lips.
  Lola had never been so
relieved
to be interrupted.  She didn’t really know how she would have completed the sentence. 
She
could tell
that he thought she was a victim of violence and that she had been hurt.  Well, she was a victim
, wasn’t she?
 
A
nd she had been hurt, even if there were no bruises. 
But this was not the time to think about it.  This was her wedding night.

Mehmet reached out and stroked her cheek. 
“I don’t
need
to know.  If you
wanted
t
o tell me
, you
’
d have told me.  I don’t ever want you to do anything you don’t want to do.  Your actions tell me all I need to know
about your character
—from the way you managed Luis’s store when he needed you
,
to
your pretty blush a few minutes ago.
  Our life starts today—and I promise I
’
ll never do anything to hurt you.”
  Very gently he pulled her close and embraced her.
  Their lips met, and the heat Lola felt was not confined to her cheeks.

~ ~ ~

T
he apartment
acquired
an atmosphere of happiness that brightened life for all of them.  When Mehmet came home from work, the girls would run to him squealing for piggyback rides.  Mealtimes sparkled with humor and companionship.

A few weeks
after the wedding, Enriqueta asked Lola to go for a walk.

“I think I was married to
Miguel Rodriguez, a
blacksmith
.  H
e died in a forge fire that also burned down our house,
” said Enriqueta. 

Lola laugh
ed
. 
“What happened to
the simple farmer who died of
yellow fever?”

“
Unless t
he house burn
ed
down, I
’
d have something to show.
  That’s what was wrong with yellow fever
—that and
the simple farmer part
.
”

“
What’s wrong with the simple farmer?”

“
Tía Franc
i
sca
says it’s plain we aren’t common farmers, and I should
invent
a better story and a name for Blanca before she gets old enough to
understand
.”

“How long have they known?” 

“Since they learned you could read and write.”
  They walked in silence for several minutes
as Lola turned that over and over in her mind
.
  They had known their story was false for months—and they still were good friends.

“You never said anything?” Lola asked.  “Or Concha?”

“Of course not.”

“And no one ever asked you what really happened?”

“Never.  I
thought they believed
us
until
Tía Francesca talked to me
yesterday.”

Lola
nodded slowly, then her smile reappeared and she
asked Enriqueta why a blacksmith
was
more believable than a farmer. 
“
Make him a city person.
  Maybe your
husband owned a tavern.
People smoke in taverns all the time.
”

“I
’
d never marry a tavern-keeper.  That would be too
uncouth
.”  Laughter bubbled up in Lola’s throat again.  “A baker?”

“A tobacconist!” exclaimed Enriqueta.  “He was much older than I, but he was a kind man, and I cared for him deeply.  Poor Miguel died from his burns.  It was wonderful of my sister and her husband to take me in after I lost everything.”

That night when the lights were out, Lola snuggled
comfortably
into
Mehmet’s
arms.  “Mehmet, you said our life started
the day we married
.”

“Yes, unless you want it to be different.”

“I
just
want
our married life to have started
two years earlier so you can be Estela’s father.”

“Lola, my love, I
’
m as passionately in love with you
today
as I was that day two years ago when we became man and wife.”

Lola
pulled his face to hers and kissed him
fervently
,
slamm
ing
the door on Rudolfo forever.

“D
on’t tell me not to worry.  I
’
m your wife.  Your problems are my problems.  Tell me what’s wrong.”
  Lola put her hands on her hips and stared at Mehmet.  She was angry for the first time since they were married. 

“All right.  All right.”  Mehmet raised his hands in surrender.

“Mama
,
Mama
, u
p.”  Estela came running to Lola and raised her arms.  Lola’s face softened as she swept Estela up in a hug.

“Me too
,
” said Blanca, tugging on Lola’s skirt.

“I can’t lift you both at once,” laughed Lola. 

“But I can,” said Mehmet,
scooping Blanca up and taking Estela from Lola. 
He set off on a bouncing trot around the living room before heading for the kitchen with the two girls splitting the air with shrieks and giggles.

“
Y
ou were right, Lola,” came the quiet voice of Enriqueta from behind her.  “He does make the house a more pleasant place to live—and the girls adore him.”

“And I love him more than life itself.”

“Good morning, Sister,” said Mehmet to Enriqueta.  “I just told Concha that I
’
d like to steal my lovely wife away for the morning
, if
that
’s
all right with you
.
”

Lola smiled
, h
e was certainly doing things right to win Enriqueta’s heart. 

Enriqueta laughed
.
“I suppose we can spare Lola for now.”

“I hope we’re going to the café,” said Lola as she hurried to keep up with Mehmet. 
“
You didn’t give me time
for
breakfast.” 

“Your wish is my command.”
 
Once they were seated, Mehmet
began to speak quietly. 
“I just finished a big contract.”

“
So why are you worried
?  We should be celebrating.”

“
I thought I was doing a good job keeping
my own
business
separate
from Constantinople Trading Company
, but
I don’t
remember
whether
this
contract belongs to me or to my father-in-law.”

Lola
was appalled
.  “You don’t have everything documented on paper?”

“No.  Part of my training was to keep everything in my head.” He gave a lopsided grin.  “It keeps it away from the tax collectors.  Nothing on paper means no one knows how much money
you make
.
 
I never had a problem before.  My mind hasn’t been on business.  Between getting married and acquiring a delightful
family,
I got distracted.  I thought I was doing all right until I got the telegram about this contract, and I just drew a blank.”

“Do you have any paper at all about this?”

“I might have the receipt for my purchase of the goods, but that will only tell you where I bought it and how much I paid.”

“It should also have the name of the company buying the goods.  Either it
’
s your name or the name of the Turkish company.  It might also have your signature, and that might have a title—owner or agent.”

“Are you sure?  Could it be that easy?” 

Lola shook her head at him and motioned for him to wait for her to finish chewing.  “Don’t tell me you haven’t read enough contracts to know that
.
  How can you stay in business without reading your contracts?”  Lola heard her voice rising in volume and leaned forward
to
continue in a near whisper.  “Mehmet, you
’
re a successful businessman.  I
’
m shocked you don’t read contracts carefully
.
”

“I do read them carefully.  I make sure all the numbers are
right
, and I check the dates and things.  The contracts are just so long sometimes, and it
’
s very difficult.  My language uses a different alphabet, and we write in the other direction.  I can read and write Spanish newspapers and stories, but contracts are difficult and I
get
impatient
...
“  He stared at her for a few moments. 
“How do you know so much about contracts?”

“My father devised what must be the most complicated bookkeeping system in the world. 
None of his
managers
could
satisfy him.  When I was eleven I began sitting in
his
office.  By the time I was thirteen he left me to work without supervision.  It pleased my father to have one of his daughters take an interest in business, and I often read contracts to him when his eyes got tired.  I learned a lot about business.
”

Mehmet grinned. 
“I knew you were a princess
.
”

Lola laughed.  “
You
make me feel like a princess.
 
Now let’s go and buy two ledger books.  You
’
re going to tell me everything you
’
ve done since you came back from Turkey, and we
’
ll devise a bookkeeping system for you.  It won’t be difficult, I promise.”

“No, I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not?”  Lola’s smile disappeared. 

“Because…”

“If I can help our shared lives prosper, it
’
s both my duty and my pleasure to do so.
 
You asked me to stop working to spend more time with Estela.  I accepted your decision, even though I enjoyed my work.  There
’
s no way you can convince me that
I shouldn
’
t be
helping you
with
your business.”

“Very well, my clever princess, I
yield to your wisdom
.”

As promised
, Lola was able to help Mehmet reconstruct the necessary transactions and devise a simple system to keep track of everything.  As the weeks passed Lola took great pleasure in going over contracts with Mehmet and helping him track them. 
H
er life was
finally
complete. 

~ ~ ~

Several months later,
Mehmet came home with a wide grin that announced another successful business trip.  He swept Lola into a tight embrace and
danced
around
the room followed by the two squealing little girls.  After he released Lola he put one little girl on each shoulder and marched
to the kitchen and back
, calling a cheerful greeting to Enriqueta and Concha as they came to see what was causing all the commotion.

“You do make a grand entrance,” laughed Enriqueta.

“That, my dear sister, is because I
’
m feeling grand
.
  I haven
’
t seen my beautiful wife and wonderful family in
weeks,
and it
’
s very grand indeed to be home.
 
Can I prevail upon your good nature to release
said beautiful wife
in my care for a couple of hours?”

“By all means take her away if that will restore order in the house.  We have three ladies coming this afternoon to pick up their finished dresses, and I have to deliver a new design model and Lola’s new sketches to the dress shop.  I’m afraid you
’
ve caught us on a very busy day.”  Enriqueta looked anxiously at the dresses that were now spread across the living room.  When Mehmet was home they confined the sewing to Enriqueta’s room, but in his absence it tended to spread out to fill the available space.

“In that case perhaps we
’
ll take the girls with us and leave you to do your work in quiet solitude.”

“Mehmet, you
’
re a gift
.
  That would be perfect
.
”  Concha took the girls off to ready them for an outing.

Mehmet picked up his bags and moved toward the bedroom.  Lola followed, dancing with anticipation to tell her
own
news.  Mehmet began speaking before he even set his bags down.

“Lola, I
’
m
tremendously
excited about my new idea
.
  I’ll tell you all about it over tea.  I
’
m tak
ing
you out for a proper tea with cakes and little sandwiches to celebrate. The girls will love it
.
  Oh, I can’t wait to talk to you.  I
’
ve missed you and your wonderful sense of business so much
.
  Maybe I’ll take you with me on my next trip.  Wouldn’t that be fun?  We could stay in hotels and when I wasn’t in business meetings we could explore new places
.
”  He gave her a kiss that set her heart pounding.

Mehmet laughed at Lola’s
surprise
when she saw a carriage
standing at the door
.  “I asked him to wait
. 
My plan to take you out to celebrate was already in place.  It worked out well, didn’t it?”  He gave the driver directions.

Lola looked around the fancy hotel
tearoom
in delight.  As soon as they were seated in a
booth,
Mehmet began talking.  “Do you know what an automobile is?”

“Of course.  I
’
ve seen
them
on the streets. 
They’
re noisy and scare the horses, but I suppose they never get sick or run away
, and
I
’
m sure they
’
re frightfully expensive.”

“Unfortunately, they do get sick, or at least they break down.  A man in North America has produced one that sells for less than a thousand dollars, and he
’
s talking about bringing the price even lower.  His goal is to make an automobile that everyone can afford
.
”

“
Everyone? 
That
’
s ridiculous.  Many people can’t even afford food.”  As she spoke, Lola absently moved the small vase of flowers out of the reach of the girls and gave each of them one of the shiny spoons to play with.

“He didn’t mean
everyone
,
he meant people like us—people who are neither poor nor rich.  Now only the very wealthy have automobiles.  I know this is going to change. 
T
he automobile is the transportation of the future.
”  He looked at her intently.
 
“
Lola, this is our chance
.
  I
’
m sure that if I can be the first to import reasonably priced automobiles into Peru, we
’
ll make a
lot
of money.  Think about it—if I can get a contract and bring them by ship from San Francisco to Callao, we
’
ll have a huge market
.
”

Lola
saw
excitement light up his eyes.  Was she silly to
worry
about the risk
?  She
’
d seen the sewing machine
get
accepted among the ladies of town.  Now it was expected that a dressmaker use a machine.  She
’
d also seen bicycles become common. 
At
worst they’d
lose their
money
and have to start over. 
That would be bad, but not a disaster. 
The dressmaking
had a solid clientele
; t
hey were still young.  They
’
d survive either way.  Mehmet
was
confident
and
passionate about
his idea
.  She couldn
’
t disappoint him.

“Mehmet, it might be a gamble
,
but all life
’
s a gamble, isn’t it?”

“Lola, you make me so happy.  I knew I could count on your support.”

It was much later that night when Lola put her arms around her husband and whispered in his ear that
she was with child
.  He let out a whoop that sent Lola into gales of laughter as she tried to shush him.