It's Just Lola (25 page)

Lola studied the map a few more minutes.  “How much difference would it make if the tracks ran from this bend in the road to Amelia’s instead?  Of all the things marketed by the family, the pigs are the most trouble to get to market.  The pigs are pretty far from her house because no matter how clean they keep them there is still a smell and they’re noisy, too.”  She saw her father staring at her.  “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business, but I remember hearing about problems getting the pigs to market, and Amelia’s husband has a reputation for being hard to convince when it comes to spending money.  It might make it easier for him if he could run the pigs up a chute right into the train.”

“The distance is the same,” admitted James.  “If you like, I can look at the terrain tomorrow and give you an opinion.”

“She has a good point,” said Enrique.  “The rail would have a reason to end there instead of just being far away from everything.”  He smiled at Lola.

“I asked you to join us this evening for a far different reason, but this was a great idea.  It’s also related to your other job for the Saturday dinner.  James and I’ll bring the men here after the dinner, but I want you to talk to Victoria and Amelia.  If you convince your sisters, they’ll tip the scales.”

Lola nodded.  “I’ll try.”

“The main reason I wanted you here is to help hammer out a detailed statement of costs and benefits that we can present to the others.  We need concrete facts and figures before we present the plan.”

James gave several sheets of paper to Enrique.  “I have a list of fairly standard costs for a hundred meters of track, so we just need to make the adjustments for the distance.  I also have approximate costs of a lot of the equipment and other things you’ll need.”  Lola sat at a small table with fresh paper and made notes.  The three of them worked steadily with an easy interchange of ideas until Lola began to yawn.

The next morning James hesitated at the door to Lola’s office.  She smiled and gave him a cheery greeting. 

“I’m sorry about keeping you up so late last night,” he said.

Lola laughed.  “We were all so engrossed that we forgot the time.”

James smiled.  “I enjoyed working with you last night.  You were impressive with the numbers, and you asked very good questions.”

“Thank you, Señor
Atkins
.”

“James.”

“Thank you, James.  I look forward to helping in any way I can.”

“It would be my pleasure, Señora,” said James as he turned to leave.

“And please, call me Lola.”  That evening she asked James to tell her about the Panama Canal.  He warmed to the topic at once.  Enrique asked questions, and even Jacoba listen
ed
with interest.

“Did you know that the idea of a canal was first proposed in the 1500s?  Amazing, isn’t it?  Of course, there was no way they would have had the ability to do the actual construction; the sheer scale of the canal locks would have overwhelmed the technology of the times.  The Panama Canal is only half as long as the Suez Canal, but it was much more complicated to build.

“Working on the Canal is the most momentous thing that has happened in my life—and probably the most momentous thing that will ever happen to me.  How many engineers get a chance to work on a project of that scale?”  James stopped talking and looked at Enrique.  “Of course, building roads and rail lines is also exciting because I’m creating a project out of nothing but raw land.  On the Canal I was a mere cog in the wheel, but in my present work, I’m the essential element that drives the project through to success.”

Enrique laughed.  “I’m sure working on the Canal gave you valuable experience that you bring to new projects.  How did your work go today?  Is the new route that Lola proposed feasible?”

It looked to Lola as though a storm cloud passed over Jacoba’s face.  “Lola’s determining the route of the rail?” she asked.

“Of course not,” said Lola.  “That’s between the landowner and the engineer.  I merely mentioned problems of getting different products to the train.  I write down what they tell me to as they do the planning.”

“That’s far from all you do,” said James.  Lola wanted to kick him under the table. 

“Is the new route feasible?” repeated her father, drawing the attention away from her.  Lola tried not to meet anyone’s eyes for the remainder of the meal. 

“Possibly,” said James.  “I was able to get through with difficulty today.  I didn’t see anything to prevent us from going that way, but I need more time before I can give a definitive answer.”

“Should we delay the dinner for another week?” asked Enrique.

“I think not.  Consider presenting the concept of a rail line and add the alternate route as a possibility.  The brush is thick, and even walking the distance was difficult.”

“Then we need to work on finalizing those figures,” said Enrique.  “Lola, would you please join us in the library?”

Lola felt Jacoba’s dark glowering eyes drill into her back as she followed the men into the library.  The three worked hard and long that night.  Just as Lola felt she could not stay awake any longer, Enrique announced that he was satisfied with the results. 

Enrique was pleased with the estimates and the proposal for the new rail line.  The next night, after he had consumed several glasses of wine with his meal, he told Jacoba that Lola not only had a way with numbers, but with words as well.  He ignored his wife’s strained face.  “We have a much more persuasive argument because of her.  Lola’s a godsend.”

Relieved that her work on the project was completed, Lola excused herself when the coffee was served and retreated upstairs for the evening.  The next night she pleaded headache and asked to dine upstairs.  Of course the children would dine with her.

The following morning James stopped at Lola’s office.  “I missed you and your children at dinner last night.  I hope you weren’t ill.”

“Just a small headache.  Thank you for your concern.”

“Then I hope to see you and your lovely children at supper tonight.”  He turned and left.

Lola continued her work with a bemused smile on her face.  After work she walked toward the house, anticipating her time with the children.  Rosa met her at the door and told her that Enrique was in the library and wanted to speak with her.

There was a tray with coffee on his desk.  “Close the door and sit down.”  Enrique poured coffee for them both.  Characteristically, he wasted no time with pleasantries.  “Are you still afraid of Jacoba?”

“Yes, I am.”  The words came out more firmly than she expected. 

“Why?  Surely not because she taught Estela bad words she didn’t even understand.”

“I think I’ve always been afraid of her.  She gets angry whenever you pay attention to me, and when Jacoba’s angry I’m never sure what she’ll do—or when.”

“Jacoba’s father was a Spaniard, and we never
treated her as a servant.  It gave your mother company to have another woman sit with her as they sewed and embroidered in the afternoons.  Even when your sisters became quite accomplished seamstresses, Jacoba made herself useful in many ways.”  Enrique paused and Lola thought he was thinking of a happier time.  She did not interrupt.

Enrique looked at Lola and opened his mouth to speak, but instead lifted his cup and drained the last of his coffee.  “I make no apologies.  I thought Jacoba was carrying my child when I married her.  I wanted a son.”  His face changed to the icy cold anger that Lola had seen strike grown men dumb with fear.  He pushed back his chair and paced around the room.  “I want you to know that Jacoba understands she’s only safe as long as she pleases me.  You have no reason to fear her.  She is nothing.”  He turned and faced Lola.  “That’s all I had to say.” 

“I appreciate your confidence.”  It was a clear dismissal, but it left Lola more puzzled than before.  The story he told didn’t explain anything, except, perhaps, why he had married Jacoba.  Lola rose to leave.

“Wait, there was one more thing.”  Lola returned to her seat.  “Señor
Atkins
thinks very highly of you.”

“Thank you.”  Another puzzling statement.

“Do you like him?”

“He’s pleasant enough.  I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Perhaps...”  Enrique seemed to think better of saying more.  “Thank you, Lola.  I’m sure your children are waiting for you.”

Lola kept going over the curious conversation with her father.  “She is nothing,” she repeated to herself.  What did he mean?  That she means nothing to him anymore?  That she never meant anything to him?  That she was useless since she could not bear him a son?  Lola smiled to think of Jacoba as a barren sow that would become bacon, ham, and pork chops. When the children settled down for their afternoon nap, she put on her hat and started walking toward the Cholo village.  One person on this plantation was sure to have the answers. 

To Lola’s disappointment, Juan was not expected home for the noon meal.  She had a glass of lemonade with Juan’s wife and left word that she wanted to speak to him at his convenience.  She walked back to the house, where she was greeted by Rosa looking flushed with her hair escaping her usually neat bun and falling into her eyes.

“What’s the matter, Rosa?”

“Señora Jacoba’s gone mad!” Rosa whispered.  “She’s determined that there won’t be one thing for your sisters to criticize when they come tomorrow—if it kills us all.” 

Lola
was relieved
that Rosa did not mean Jacoba had literally gone mad.   “I’ll go and see about helping upstairs
.
”
Rosa hurried off in the direction of Jacoba’s voice.
  Lola understood Jacoba’s anxiety.  She
told herself that she had no need to be nervous about the dinner, but her memories of the time she had spent with Victoria were too strong for comfort.  She was going to be judged; she knew it.  She worried that her father would upset the older sisters by giving her too big a role on the project; she worried that her children wouldn’t behave well enough to suit them; she worried that she’d say something unladylike.  Now she had a new worry—why had her father asked if she liked James?  She shelved that one to worry about later.

Lola
’s
heart lifted when she came down the stairs that evening and saw her father talking with James.  Enrique looked every inch the proud aristocrat—right down to his highly polished shoes.  The rest of the evening, however, proved to be as difficult as Lola had imagined. 

Enrique introduced James as a brilliant engineer that had worked on the much-anticipated Panama Canal.  It wasn’t until dessert that he brought up the topic of a private rail line.  Victoria pursed her lips and dismissed the idea immediately as totally impractical.  Lola covered her mouth with her napkin to keep from laughing as Amelia immediately contradicted her sister.  Ernestina got a frightened-rabbit expression on her face as she looked at her two older sisters.

Enrique gave his eldest daughter a cold stare, plainly holding his temper in check.  Lola
held her breath
when James
stepped between father and daughter
.  “Your father’s right; a rail line will make it possible for you to expand your markets, and your land will be more profitable.  We’ve worked up the costs and—
”
Victoria held up her hand and stopped him in mid-sentence.

“Please, spare us.  I retract my remark.  However, I don’t think that numbers and profit are suitable topics to discuss at the table.  You may talk numbers when the ladies have withdrawn to the sitting room.”

James closed his mouth, and Lola saw his cheeks color at what could only be seen as a reproof of his behavior.

“Perhaps we could have coffee in the sitting room?” suggested Lola catching Rosa’s eye.  Rosa nodded and placed a bottle of brandy in front of Enrique.  To Lola’s relief, Jacoba rose and the sisters had no choice but to do likewise.

To Lola’s chagrin, once the coffee was served Victoria refused to talk about anything beyond her new pianoforte and her offspring’s amazing talent and ability.  Lola tried in vain to introduce the subject of the rail line.  Ernestina’s hand moved in her lap and Lola realized she was holding her rosary, unsuccessfully hidden beneath a lace handkerchief.  Amelia was fighting to stay awake.  Lola nearly
groaned
when
Jacoba entered into the conversation with enthusiasm.  Lola picked up her coffee, preparing to move to a chair nearer Amelia, when Jacoba’s words caught her attention.

“You can have all the latest fashions as soon as they hit the capital.  Enrique says we’ll have a small passenger car that can be pulled along with the freight car any time we want to spend time in the city or even Lima.  We can park it off on a spur and spend the night.  Think of the cultural advantages of living near a city without being exposed to the seamier side of city life.”  Victoria smiled and nodded.  Jacoba leaned toward Victoria and continued speaking in a low voice.  Lola couldn’t understand the words, but she saw Victoria’s smile widen as she nodded again.  Strange, Victoria never wasted a smile on Jacoba before.  She looked to see if Amelia had heard the conversation, but Amelia was losing her battle with sleep.

“Amelia, dear,” Lola said, remembering her duty, “we haven’t heard anything about your lovely children this evening.”