Renaldo (80 page)

JAMES McCREATH

“That bastard Rodrigues!” thundered Gordero upon listening to a cassette

tape of the conversation. “Alright, we have to act quickly, Wolfie. Get Señora Paz

in here right now. Rodrigues takes his noon meal on the stroke of twelve every

day. At twelve fifteen, Señora Paz will make her call. Can you get Florencia out

of Buenos Aires sooner than planned? Your meeting with Lydia in Pergamino

is on the thirteenth. Wolfie, you must find her right away and convince her that

the capital is a terrible place to be right now. That you need some time away

from the football madness, and that you both should take a few extra days and

leave for the country sooner, like tonight! Do you have your presentation for

Señora Lydia prepared so that you can leave?”

Gordero knew the answer to his last question before it left his lips. The

ever-efficient German had been ready for weeks!

“Of course, Astor, everything is in order,” Stoltz sounded hurt by the

slight.

“Come now, Wolfie, I was just teasing. I knew you would have things set

up perfectly, just like you always do!” The sparkle returned to the German’s

eyes.

At twelve fifteen p.m., Señora Carla Paz, the office manager of A. R..

Gordero and Sons placed her call to Anthony Rodrigues of the Banco Rio de

la Plata. As Astor Gordero knew would be the case, Rodrigues was out of the

Banco on his midday break.

“This is Florencia De Seta speaking. Could you kindly inform Señor

Rodrigues that I returned his call, and that I am leaving Buenos Aires within

the hour. Until this World Cup nonsense is concluded and I return to the

capital, Astor Gordero is attending to all my business and personal matters.

Señor Rodrigues should contact him exclusively concerning my affairs during

my absence. Thank you very much, good day.”

Señora Lydia De Seta could feel her blood turn ice-cold the moment

Wolfgang Stoltz opened his mouth. Her right hand, which she had extended in

greeting to her male visitor, was withdrawn after the faintest of touches. The

lawyer from Buenos Aires sensed that he was in trouble from that moment.

The matriarch of the De Seta family sat in stony silence as Herr Stoltz

gave a precise but lengthy speech on the merits of A.R. Gordero and Sons. This

included a strong case for consolidating the family investment portfolio and

asset supervision under one advisor. Any attempt at humor by the visitor was

met with a dour stare from the hostess.

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RENALDO

Even Florencia felt ill at ease with Lydia’s demeanor. She tried to get

the old lady to loosen up a bit by talking of her grandson’s future security.

In particular, the younger woman stressed the fact that Renaldo had already

signed a management agreement with Stoltz’s firm. When the presentation was

finally finished, the elder Señora De Seta spoke for the first time.

“It is not my intention to be rude, Herr Stoltz, for you personally had no

idea what you were getting into by coming to see me today. I do not blame

you for that, but I must say that if Florencia had given me the name of the

gentleman that she was bringing to Pergamino . . . well, I think we could have

avoided this meeting and the uneasiness that it has caused me.” Lydia paused

for a moment, locking eyes with the stunned lawyer.

“My sincere apologies, Señora. What on earth have I done to offend you?”

Stoltz stammered.

“I suppose an old lady should be able to forgive and forget, but I find

myself unable to be that charitable. Herr Stoltz, did you take up arms against

the United Kingdom in the last Great War?” Again Lydia’s eyes bore down on

the squirming guest.

“Yes, Madame, I must confess that I was a sailor in the German Navy.

I was very young, still a teenager. The captain of my ship sought refuge in

the port of Buenos Aires just before the end of the conflict. I have been in

this country ever since. I obtained my Argentine citizenship in 1965. Is it my

German background that is giving you discomfort, Señora De Seta?”

Again Lydia let the question linger in the frigid atmosphere of her parlor

before responding.

“Yes, Herr Stoltz, that is precisely what is giving me discomfort. I lost a

brother and a sister in the first war to your savage, imperialistic ambassadors

of death. Another brother was gassed into a wheelchair to live a half-man’s

life. Two more of my brothers would perish as a result of your beloved Führer’s

unappeased bloodlust in the second Great War. Need I say anything further,

Herr Stoltz?”

The old lady had to grasp the arms of her century chair, she was shaking

so violently. Her voice was hollow and uninviting, and Florencia could not

believe that this was the same person that she had known and respected for

twenty-five years. Lydia fought hard to calm herself, then stood abruptly and

continued to address a shocked Wolfgang Stoltz.

“Your accent alone is enough to make me want to vomit. I know that is

not very ladylike at all, but I must be brutally frank with you both. I could

never consider placing one peso of the family fortune under your care, Señor,

for I would not be able to sleep at night with the thought of having a Hun

overseeing my family’s business affairs. Now, if you will excuse me, I must take

my leave, for I feel that I am about to be ill. I am sorry, Florencia, but there is

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JAMES McCREATH

nothing more you can do here. I would ask you to take your friend and depart

right away. Good day to you both.” She was gone without a backwards glance.

The two lovers sat in a silent daze for several moments. Florencia had

never heard her mother-in-law talk to anyone in that manner before. The lady

never raised her voice, not even when trying to calm her robust grandsons.

She glanced over at Wolfgang. The German looked crushed. Florencia swiftly

moved to his side and grasped his hand.

“Don’t worry, Wolfie, I will talk to her alone. I know I can convince her to

change her mind. I had no idea that she harbored such strong feelings about the

German issue. She must be ill, for I have never seen here act like that before.”

“She was not ill, Florencia, and there will be no changing her mind,” Stoltz

replied, disbelief still ringing in his voice. “I thought foolishly that I would never

have to confront that anti-Nazi prejudice again, but I was obviously wrong. I

cannot undo what has been done, and I cannot make myself something I am

not! No, it would be futile to try and convince Señora De Seta to reconsider my

proposal. The lady’s mind is made up! It is over! Kaput! Now let us be gone

from this wretched place at once!”

“Hey, man, you are almost beautiful again. That swollen beak of yours

looks pretty good today. Maybe a touch of makeup would help for those

television close-ups after you score the winning goal tonight.” An upbeat

Ramon Vida had caught Renaldo De Seta inspecting his battered nose in the

mirror as he burst into his friend’s room at the National Team training center

and headquarters in Rosario.

“I don’t know, Ramon. It still is very swollen. I think I will let you score

the winning goal tonight so that I don’t offend anybody with my ugly looks. I

will wait for the championship game to score again. By then, I should be back

to my gorgeous self,” Renaldo smiled as he gently patted his nose.

The two players then departed for their last practice session before the

opening game of the second round. Poland was that evening’s opponent, and

Octavio Suarez had made sure that every player knew exactly what kind of

lion-hearted men they were to face.

The manager had projected a film of the Poles 1-0 loss to West Germany

in the 1974 World Cup semi-finals during the morning team meeting. Against

huge odds on a leadened, drenched pitch, the men from behind the iron curtain

had shown the world the meaning of true grit that day. Tonight, with two wins

and a tie already to their credit in the 198 tournament, the red-and-white-clad

visitors would be no less formidable adversaries.

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RENALDO

The Argentine National Team seemed to make the adjustment to their

new surroundings and their new lineup with relative ease. Leaving Buenos Aires

and the memory of the Italian fiasco behind them had given the players and

management a chance to clear their heads of the past. While the future looked

daunting enough with the likes of Poland, Brazil, and Peru as opponents, the

six new Argentine starters for the Polish contest seemed to bring an easygoing

sense of confidence to the practice field.

Calix, De Seta, Anariba, Velasquez, Vida, and Castro would all be on the

pitch for the kickoff against the Poles, just as Suarez had promised.

So would Juan Chacon, who had held his tongue and his temper after the

unceremonious dressing down he had received.

The other Independiente players were not pleased with the starting roster,

particularly Miguel Cruz, but they kept silent about their feelings in public.

For once, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that control of this team was

back in the hands of Octavio Suarez.

The effects of the personal affront that Lydia De Seta had leveled on

Wolfgang Stoltz were still evident when the German came face-to-face with

his employer in Rosario the following afternoon. Stoltz had driven his two-

seat Mercedes 350 SL at breakneck speed back to the capital immediately

following his dismissal from Buenos Recuerdos. Originally, he had planned to

take Florencia to a luxurious cottage on the Paraná River that was close enough

to Rosario to allow him to attend the football games and do some business.

It would have been perfect, for the location was far enough away from the

continuous silliness of the World Cup that Florencia detested so.

But she would have no part of a romantic liaison after the visit with her

mother-in-law. Florencia had never witnessed the always self-assured Stoltz in

such foul humor, and the more he rambled on about his inability to change his

past, the angrier she became with Lydia De Seta.

It is time to put the old witch in her place,
Florencia thought to herself. She

had told Stoltz that she wanted to return to Buenos Aires to compile all the

trust and corporate documents that pertained to the De Seta family fortune.

She would turn these documents over to A.R. Gordero and Sons, who would

then assist her in wrestling control of the financial throne of the empire from

the old lady in Pergamino. That was the only good piece of news that the

humiliated lawyer had for Astor Gordero.

“Why that shriveled up old bitch! How dare she insult you in such a

manner! Those English are made of stone, they have no feelings at all. Such

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