Chapter 19 - THE OCTOBER DINNER
On October 18, Teresa invited the family to the mansion.
Not every relative came.
Rafael did.
Tomas came with his children.
Lucy arrived from the clinic wearing scrubs.
Arthur brought bread from Manuel’s favorite bakery.
Teresa prepared mole with white rice.
She did not cook alone.
Everyone worked.
Rafael chopped onions.
Tomas burned the first batch of sesame seeds.
Lucy laughed until she cried.
They carried the food into the dining room.
The old white tablecloth had been replaced.
Three drops of red wine had ended Teresa’s employment there.
Tonight, she poured the wine herself.
No one watched her hands.
A framed photograph of Isabel and Manuel stood near the center of the table.
Teresa lifted her glass.
“To the people whose names were removed.”
Lucy raised hers.
“And to the people who put them back.”
They ate.
They spoke honestly about Manuel.
He had been kind to Teresa.
He had also failed Isabel.
He restored her inheritance.
He could not restore the years.
The family did not turn him into a saint because he died.
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They allowed him to remain human.
That was a more difficult form of love.
