AS THE TORTILLA BURNS – Chapter Seven

 

  Amanda was coming for the weekend and I was looking forward to her visit.  Someone to talk to you, go out to dinner and laugh with.  She was arriving in Chula Vista, at the trolley station we had finally agreed on, close to the border.  I could check the mail for my books before I picked her up.  Leaving early on Saturday morning, I didn’t want to be late, you could never tell how long you would have to wait to get over the border.  Arriving a few minutes early, I sat in the car waiting for her trolley to arrive.  Right on time 1:15pm, there she was my best friend of 30 years.

Amanda and I had been through everything together, we had met long ago.  The first time we saw each other, I had been out riding one of my horses through the apple orchard, she had driven up the drive to the ranch in a Porsche, with her boyfriend Gary. I had been riding Diallo, my Dad’s Appaloosa Stallion that day, he was a little a frisky, doing his side stepping show.   We pranced up to their car, I got down off my horse, long red hair all in tangles, I had twigs and leaves from the trees in my hair, I looked a mess. She has always said, She could never forget that day when she saw us.  Us, meaning me and  Diallo, she had seen us out in the orchard, galloping through the trees.  She had never been on ranch before, had never ridden a horse, she was amazed as me.   We had absolutely nothing in common, she was from Los Angeles and 6 years older than me.  I thought she was the most amazing women, she was an airline stewardess.  I guess I kind of hounded her for our friendship, like a younger sister, she was always trying to get rid of me.

I got out of the truck to greet her and giving her a big hug and kiss, I loaded her bags and off to Mexico we drove.  The drive only took 40 minutes, we chatted all the way.  It felt so great to be around someone that knew you so well, no hiding, no reason to hold back information, we were best friends, from the first time we met.

Arriving at my Casita by the Sea, Amanda was impressed by my new surroundings, comfortable and colorful just like all my other houses where I had lived.  I had  brought a few treasures from Tahoe, Amanda immediately recognized them from my world travels.  We settled in,  I showed her to the spare room.  We decided to go out for a walk, along the cliffs to watch the waves, we took pictures of ourselves.  Enjoying a glass of wine as we sat on the edge of the cliffs to watch the waves roll in, the beauty that surrounded us was overwhelming.  Once we sat down our conversation didn’t end until she left on the following Tuesday.

I wanted to take Amanda to this great little restaurant, La Fonda’s for dinner. The restaurant sits on a cliff overlooking the waves below, it was one of the best spots to watch the sunset.   We headed down the coast highway for Margarita’s, Dinner and the Sunset, it was a perfect evening.  We laughed so hard tears were rolling down our faces.  We could talk about everything, the past was a big part of what we needed to share now.  We both had different memories of what had happened and a different perceptive on the things we shared that night.

Early the next morning we decided to take a drive down the coast to Ensenada. I knew a great spot to stop, the view was spectacular it was called el Miradore.  It was once a rest stop with shops and restaurant and shops, now it was deserted.  The buildings were painted in blues, purple, yellows and orange, it made a great back drop for photos.  We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day, perfectly clear with no wind and it was warm.  As we stood gazing out over the Blue Pacific, we started to talk about Leo.  He seemed to be with us on that trip.  I was running around taking pictures, of Amanda and the beautiful vista from the perch.  I was moving down the stairs so that I could get more of the buildings into my shot, when Amanda called out “Oh my God, Claire, look over there, it’s Leo’s name on the rock, It’s written on the rock”.  I couldn’t believe it!  I had been to this spot before and stood right where I was and had never seen it.  It was an omen, we decided.  Seeing that rock, left me feeling shaky for the rest of the day.  We continued down the highway visiting a few tourist spots, having lunch and stopping at the fish market for shrimp before heading home.

Once we were home Amanda asked to read the letter that Leo had written and I agreed to let her see it.  After reading the letter that I had written back to him, Amanda began to cry and couldn’t stop.  It was so sad to think about all those years that had gone by and him now in prison.  We talked a lot about what I was going to do, would I be his friend and be there for him.   Amanda gently reminded me to not get into deep, but his name on a rock was an omen, he was back in my life, but for how long.

I took Amanda back to the trolley on Tuesday, we had a wonderful visit and she promised to come back soon.  I told her I would try and get up to Long Beach one of these days, but it was hard because I had the dogs and I couldn’t leave them for very long.  After I dropped her, I went to the post office to check for books or maybe a letter from Leo.  The box was empty and I headed home.  Wednesday was my day for class, I decided to go to bed early so that I would be rested, I was exhausted from the past couple of days.

Leaving again the next morning to head to class, I stopped by the Post Office again, one of my books arrived, it was just what I needed. It was the book “Memoirs of a Militia Sergeant” by Manuel Antonio de Almeida,  No letter, oh well I thought, Leo probably didn’t like what I had to say, that’s it.  I longed to get my class over so I could go home and rest.  The next day I really couldn’t do much of anything, feeling a little depressed from all the excitement, it seemed as though I was reaching a dead end again with Diego.

Friday morning I woke in good spirits, looking forward to a day of writing.  It came in spurts and this was one of those days, I wrote for hours.  The words just flowed.  I would usually start around 10am and continue until 5pm.  I liked the schedule I had set for myself.

It was a evening in March, Manuel was out with some of his friends and had run into Roger, at Rene’s Bar.  He made small talk with Roger, who was a football nut and the game was on TV.  Manuel finally got around to asking Roger, “So have you heard from Claire, how is she anyway”, Roger said, “She moved down to Mexico, she came down in January”.  Manuel asked “Do you know where she lives”, “Ya, She’s in Castillo Del Mar, she doesn’t leave the house much she is writing a book”, Roger replied.   Manuel asked “I’d like to go by and see her, do you know the number of her house”.  Roger said, “It’s a gated community I don’t think you can get in, but it’s number 43 or 47, I think.  I haven’t been by in while, maybe you should go check on her”.  “Just check at the gate, tell them you’re a friend”.  Manuel said ‘Thanks, I will” and left the bar.

By five, I was tired, stopping to make dinner, I had planned to go to bed early.  After dinner I would take the dogs for a walk, maybe read for awhile and then sleep.  I took the dogs out after dark, we walked for a while and then headed for home.  As I came closer to my house, I could see a man standing there.  As I approached him, he said “Do you remember me”? It was Manuel, I almost fainted, I said “Yes, of course I do, would you like to come in?”  I was shaking so hard I didn’t want him to see, how much he had affected me.

He had found me, “Oh my God” I thought to myself, “He has found me”.  He had brought me some poems that he wanted to share, as we sat at my table in the dining room we talked for hours.  We talked about everything as if we had been friends all of our lives.  It was very intense and the attraction was unbelievable, magnetic, there was electricity in the air.  I already knew in my heart that he was married, he didn’t have to tell me, I knew.  I also knew that I would never be able to have an affair with him it would go against all that I knew.  We talked about it, he looked me in the eyes and said “We are one” and I replied “ Yes I know”.  He had written four questions on a piece of paper, for me to answer in regards to a possible romance, quickly I answered ”No” to each one and instantly he knew. That’s when we started a friendship.

~ by clairedelores on May 15, 2008.