Chapter 39
Esmerita’s commblock buzzed and a photo of her friend appeared on the screen with the name “Carmen San Francisco” under it. She clicked ‘Contestar‘ and answered “Carmen?” as the image of her friend came into focus.
“Yes, isn’t that what your block told you,?” the woman on the other end answered. “Hey, it’s starting to rain. Can you let me in the building?”
“Are you sure no one is following you?”, Esmerita asked.
“Good Lord, Rita, I took the route you asked, and even switched pods on the way,” Carmen said with an exasperated voice. “You’re dealing with your husband’s family, not a crime syndicate. They don’t want to kidnap you as well. They want you to return to Quito, begging for forgiveness that you left in the first place.”
Esmerita’s arm dropped, and the commblock she was holding was now pointed at the ground.
“I’m sorry, Chita,” Carmen said in a tamer voice. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now. I’m tired and cold, and I just want to come in and give you a hug so we can both talk face-to-face and figure out next steps.”
The mother of the two missing children brought the commblock screen back to her face. “I’m sorry, as well, Carmen. I’m a mess. I’ll be right down.”
A few minutes later, the apartment building elevator opened into the lobby, and Esmerita got out and jogged over to the entry door. She looked around to see if anyone was near her friend, then tapped her block to open the outside door. Once inside the first door, Esmerita looked into the security screen on the inside of the lobby, saying “Entrada permitida”.
Carmen walked in, an overnight back slung on her back, her shoulders hunched, shivering slightly.
Esmerita ran up to give her a hug. “Thank you for coming here, Carmen. And thank you for putting up with my demands.”
Carmen relaxed slightly and returned the hug. “Can we go up to your apartment?” she asked.
“Of course!” Esmerita said. “Here, let me take your sack.”
“No, it’s keeping me warm,” Carmen said as she walked to the elevator.
Esmerita pushed the button and the door opened. Both women got in, and Esmerita pushed the floor for her apartment. “Did Paulo find out anything new since this morning,” she asked her friend.
“No,” Carmen answered. “But he is waiting to hear back from the rental agency to find out where the pod stopped. He got approval from the Missing Person’s Bureau for the official request. ProntoPod has six more hours left before the required response time, and Paulo said they are notorious for using all the time they have, since they don’t want to cooperate with National Police inquiries.”
The elevator opened and the two friends walked to an apartment door. Esmerita looked in the camera and put her fingers on the access panel. The lock clicked, and she opened the door.
Before the door was fully open, Dolores was rushing the entrance. “Aunt Carmen!” the girl said, jumping up to give the woman a hug.
Carmen smiled for the first time since arriving at the building. “Mariposa!” she said, returning the hug in full force. “You’re growing like a weed, not like a flower, little girl!”
Dolores giggled. “Mami says I might be taller than Manuela some day.”
“And smarter, and prettier, and a faster runner too,” Carmen said. “At least that’s what you told me last time as well.”
“OK, Dolores, let Carmen come in,” her mother said.
The three stepped inside the apartment, and Esmerita closed the door.
Another woman approached the trio.
“Carmen, this is Alexandra Ulloa,” Esmerita said. “Alexandra, this is Carmen San Francisco de Lecaro.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you, Ms. Ulloa,” Carmen said, extending a hand in greeting. “And thank you for taking care of my friend here in Guayaquil.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you as well, Ms. San Francisco,” Alexandra said. “And please, call me Alexandra. From the way Esmerita talks about you, she is very lucky to have you as a friend.”
“That’s enough, you two,” Esmerita said. “Carmen – you can have the second bedroom. Dolores is sleeping with me right now, so you can have that room to yourself.”
“Are you sure?” the friend said, looking at both of the women.
“Oh, I’ll be returning to my place now,” Alexandra said. “I was here to keep Esmerita company and keep an eye on Dolores in case anything came up. But now that you’re here, I’ll be on my way.”
“You don’t need to go,” Esmerita said.
“It will be a busy day tomorrow, dear,” the older woman said. “I’ll need a good night’s rest in my own bed.”
And with that, the retired botanist went to get her coat and purse. “I wrote to Lucia just now and told her the current status. She is very concerned for Manuela and Rafael and is willing to delay the transaction from tomorrow until Friday. She also said she is wanting to help in any way she can. I’m not sure what connection you made, Esmerita, but I’ve never heard this caring side of her come out.”
“Anyone can be compassionate at some point,” Esmerita said, helping the older woman get her arm in the coat sleeve. “Please let her know I very much appreciate the extension and will stay in touch through you.” She gave the woman a big hug. “And thank you very much again, Alexandra. You make me feel like my mother is here with me.”
“Don’t say that, Rita,” Alexandra said, with a quick sniffle. “You’ll get us both crying again.”
Esmerita walked her to the door. “I hope you rest well tonight.”
“Thank you, dear. And you as well,” Alexandra replied.
Esmerita closed the door, turned around and gave a big sigh, her shoulders and chest rising and falling with her breathing.
“She seems like a lovely woman,” Carmen said.
“She is, but it’s not like having a true friend here,” Esmerita said . “Thank you for coming. Dolores, show Aunt Carmen to your room, get a clean pair of pajamas and then you’re going to bed.”
“But, Mama, I want to talk with you and Aunt Carmen!” the young girl argued.
“We’ll have time to talk tomorrow, Mariposa,” Carmen said. “You know your Mama and I have a lot of catching up to do. Show me to my room, will you?”
After Carmen put on some warmer clothes, and Dolores was tucked into bed, the two college friends were sitting next to the patio sharing a bottle of red wine.
“So let’s make sure I didn’t miss anything,” Carmen said to her friend. “You called Gabriel Monday night after you got back to the apartment, but he didn’t answer. I thought you didn’t call him often?”
“I don’t,” Esmerita confirmed. “In fact, I only called him twice since we left. Once on the second day after we left when he begged me to call him and explain face-to-face why we left, and then again on Rafi’s birthday when he said he had a gift and just wanted to know how to get it to us.”
“And he said he didn’t have his block next to him when you called?” Carmen asked.
“Yes, and when he did see that I called, he didn’t check the message since he was upset with me,” Esmerita said.
“So he listens to your message the next morning and then calls you,” Carmen continued.
“He swore he called me as soon as he listened to the message,” Esmerita said. “And he swore he knew nothing about his uncle or cousin taking the children.”
“But why then didn’t he call Tio Paco right away to find out what was going on before calling you back?” her friend asked.
“Because he said he wasn’t clear on everything based on the message I left,” Esmerita said.
“He didn’t believe you,” Carmen said. “If he did believe you and if he didn’t have anything to do with their disappearance, he would have called his family first to find out where they took the kids.”
“You are right about him not believing me,” the mother of the missing children said. “He trusts less and less of what I say every year. At least Humberto was truthful and confessed to knowing about the plan to take the children. I still can’t believe he would stoop that low.”
“And how many times did you and Gabriel talk yesterday?” Carmen asked.
“Three times including when he first called me,” Esmerita said. “And then earlier today when he said he was leaving his house to find the children.”
“And you believe him?” Carmen questioned.
“I don’t know,” Esmerita said with a sigh. “He sounded sincere and very concerned for Manuela and Rafi. And very upset at his family. But who knows if he actually followed through.”
“And you haven’t heard from him since then?” Carmen asked her friend.
“No,” she replied. “Which makes me all the more suspicious that he’s actually doing anything. I mean, we’ve been gone for five months! Why make a big effort now when he wasn’t that serious before.”
“Forget him, Rita,” Carmen said. “You’ve got me, Miss Alexandra, and Paulo on your side. And he has three-dozen national and local police actively on the case.”
“I’m sorry I pulled you both into this, Carm,” Esmerita said. “I panicked two nights back when they were missing. I should have called the local police first.”
“Nonsense!” her friend said emphatically. “I told you that Paulo knows one of the captains here in Guayaquil. They became close when they were together in Quevedo right after the academy. Julio says it was Paulo’s write-up of one of the cases they solved together that made Julio look really good to the superiors, who moved him to Guayaquil, where he ended up switching to the local police. Anyway, Julio says he owes Paulo and is happy to help him in any way he can. So when you called us, Paulo was able to get Julio involved a lot more quickly than if you had called the local station.”
“But they haven’t located them yet,” Esmerita said, looking at the wine in her glass.
“Like I said earlier, they are making progress, Dear,” Carmen said. “Julio was able to get the building surveillance video when we couldn’t. Paulo was able to use the National Police system to remove the transpod identification number blocking on the video that Julio couldn’t get past. And one of Paulo’s colleagues was able to get the subpoena from the judge the same day, when Paulo couldn’t even get a judge to return his call. I know it seems slow, but it’s progress. Manuela and Rafi will be back with you very soon, I’m sure.”
“I’m feeling desperate, Carmen,” Esmerita said. “I even gave the transpod ID number to Alexandra in case she knew anyone who could trace it. And I’m tired of staying here. I should be out there looking for them.”
“We’ve gone over this, Rita,” Carmen said. “Where would you go? Just start walking up and down streets, knocking on doors and asking the occupants if anyone named Manuela or Rafael is there? You need to stay here in case anyone from Gabriel’s family returns. And Dolores needs you now more than ever.”
The mother of three, with two currently missing, said nothing in reply, continuing to look down
“Take another sip of your wine, Chita, and then go climb in bed and get some rest,” Carmen said, taking her friend’s chin in her hand and lifting her head up. “I’m convinced tomorrow will be a big day and you need to sleep before then to be in the best shape for your children. And while you’re sleeping, I’ll be your housecleaning genie and take care of all the dishes and laundry and anything else I can see.”
“Alexandra did most of that already,” Esmerita said with a small smile.
“Then I’ll check to make sure she did a good job,” Carmen said.
And with that, Esmerita took one more drink from her glass, handed it to her friend, gave her a kiss on the cheek, said “Thank you” and went to her bedroom.
The next morning, Carmen came out of the bedroom she was using at 6:00 am, and found Esmerita at the kitchen table, tapping away on her commblock.
“Good morning, Carmen” she said in a tone similar to the one she had used when making the seed purchase deal.
“Good morning, Rita,” Carmen replied. “How long have you been up?”
“Since 4:00 am,”
“Oh, Dear, you should be resting.” Carmen said.
“I don’t feel like resting,” Esmerita said. “I’m going to do something today.”
Carmen sat in the chair next to her friend, and pulled the commblock from her flying fingers. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to Quito,” Esmerita said, grabbing the commblock back. “I’ve already ordered a transpod. It should be here in about fifteen minutes. I’m glad you got up so I didn’t have to wake you. I need you to stay with Dolores.”
“No, no, no, Rita, this is not a good idea!” Carmen said.
“My mind is made up,” Esmerita said. “It doesn’t matter what you say. I’ve decided.”
“I can tell by the way you are talking that I can’t stop you,” Carmen said. “But I can say this won’t help either Manuela or Rafi and it certainly won’t help Dolores.”
“I’m going to confront the Alba family,” Esmerita said. “I’ve learned a few things about them since I took Gabriel’s name that I’m sure they don’t want others to know. If they’re going to use kidnapping, then I’ll use extortion. No matter what, my children will be returned to me – safely – or they will have hell to pay.”
“This is not going to end the way you hope, Esmerita,” Carmen said. “It never does. But do what you want! I’ll watch Dolores and when you don’t come back, I’ll make sure she has a safe life living with Paulo and I.”
“Stop it, Carmen! I’m not in a joking mood!” Esmerita said, her voice raising.
“And neither am I,” Carmen replied sharply. “Yes, they kidnapped your children to get to you. If you go to them, who’s to say they won’t just get rid of you to be done with their ‘problem’. There are many crazy people out there, Rita. I’ve learned that from the stories Paulo shares. And it’s typically their friends and family members that the crazy people harm.”
“I’ll be back this evening, Carmen,” Esmerita said, getting up to collect her coat and purse.
“Let Paulo meet you there,” Carmen said.
“No, I’m doing this on my own. I know how the Alba’s work.”
“What about the deal?”
“I just wrote Alexandra to tell Lucia that the deal will have to wait until I have the children back.”
“I thought you said you’d lose all that money if you didn’t follow through today,” Carmen said.
“Lucia is giving me until tomorrow, but I don’t care how long she gives me. I don’t care about the money. I’m getting my kids back,” Esmerita said.
She walked over to give her friend a hug. “Thank you, Carm. You said yourself today will be a big day. I feel the same way. Just tell Dolores I’m out and I’ll be back before she goes to bed tonight. Please don’t tell her where I’m going.”
“I won’t,” Carmen said quietly. “Just be careful, Chita. She needs you to come back. I need you to come back as well.”
“I will,” Esmerita said. And with that, she walked out of the apartment and took the elevator to the lobby.
The rain had stopped and the sky was clear, so she went outside the building to wait for her transpod, which was still five minutes from arriving, according to the app on her commblock.
Two minutes later, a transpod approached the building entrance and slowed down. Esmerita looked at her app, which said her transpod was still in transit.
The door of the pod opens and a girl emerges. Esmerita gasps as the girl runs over to give her a hug.
“Manuela!” Esmerita said in an astonished voice. “Where did you come from?”
Before she could answer, a man stepped out of the pod.
“Gabriel?” Esmerita said in a confused whisper.
Gabriel held his arm inside the pod and grabbed the hand of their son, helping Rafael out of the car, his other hand bandaged with a healing glove.
“Rafi!” Esmerita exclaimed, and with one hand still holding onto Manuela, dragged her older daughter as she ran to scoop up her son with the other arm. “Rafi! How are you!”
“I’m fine, Mami,” the boy said. “Look! They wrapped my hand where it got cut! I asked the doctor if I’d have a scar, and he said probably not since this is supposed to make the skin come back together. Can I take it off? I really want a scar.”
“No, you may not, young man,” Esmerita said, starting to cry and laugh at the same time. “You can get a scar some other time.” Then the mother hugged Manuela again, breathing heavily.
“Why are you crying, Mami?” Rafael asked. “I thought you’d be happy to see us again?”
“I am happy, mi pequeno dragon,” Esmerita said. “I’m very happy.”
“But,” the boy started.
“Be quiet, Rafi,” his older sister said, but before she could continue, Esmerita gave her an extra squeeze to cut off any other words.
Esmerita then looked up at her estranged husband. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m returning the children to you, Esmerita,” Gabriel said. “I’m sorry for what my family did to you, to Manuela, to Rafi and to Dolores. Is she here?”
Esmerita paused before answering. Her commblock beeped, and a transpod pulled up. The other three turned to look at the newly arrived pod. Esmerita tapped the screen on her block, sending the pod back to the agency.
She turned to Gabriel. “How long have you had them?”
“I found them last night, about ten hours ago,” Gabriel said.
Esmerita looked at her older daughter, who nodded in acknowledgement to what her father had said.
“Where?,” Esmerita asked.
“In Santo Domingo,” Gabriel said. “As soon as we talked on Tuesday, and Father admitted to knowing the children had been taken, I started going all over Quito, to all of the places I thought Paco or Sebastian would be hiding. I talked to all of Sebastian’s friends that I knew. And even questioned Father’s drinking buddies. No one had any ideas, and many of them were shocked something like this might happen. So yesterday I called Maria. She hasn’t talked to Sebastian in the five years since their divorce. But that hasn’t made her any less spiteful of him. When I asked her if she had any ideas where he might have taken them, she was only too happy to share her thoughts. She gave me a half-dozen places I hadn’t known about, including two of his old college friends that she said he kept in touch with – one in Machachi and the other in Santo Domingo. The first five I checked out were obviously not where he was hiding, but when I located his friend’s house in Santo Domingo, I actually saw Paco walking down the street. I followed behind him without knowing, and when he went into the house, I rushed behind him and got inside.”
“Papi got in a fight with Cousin Sebastian,” Rafael said.
“You what?” Esmerita asked her husband.
“After I got inside, Paco tried to stop me, but I could push him out of the way,” Gabriel explained. “I called for the kids, Manuela heard me and shouted back. When I got to that room, and opened the door, Sebastian was trying to put his hand over Manuela’s mouth to keep her quiet. I just lost all thought, pulled him away from her and punched him in the face as hard as I could.”
“Papi broke Cousin Sebastian’s nose!” Rafi said with pride.
Esmerita looked at her husband.
“Maybe,” Gabriel shrugged. “It was bleeding. Anyway, I picked up Rafi, took Manuela’s hand and left.”
“Did they do anything to you or Rafi?” the concerned mother said, turning to her daughter.
“Other than grabbing us too hard, no,” Manuela said. “But they didn’t help with Rafi’s hand. They just wrapped some cloth around it until it stopped bleeding.”
“But how did he get his healing glove?” Esmerita asked.
“Papa took us to a clinic in Santo Domingo and had them work in Rafi’s hand,” Manuela explained.
“I know I should say thank you for getting them back,” Esmerita said to Gabriel, “but why didn’t you call me when you got them? I was just about to leave her and go to Quito. That pod that pulled up? That was the one I ordered a little bit ago. Had you arrived five minutes later, I would have been gone. Then what?”
“I didn’t think you’d believe me if I told you,” Gabriel said. “You might have thought I was just telling you something to appease you.”
“I might have,” Esmerita said. “But you could have put Manuela on the call.”
“I wanted to get Rafi’s hand fixed, and then the kids were so tired,” Gabriel tried to explain. “After the visit to the clinic, which took extra time since I was trying to explain how he got hurt and they kept asking questions because none of us live in Santo Domingo, I got them something to eat and let them rest a bit before driving here.”
“Mami, I’m still tired,” Rafi said. “Can I go back to sleep?”
“And I’d really like to take a shower,” Manuela said.
“OK,” Esmerita said. “Manuela, take Rafi upstairs. I’ll be right up.”
The older sister took her brother’s good hand, and they went into the apartment building.
“So this is where you are staying,” Gabriel said. “Is Dolores here? I’d love to see her.”
Esmerita crossed her arms and looked at the morning traffic starting to fill the road. “I’m not ready for that to happen yet. You can’t just show up and expect to be back in our lives. Even if you did get the children back. I mean, it’s been five months, Gabriel. Five months! Why didn’t you try harder to come to find us then?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t have a good reason. I was stupid.”
“So now what?” Esmerita said. “Are you going back to Quito?”
“No, I’m…”
Gabriel’s sentence was interrupted by an incoming call on Esmerita’s commblock.
“Carmen?” Esmerita answered, voice only.
“Is it true?” her friend’s voice said. “Is he down there?”
“Yes,” Esmerita said.
“Why is that bastard even allowed in this town!” Carmen said. “He should turn himself in. Better yet, I’m going to call Julio and have him picked up. He better not even think about coming up here.”
“Carmen,” Esmerita said. “It’s ok. Gabi is leaving.”
“He better before I come down there and kick him in the ass!” her friend continued.
“Carmen, I’ve got to go,” Esmerita said, ending the call.
“You were saying?” she questioned her husband.
“Oh, right,” Gabriel said, looking a bit bemused. “I don’t know exactly, but I’m not going back to Quito.”
The conversation paused for a bit.
“If you’re serious about that, maybe you could join us where we’re going,” Esmerita said.
“Really?” Gabriel said hopefully. “Where is that?”
“I can’t tell you yet,” Esmerita said. “I have to know you’ve cut all ties with your family. There is no way they are getting close to the kids ever again.”
“They won’t as long as I have anything to do with it,” Gabriel said. “I’d like for us to rejoin as a family. I’d really like that at some point. But I need some time to get myself straightened out first.”
Esmerita smiled softly. “Yes, that’s probably a good idea.”
“Can you let me know when you get settled?” he asked.
“Yes,” Esmerita nodded. Then she looked up the side of the apartment building “I need to go check on the kids.”
“Sure,” her husband said. “Go ahead.”
Esmerita unfolded her arms, took a quick step towards her former lover, and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for bringing the children back.”
“You’re welcome,” Gabriel said. “I love them too.”
“I know,” Esmerita said. Then she turned, quickly stepped to the door, and went inside.
Gabriel looked through the glass doors, watching her disappear into the elevator. Then he walked down the street.
When Esmerita entered her apartment, her friend was closing a bedroom door and returning to the main room.
“Where is he?” Carmen asked.
“Gabriel left,” Esmerita said. “I’m not sure where he’s headed, but he’s not staying here.”
“Good,” Carmen said.
“Where are all the kids?” the renewed mother of three asked.
“I just tucked Rafi into bed, Manuela is taking a shower, and Dolores is so happy to have her sister back that she is putting clean linens on Manuela’s bed,” Carmen reported.
Esmerita collapsed onto a chair at the kitchen table and started sobbing.
Carmen quickly came over and gave her friend a deep hug.
“You have them back, Rita,” she comforted. “You did what you said you would do. Let the stress go. They are home and they are safe.”
Esmerita’s sobs increased in intensity and she returned the hug, squeezing incredibly hard at first and then nearly going limp in her friend’s embrace as the sobs subsided.
“I can only truly relax once we are out of Guayaquil, Carm,” Esmerita said. “I’m going to have Alexandra let Lucia know we’re going to conclude the deal today as planned. And then we are leaving town before nightfall. I know you came here to help me. Can you stay with the kids for a few hours mid-day while I handle that?”
“Yes, Rita, I can,” Carmen said. “I think you should rest today, but again, what I say never seems to influence you much. Why is that?”
“Because I can tell deep down that you agree with me no matter what words you say,” Esmerita said, some color and posture returning to her skin and body. “And because you know that I’m a stubborn mule that will break its neck pulling on the rope once I’ve decided to go a certain direction. But before any of that, I’m making huevos con chorizo for when Rafi wakes up.”
Esmerita then called her retired botanist friend, explained the situation, and asked her to set up the final meeting with Lucia. Then, true to her word, she made breakfast for all of them, and spent the morning having the girls tell each other the adventures of the past two and one-half days, while she kept telling them how proud she was of all of them.
Two hours after noon, the transpod Alexandra and Rita were riding in pulled up to the warehouse in Reina Del Quinche they had visited three days earlier. This time they didn’t wait in the pod to time their entrance, but walked to the delivery door and knocked. The door rolled up, revealing Lucia, her bodyguard, two others and a van inside.
“Come in, please,” Lucia said, motioning the two women inside.
Once the door closed, she turned to Esmerita. “So I’m told you have your children back, Carmelita?”
Esmerita nodded. “Yes, they are resting comfortably in my apartment with my best friend watching over them.”
Lucia quickly walked over to Esmerita, and reached out her arms.
Esmerita tensed.
Lucia gave her dealing partner a big hug. “I’m very happy for you,” she said softly, then backed up a few steps.
“Thank you,” a surprised Esmerita said.
“I’m glad Alexandra called me when she did,” Lucia said.
“How do you mean,” Esmerita said.
“I’m a mother myself, but only of one child,” Lucia said. “When I first heard of what had happened, I forgot about our deal and thought how desperate I would feel if that had happened to me. It’s an unfortunate side-effect of my profession that I end up worrying more about the safety of my son more than for myself or my staff.”
“I kept asking Alexandra how I could help, while at the same time trying to track down anyone hearing about a ransom demand or the missing children. Unfortunately there are many unusual and seemingly desperate acts happening lately, so it was a challenge to find any useful details,” Lucia continued. “But when Alexandra passed along the transpod ID number, that was enough to make something happen. It took until last night for my contacts to find Cousin Sebastian. He talks a lot, you know, when given the proper incentive. But I couldn’t just believe he would let the children go as easily as he had, so I asked my contacts who had him to increase the incentive.”
“In what manner,” Esmerita said, her face showing some concern.
“Let’s just say I wanted to ensure he understood how precious children can be,” Lucia responded. “Cousin Sebastian’s right testicle had been removed, as a reminder of how precious children are and how he should be as concerned for your children as he would for his own, if he could still have one with one ball left. Thankfully, word got through that the children had been returned before my colleague moved to the left side.”
Esmerita’s face had a look of anguished shock.
Alexandra, on the other hand, chuckled. “I told you that he would wish he had never come to Guayaquil. Thank you Lucia.”
“Um, I do thank you for your interest, Lucia, but I’m not sure that….,” Esmerita started.
Lucia held up a hand. “Everyone should know the possible outcomes once they start an action in motion, Esmerita.”
The seed buyer got a look of surprise on her face.
“Like I said, Cousin Sebastian likes to talk,” Lucia continued. “He should know one of the outcomes of his stepping into kidnapping is that kidnappers are not looked upon kindly by parents of young children. But he is alive and will recover. Well, all of him minus one culo.”
“Now, let’s finish this deal so you can get back to your children,” Lucia said.
The women walked to the large transvan and performed a visual inspection to confirm all the remaining twenty-eight seed varieties were present. Esmerita scanned the authenticity eseals while Alexandra performed the genomic-transport scan, all of which passed.
Esmerita tapped on her commblock to commit the funds for transfer, and handed the block to Lucia to finish the transaction.
“You have my appreciation for the seeds and for your concern for my children,” Esmerita said, holding out her hand. “Thank you, Lucia.”
“And thank you for your quick payment and trust in my abilities to find you what you need, Esmerita,” the seed seller said, shaking the hand of her trading partner. “I hope our paths can cross again someday.”
“I would be pleased with that as well,” Esmerita said.
Lucia pulled out her own commblock. “I’ll send you the operation code for the transvan security and navigation controls, Alexandra, and you can be on your way. Thank you again for making the connection between Esmerita and I.” She then shook Alexandra’s hand and retreated to the office door on the side of the garage, with her bodyguards in tow.
“I have one more favor to ask of you, Ms. Alexandra, and I promise we will be out of your hair,” Esmerita said after the door closed behind Lucia. “If you could take the van to this location,” she said as she sent an address to Alexandra’s block, “I’ll return to our apartment, collect the children, and we’ll meet you there in four hours. Then we’ll be leaving Guayaquil forever.”
“You’ll be able to get everything in the apartment packed in four hours?” Alexandra asked. “I’m happy to help you with that as well.”
“Thank you, but we’ll be traveling very lightly,” Esmerita explained. “I don’t plan on taking any large furniture or many other hard goods. The children are familiar with packing their clothes and personal possessions, and Carmen is there to help me. We’ll be ok.”
“Then, yes, I’m more than happy to help,” Alexandra said.
And with that, Alexandra got in the van, Esmerita stepped back in the waiting pod, and both vehicles drove away.
Four hours later, Alexandra saw two transpods approach where she had the van parked north of town, in the parking lot of a grocery store near the town of Victoria. The retired botanist did not get out of the van, waiting to see who was in the van. Both pods stopped next to her, and the doors opened on the first.
Out stepped Esmerita, a young teen girl, and a boy with a cast on his hand. The doors on the second vehicle took longer to open. Out stepped a woman approximately Esmerita’s age, and Dolores, who was talking to the woman without pausing and with enthusiasm.
Alexandra herself got out of the transvan and walked over to the group.
“Ms. Alexandra, this is my daughter Manuela, and my son, Rafael,” Esmerita said.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Ms. Alexandra,” Manuela said. “And thank you so much for helping our mother. She can’t stop saying good things about you.”
Esmerita gave Rafi a small push between his shoulder blades, and the young boy walked over, held out his unbandaged hand and said, “Hello” in a soft voice, without looking up. Before he could step back, his mother cleared her throat and Rafi added a quick “Thank you.” to his greeting.
Dolores’ conversation enthusiasm carried over into her greeting style, and she ran up to Alexandra to give her a big hug. “Thank you, Ms. Alexandra! Mami said you helped get them back and Cousin Sebastian won’t be bothering us any longer.”
Alexandra smiled and blushed slightly. “I’m very happy to help, Dolores. And I’m pleased to meet you both, Ms. Manuela and Mr. Rafael. I was a very good friend of your Abuela Carmelita. She was a very special woman, and I’m happy to help her grandchildren in any way I can.”
“You have done so much more than I ever imagined,” Esmerita said. “And I am forever indebted to you. If you ever feel the need to leave here, know that you can join us and you’ll not have to worry about food or shelter ever again.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?” Dolores said with a sad surprise in her voice.
“No, my dear,” Alexandra said, “I’ve been a Guayaguila for many years, and this is where I belong. But if I get the opportunity, I will come visit you.”
“You are always welcome,” Esmerita said.
“And will you be going with them?” Alexandra asked Carmen.
“Me? Heaven’s no,” the friend said. “Esmerita lifestyle is too much for me. I’m going home to listen to boring stories my husband tells me about the gangsters in Ambato.”
The three women chuckled.
“And now what?” Alexandra asked.
“We’re heading to Esmeraldas for a quiet country life,” Esmerita said.
“And I’ll be returning to Ambato, crying the whole way there that she won’t stay with us,” Carmen said.
“Then you both should be on the way so you can get there before sunset,” Alexandra said, trying to sound confident and assertive.
“Yes, we should,” Esmerita said.
“Yet none of us are budging,” Carmen said.
Then all three women laughed and joined together in a teary hug.
When they separated, Carmen held out her arms to Manuela, who returned her hug. “You are an amazing young woman, Manuela. Learn from your mother and you will do well in life.”
She turned to Rafael who smiled, took a half step back, and let himself be grabbed by his mother’s best friend, who hugged him so tightly that the side of his face was lost in her chest, despite him turning his head sideways.
Dolores didn’t wait for Carmen to initiate, but ran over to her and gave her the strongest hug she could. “Thank you, Carmen. And I really think Maggie should come stay with us for the Christmas holiday. I know how much she loves to swim, and Mami promised we’d have some trips to the beach.”
“We’ll see, Mariposa,” Carmen said.
“Come on, kids,” Esmerita said. “Get in our transpod. I’m going to sync up the transvan to our pod.” Then she gave an alarmed look at her mother’s friend. “No! I’ll have to order a pod for you, Alexandra! I’m so sorry for not having thought of that.”
“I’ll take her home,” Carmen said.
“Thank you,” both women said almost simultaneously.
Alexandra transferred the control codes for the van to Esmerita’s commblock, and Esmerita put the van into ‘follow’ mode.
“I’m not going to say good-bye,” she turned and said to her old and her new friend. “We are going to see each of you again. So I’ll just say until we meet again.”
And with that, the reunited mother of three began the drive to Esmereldas, with her children next to her and the transvan with the dreams for her future in tow.