It's Just Lola (12 page)

Lola turned toward the kitchen where Uncle was using a slab of bread to sop up the remains of an egg.  “Why haven’t you gone to get the midwife?”

“There’s plenty of time.  That baby won’t come for hours yet,” he said around a mouthful of bread.

“That’s easy for you to say.  You’re not the one writhing in pain.”

He
grumbled
something that might have been “Oh, all right” as he stood up and washed the bread down with the last of his coffee.

As soon as he left, Auntie came to the room and tried to reassure the girls that everything was just as expected.  Neither Enriqueta nor Lola was comforted by the thought that so much pain was to be expected.  Promising to stay with Enriqueta, she finally persuaded Lola to have a quick bite of breakfast so she and Concha would be working when Uncle returned.

“The first child is always reluctant to come into the world.  Don
’
t worry. 
Señora Gomez
has been doing this for a very long time
.  She’s the best midwife in the region
.” 

Lola work
ed
, but she jumped and ran to
Enriqueta
every time she heard a sound. 
When Señora Gomez swept into the room,
with the fringes of her shawl dancing around her
broad
hips, Lola felt a weight lift from her shoulders.  Señora Gomez reminded her of Carmen—competent and
proficient.  She didn’t even object when Señora Gomez told her to stay out of the room so Enriqueta could rest whenever she had a break in the pain. 
Feeling confident
that everything would work out right did nothing to make the day seem any shorter.  She
kept Concha busy ripping
out
mistakes and
crooked seams
as hours crawled by
.  How long did it take to birth a child?

Another piteous cry came from Enriqueta.  Lola got up, determined to make Auntie call a doctor.  She stopped short as she
heard the sound of a baby crying
.

“It’s a beautiful, healthy little girl,” said Señora Gomez as she
stuck her face out a crack in the door
.  “Your sister
’
s tired but healthy.”
  Auntie went into the room with more hot water
,
closing the door firmly in Lola’s face.

Lola
couldn’t wait
to hear all about what happened, but
when
Auntie opened the door with
a small bundle a short time later,
Lola’s resentment was erased by one look at the perfect little face of Enriqueta’s baby.
She felt tears spring to her eyes as she gazed at the small being Auntie placed in her arms. 
“She’s so beautiful
.
”
The child within
Lola
moved and emotion overwhelmed her.
 

~ ~ ~

“
Enriqueta, when
’
re you going to write to Juana?”

“Write to Juana?  She and her fancy North America
n
husband
never did anything for us.  They own silver mines in Ecuador—and did we ever see a piece of silver jewelry?  Why would I write to
her
?”

“To see if she
’
d like to have your baby.” 

“What an absurd thing for you to say,” answered Enriqueta.  “Look at
Blanca
.  Have you ever seen anything as perfect and wonderful?  She
’
s such a good baby.  Nothing matters to her but that I feed her and love her.  Sometimes I wake up at night and put my hand on her
,
and it seems like I can feel love surround
ing
her like a halo.  I love her so much
.
”

“Does that mean you don’t want to be a nun?”

“I could never be a nun.  Nuns have to serve God all the time.  I
must
take care of my little girl
and
teach her all the things she
’
ll need to kno
w.
”

Lola smiled and shook her head. 
The smile disappeared as another cramp made her catch her breath. 
“Enriqueta, it
’
s been
a month
since Blanca was born.  Can’t you tell me about it now?  I don’t have any idea what to expect, and you know how frightening that
is.
Y
ou were frightened, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was frightened, and if it happened again I
’
d be frightened again.  I told you at least a hundred times I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why not?”  Lola had tried to bring up the subject with Auntie, but
she
could not bring herself to be explicit in her inquiries—except with her sister, and Enriqueta refused to talk.

“Lola
,
you know the sight of blood makes me
faint
and
even
the thought of blood upsets me.  Please don’t ask me again.”  She began to work the pedal
so hard
Lola thought the machine would rattle itself to pieces.
 
Lola’s eyes fill with tears.  How could her sister be so sweet and loving one moment and so maddeningly stubborn the next? 

There was a soft knock on the door and Auntie’s voice called Enriqueta. 
T
he house was much quieter now; no one wanted to wake the baby because that would be less work done.  Enriqueta went out to see what Auntie wanted
and soon
came back with a grin on her face
, gesturing frantically for Lola to come
.

“We have a commission
to make a woman’s dress
!”
she whispered. 

“What?”

“Auntie asked if I could make a woman’s dress like I made Concha’s dress,
” Enriqueta
said as she helped Lola up
.  “
This is our opportunity
.” 

Lola followed her sister into the kitchen and sank heavily onto a bench.

Auntie started talking immediately.  “Enriqueta says the two of you can make a dress like the one my friend saw.”
  She gestured to the heavyset woman next to her.

“If you can describe it, we can make it,” said Enriqueta.  “Give Lola a pencil and some paper and she can sketch what you describe.”  After a lot of rummaging through drawers and cupboards, Auntie produced a piece of brown wrapping paper and a stub of a pencil.

Lola gripped the edge of her seat as another wave of pain hit her.  She knew it was the baby coming.  The pain passed, and she became aware that the woman was speaking.

“...the most beautiful woman I ever saw was getting out of the carriage.  Her hair was piled on top of her head, and she wore a beautiful hat with a huge feather.  When she turned around I saw the skirt was all bunched up in the back and the sleeves puffed out on the top.”  Lola exchanged a glance with Enriqueta.  “The big sleeves and the big skirt made her look like her waist was as small as her neck.”

With a few deft strokes, Lola sketched a wasp-waisted woman in a bustled skirt with leg-of-mutton sleeve
s and a large hat with an ostri
ch plume.

“That’s her exactly!”  The woman looked at Lola with surprised wonder in her eyes.
  “Can you make it?”

“Of course we can,” said Enriqueta.

“What my sister means is that we are
able
to make the clothes, but I’m afraid we can’t.”  Lola winced as Enriqueta kicked her under the table.  “
Uncle
will
be angry if we d
on’
t sew uniforms.
”

“But you could sew my dress in the evenings, couldn’t you?”

“
In the evenings we fix the mistakes of the other women who sew for him.  W
e barely have
enough
time to do our laundry and mending.
”  Lola
shot
Enriqueta
a fierce look that stopped her objections before she voiced them.  “In fact, we
’d better get back to work before Uncle comes home and catches us chatting in the kitchen
.”  She
stood and
hurried back
to their room, hoping that Enriqueta would follow. 

When
Enriqueta reached the room, Lola was doubled over in pain. 

“Lola
,
y
our baby’s coming
.
”  Lola nodded and Enriqueta rushed to her side.  “I’ll tell Auntie.” 

Lola grabbed Enriqueta’s skirt and shook her head.  “
Not until we get the job
.
”

“We’ll never get the job.  You made sure of that.”  Lola tightened her grip on Enriqueta’s skirt and shook her head.

When the pain passed again, Lola took a deep breath.  “Didn’t you see her face?  Couldn’t you see how badly she wanted that wretched dress that
’
ll make her the laughing stock of the neighborhood?”

“It will, won’t it?” said Enriqueta with a sudden giggle.
  They had barely started work again when Auntie called them back to the kitchen.

“Can you measure her and tell her how much material to buy?  I
’
ll make sure my husband gives you time to work on the dress.”

Enriqueta began to measure the woman, and Lola wrote her measurements on the wrapping paper.  Between writing measurements, she sketched another dress. 
Blanca started crying, and Enriqueta went to their room to take care of her.  Lola motioned the woman to sit next to her as she made detailed sketches.

“Señora, you saw
this dress
when you were a little girl,
and fell in love with it, didn’t you?
”

“How did you know I was a little girl?”

“We
grew up sewing ladies’ dresses
o
n
a plantation with a wagonload of girls—all of whom wanted the latest fashions.  No one has
worn bustled skirts since
before
I
was old enough to hold a needle
.”  She pointed to the other sketch.  “The simple gored skirt will give you greater height and be very elegant.  The matching jacket c
an
be removed in hot weather, revealing a frilly blouse with sleeves similar to the ones on the dress, but smaller and more flattering.
  We
’
ll make whichever dress you choose.”
  Lola tried to be gentle and understanding.  “
Believe me, Señora; I don’t want to kill your dream of the beautiful dress.  I just want your dress to be more than beautiful—I want it to be fashionable and flattering.”

Lola dropped the pencil and grabbed the edge of her seat as the pain began again.

“Are you all right?” asked the woman.

“No she’s not,”
Enriqueta said
.  “Auntie, she’s having her baby.  You have to do something.”

“Now, now,”
Auntie
said.  “You know it takes a long time for the first.  We’ll just move your things out to the living room to give her some privacy.
”

“But she’s already been hurting for hours.  She didn’t let me say anything because she didn’t want to...to disappoint your friend.”

Lola let Enriqueta help her to her pallet. 
Concha and Enriqueta moved the current work out of the room.  Lola’s
eyes closed as the pain receded and she relaxed
,
let
ting
the sounds of
the women talking in the next room
lull her into a light sleep. 
Inevitably, the pain came again and her soft groan brought Enriqueta.
  “Please stay with me.”  Lola reached for Enriqueta’s hand.

“
I can’t. 
Auntie says we wasted so much time today that Uncle will be angry when he gets home.
”
 

“What about her friend?”

“She left, saying she had to think.” 

The pain intensified and Lola could think of nothing else.  “Please, Enriqueta, tell me what comes next.  I’m begging you.”

“
I’m sorry, Lola,
I really have to get back to work
. 
Besides,
I can’t stand watching you suffer, and y
ou know how I feel about blood.”  Enriqueta kiss
ed
her
on the forehead and rose to leave.  “
Señora Gomez says to focus on your breathing,” she called
from the door
.
“
Auntie says she
’ll send Uncle for Señora Gomez as soon as he gets home.”