It's Just Lola (31 page)

“No.  She knew when
they
married that she wouldn’t inherit.
 
Without us t
he land will be split among the sisters.
”

“
S
he must stand to gain in some way.  Perhaps she has a promise of something from the other sisters.
  Don’t be naive, Lola.  P
eople do strange things
for money.
”

“You’re wrong, James.  Besides,
my sisters don’t know
about the new will.”
  T
he words died on her lips when she remembered Jacoba and Victoria
’s recent friendship
.  Hadn’t her father said Victoria would move heaven and earth to get all the land in Peru?  Victoria could leave the details to Jacoba and grieve sincerely at the results.  Lola shuddered and tried to erase the thoughts. 

“
Whether they know or not,
I w
on’t
put
the
child
ren
in harm’s way.  I cannot permit it.” 

Lola was furious that James assumed it was
his
decision to make, but she knew her father would agree.  Men made the decisions and their wives had to concur.  She blinked back tears of frustration. 

“But don’t you see, James, the plantation has so much to offer.  It
’
ll mean financial security forever for us and for our children.  All we have to do is keep Jacoba away from them.  We can build a separate house and live apart.”

“If Jacoba is truly determined to harm the children, there are too many ways it can be done.  You can
’
t keep them locked up for
ever
.
  I can’t believe you’re willing to risk our children’s lives for money.”

“What about my father?”

“Your father’s a grown man and can fend for himself—our children can’t. 
I go to Ecuador next week,
and
you
’
ll go with me.”  He turned off the light, ending the conversation.

Lola’s frustration and anger kept her awake for hours.  It wasn’t fair to her or to the children.  By the time she fell asleep
her pillow was wet with
tears of sadness as well.

“I never even said good-bye.”

L
ola looked up from the tiny sweater she was crocheting.  “James
i
s inordinately proud of having worked on the Canal, Inez.  You saw how excited he was when he learned it was finally finished.  He just had to be there.  Besides, it’ll get his mind off England being at war.”

“That was almost a month ago.  He should be back by now.”

“Something kept him longer.  You’ll see; he’ll be back in plenty of time to be here when the baby
’
s born.”

“For your sake, I hope you’re right.” 

“I
am
right, and we won’t discuss this any further.” 

“Yes, Señora,” said Inez.  Perhaps James was right
that
she shouldn
’
t be so friendly with the staff.  Inez was a governess and lived as part of the family, but that didn
’
t give her the liberty to criticize James.

James arrived the
next day and Lola greeted him warmly.  She never doubted he
’
d be back in time for her birthing. 
H
e gave each of the children a hug and talked to them briefly before sending them off with Inez. 
Lola wanted to tell him to stop treating the children l
ike little adults
. 
She
had a brief memory of Mehmet dancing around the apartment with a squealing little girl on each shoulder.  Resolutely, she put the image out of her mind.

That night at dinner James described the passage of the SS Ancon through the Canal.  Lola
smiled at his excitement
. 
H
e was
usually
much too serious. 

“We all knew the ship, of course, because it had been one of the ships that brought supplies during the construction.  But when it sailed
past
,
I barely recognized it with its fresh paint and
all the flags flying
.
  There was even a band playing.  I must say, it was a grand occasion.  I only had a small part in the construction, but I felt proud.  What an amazing accomplishment
.
”  James laughed.  “How often does the world ignore the winner and herald the runner-up as he crosses the finish line.”

“What do you mean?”

“The SS Cristobal went through the Canal earlier to make sure everything would work properly for the official ceremony.  There were no bands or flags or fanfare—just a dirty old freighter moving from one ocean to the other.”  James shook his head, still grinning over the big joke, and continued eating.

“Did you see anyone you knew?” asked Lola.

“Yes,” he answered shortly, and he turned to Estela and asked about her lessons.

After the meal Inez and the children withdrew for the evening.  James asked for more coffee.

“Lola, have you been reading the papers?” 

“Not really.  I
don’t like
politics, and
I find
the reports of the war
upsetting.”  She winced as the child within her gave a healthy kick.

“This war
’
s not a skirmish that
’
ll be over in a few days or even weeks.  I don’t know how it
’
ll end, but
it might be a long time before we can
think of travel
ling
to England.
”  Lola tried not to look pleased. 
“As I said at the table, I met some people I knew at the opening of the Canal.  An engineer I used to work with remembered that I was interested in railroads.  He said that Chile and Argentina are having trouble with the Transandine Railway.  It
’
s only been finished for four years, but they
’
re having difficulty keeping it running.  The region
’
s plagued with heavy snow, earth tremors, and rockslides.
Any project involving more than one country
’
s bound to be complicated.  Add to that the incredible difficulty of the terrain…”  He stopped talking, and his expression said more than words.  He was picturing the construction and wishing he
’
d been there.
 
“
I accepted a job with the Chilean State Railways, the Empresa de
Los Ferrocarriles del Estado
,
which
everyone calls the EFE.
”

“You’re going to a job in Chile?”

“
It’s a not just a job, it’s a career. 
Lola, I
’
ve never been without work, but it makes me nervous jumping from job to job.  I don’t want to be away from you for long periods, but neither do I want to uproot you and the children to move with each job.  I want to settle down.  That’s why I was gone so long.  I applied for the job, and then
t
here was a lot of red tape and back and forth. The British Military Attaché invited me to stay with him, and he let me use the Consulate telegraph.”

“You stayed with the Military Attaché?
That sounds very grand
.
”

“
He’s a nice chap I
used to have drinks
with
when I
was
working on the Canal.  He
’s the one who told me about the job.”
  James refilled his coffee cup
. 
“Lola, this is my dream job.
Chile is expanding its rail system. 
They
bought a lot of private rail lines, and
they’
re
trying to consolidate them into a national system.  They don’t even have a map of the new additions—the regions aren
’
t fully integrated.  I’ll be design
ing
a national
system
.
” 

“That sounds exciting.” 
Lola
tried to sound enthusiastic.
Her back hurt and she was tired.
 
Lola wished the child would come soon.   

“This position in Chile is perfect.  I’ll be doing the work that I love best.  They
’
re using British trains on the rack portions of the line over the Andes, and it helped that I was familiar with the trains themselves, not just the engineering part.”

“
T
he rack portion?”

James explained
how
trains
went
up steep inclines using something like cogs.  He
explained
all kinds of details that
Lola
barely understood, and she tired of asking every time he used a new term. 

A week later, a doctor
came
to the house to deliver their child.  It was an uneventful delivery, and Carlota was soon nestled in her mother’s arms.  “Are you all right?”
James asked as soon as he was allowed into the room.

“Yes, I’m fine
, and so is your daughter,
”
Lola said with a tired smile.
“You can hold her, if you like.”

James picked up the small blanket-wrapped infant.
 
His voice filled with awe as he spoke.  “Remember when I told you the Panama Canal was the most momentous thing in my life?
 
Well, that
’
s not true any longer. 
This
is the most momentous thing in my life.”  Lola closed her eyes and drifted into sleep with a smile on her face.

~ ~ ~

“Inez, how would I manage without you?  You
’
re a gift from God.”  Lola was close to tears.  She was exhausted.  Baby Carlota was crying, and they were crowded into a small stateroom on a freighter headed from Peru to Chile.

“Don’t worry, Señora Lola, just relax and take care of your baby. 
You shouldn’t be travelling yet
.  Only peasant women get up so soon after giving birth.”
  I
nez sounded exactly like her sisters.  It was unfortunate that Inez had fallen on hard times and was forced to seek employment as a governess
—un
fortunate for Inez, but very fortunate for the growing
Atkins
family. 

“My place is with my husband.  If we don’t go with him now, we’ll have to travel alone.  He
has a contract
and he
can’t delay.”  Lola smiled.
 
“I am just so thankful, Inez, that you have chosen to go with us to Chile.  You are my salvation.”

“To tell the truth, Señora, I
’
ve always wanted to travel.  I find it exciting to think that I
’
ll be seeing another country.  Why don’t I take the children to my cabin?  You feed your baby, and maybe both of you can get some rest.  Don’t worry about anything.  I’ll bring you some food so you don’t have to dress for supper.”

“Thank you, Inez.”

That afternoon she slept until Inez brought her food.  By evening the ship reached open
sea
, and Lola became violently ill. 
The rest of the journey was a jumbled memory of misery.  Even water
made her ill. 
She
had no idea
how long the
voyage
took, but she was convinced that
neither she nor Carlota would survive
.  She vaguely remembered James coming in and asking about her health.  She later laughed at the memory of telling him to remarry to give the children a mother. 

By the time t
he
y
reached Valparaiso Lola was so weak she needed help getting off the ship.  James shepherd
ed
his family into a small hotel,
and
Lola was
able
to drink a cup of sweet tea.  The next morning he woke them before the sun rose to take the first train to Santiago.  James stayed
with them
long enough to make sure that everyone was settled in the hotel and left to see his new employer.

“He seemed surprised to see me so soon,” James
said
that evening.  “I don’t know why
, because
I told him I
’
d arrive immediately after
your
lying
-
in period.”

“What lying
-
in period?” whispered Inez under her breath.  “He rushed you onto the boat almost before the doctor was out the door.”

“Hush
,
”
said
Lola quietly.

“He said there was a problem with the house they promised us.”

“What kind of problem?” asked Lola.

“The owner decided not to rent the place.  Who knows?  Maybe someone in his family needs the house.”  James shrugged.

“What
’
ll we do?”

“I’ll find another place.  It
’
ll only
be
a minor delay.  Don’t worry, Lola.  I’ll take care of everything.”

It took longer than James expected to find housing.  Inez took the chil
dren on long walks as they chaf
ed under the confinement of the hotel.  Lola mentioned the walks to James, and the next day he brought home a perambulator for Carlota.  Lola was delighted with the gift.  She
’
d seen them, of course, but no one she knew had ever owned one. 
The walks became
a daily ritual
, and i
n the evenings Estela would amuse James with her accounts of what they
’
d seen that day. 

“I am glad we came,” said Lola one evening.  “The Chileans are such friendly people, it
’
s quite pleasant walking. 
W
e found a park where other mothers bring children.  Joseph loves
it
.”

“Really?” said James.  “I
’
m constantly struck by how
un
friendly the Chileans are.  I
’
ve see
n
many nice places, but there
’
s always something that blocks the landlord from renting.  It
’
s frustrating.  I don’t know why people put out signs advertising space for rent and then tell me it
’
s not ready for occupancy, or someone just rented it.
 
I know it
’
s difficult living in a hotel, but I
’
m not having any luck finding a suitable place.”