A Young Wife by Pam Lewis

Author:Pam Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

THE BAR AT the Explotación was crammed full, densely smoky, and loud tonight. Before going in, Minke removed her coat and ran to the mirror to see what Sander had put around her neck. A cameo, an ivory profile of a woman, but the greater surprise was her own reflection, something she hadn’t seen in months. Her face was fuller than she remembered, from the pregnancy, no doubt. Her color was high from the cold. She smiled, turned this way and that, and strode into the bar with new confidence.

A large table, covered in a perfectly ironed white cloth, had been set for them in the center of the room. It seemed elevated somehow, but that was an illusion, a function of her excellent mood. The chair between Dietz and the amiable Bertinat had been saved for her. The men rose partly to their feet as she sat down. She’d learned her lesson well on the Frisia, turned to Bertinat to her left, and flashed princess eyes at him. She spoke in a voice for the whole table to hear and let her hand rest on his for a moment. She was heady with the arrival of Sander’s ship. Everyone was. “A pleasure to sit beside you.” Un placer sentarme a tu lado.

He was such a sweet man, so kind, and always willing to help with her Spanish when she bought at the store. He blushed and said no, it was his pleasure.

“A toast!” Sander raised his glass. “To Comodoro Rivadavia!”

Dietz refilled all the glasses. Minke took a small sip of cognac and said to Bertinat, “Tell me what has arrived on the Elisabeth today that I will find in your store tomorrow.”

Bertinat straightened in his chair. Cassian translated, but Bertinat knew well enough what she’d asked. “I am honored to show you mañana.”

“For los niños, eh?” Dietz tipped back in his chair and blew out a long trumpet of cigar smoke. “Eh, Sander?” He smacked his stomach with both hands and laughed his hoarse laugh. “Nice going, there.”

Now it was Minke’s turn to blush. Bertinat sighed beside her. “Azúcar,” he said. “Leche enlatada.”

“Sugar.” She clapped her hands. She was ravenous for sweets. “And some sort of milk. What’s enlatada?”

“Tinned,” Cassian said.

She patted Bertinat’s hand. “Puedo comprar,” she said. “I can buy!”

“And what arrived for your store today, Meneer Dietz?” Bertinat asked, with Cassian again translating.

Dietz laced his thick fingers across his stomach. “What store might that be, señor?”

Bertinat said something quickly, and Cassian translated. “He says you’re playing with him, Dietz. You know what he’s talking about.”

Dietz signaled to Meduño for another round.

“What’s this about a store, Dietz?” Sander ran a white napkin over his lips. “All joking aside.”

Dietz shrugged, a man wrongly accused. “For the men. Nothing more. For the things they need.”

“No profit, then, eh?”

Dietz wove his clubbed fingers. “I’m a businessman like you, Sander. Of course I profit. I’m not stupid.”

“May I shop in your store, Meneer?” Minke asked with a wink at Sander. She was enjoying their little game of cat and mouse.

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