PEG BOY by Berube R. G

Author:Berube, R. G. [Berube, R. G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-12-08T23:00:00+00:00

Santiago still had two hours before meeting Vincent. The day had begun cold and seemed to be getting colder. The wind blew across the bay and by the time it reached the town it was damp and uncomfortable. Clouds were collecting on the eastern horizon and hung heavy in the mountains. He looked at those mountains and knew that somewhere in them the spirit of his father still remained. Before the tears could begin he wiped his eyes and pushed ahead toward the deserted docks.

Santiago pulled his collar more tightly around his neck to cut the wind at his back. He wondered what to do with his time and where he should go until it was time to meet Vincent. He thought of looking for a room, but had barely enough money to last a few days. The gold was being kept secret until he could figure out how to exchange it for cash without raising suspicion. Perhaps Vincent might be of help.

Going in and out of shops along the way, affronted by rudeness, he felt unwelcome. Only near the waterfront had he felt unobtrusive and accepted, so it was there that he went until his meeting. Santiago sat among piles of cargo, ignored by the seamen. He noted few spaces left open for mooring and the bay, dotted with incoming and outgoing traffic, was dark and choppy. On the day he had first arrived, the town had been bathed in sunlight but now it was cold and unfriendly.

Santiago noted one ship nearby that seemed to have many women passengers. These women looked like those he had seen leaning from the windows of boarding houses and dance-halls. They called to the men waiting on the dock, and as soon as the ship anchored, the men scurried aboard. Sounds of the waterfront were all around him as he saw seabirds squawking overhead and heard the creaking of pulleys that lifted and lowered cargo. He pulled his legs against himself and tried to hide from the wind in the shelter of piled boxes. The rhythmic swaying and sound of masts soon lulled him to sleep.

Santiago was suddenly awakened by a tugging at his collar. A man was trying to tell him he had to move. Running east on Sacramento with the wind in his face, Santiago worried he had overslept and missed his meeting with Vincent who was nowhere to be seen when Santiago arrived at Portsmouth Square. He walked around it twice, and then sat beneath a tree with a vantage of all sides. Then he heard the sound of bells from a nearby church announcing the noon-time angelus and realized he had been early.

From a distance he recognized the boy’s familiar clothing. Vincent walked with a swagger that was most appealing and Santiago stood to wave. Face to face, Vincent addressed Santiago like they were old friends. He was no longer lonely.

“Where is your companion?”

Vincent looked around, trying to spot Ramón.

“Are you here alone?”

Santiago began to respond in Spanish but Vincent stopped him.

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