Short Stories in Spanish by John King

Author:John King
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141906898
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2008-11-08T00:00:00+00:00

maids – no maid must take the initiative. ‘Remove your flowers immediately.’

‘Certainly, ma’am.’

‘And tell me, how did you pay for them?’

‘With my own money, ma’am.’

‘You spend your salary on flowers?’

‘They’re for you. For the house.’

‘But the house belongs to me, not you. Who do you think you are? Are you sure you didn’t steal them? The police aren’t going to come to find out where you robbed the flowers?’

‘No. I have a receipt from the florist, ma’am.’

Josefina left the room, though behind her lingered the scent of mint and coriander that she caused to emanate from the kitchen, having taken to heart her mistress’s complaint that the house smelled like a storage closet. Miss Amy, uncertain as to how she should attack her new employee, imagined for a moment lowering herself to the indignity of spying, something she’d never done with her other servants, convinced it would mean giving them a weapon against her. It was her greatest temptation, she admitted it to herself, to enter the maid’s room secretly and poke around in her possessions, perhaps discover a secret. Of course, that would mean showing her hand, losing her authority, the authority of prejudice, lack of proof, irrationality. Others had to come and tell her things, that the room was a pigsty, that the plumber had to come unplug the toilet, which was blocked up with filth – what could you expect from a black, a Mexican?

Lacking the pretext of the plumber, she had made use of her nephew Archibald.

‘My nephew informs me you never make your own bed,’

‘He can make my bed when he gets in it to screw me,’ said a sharp-tongued young black woman who left without saying good-bye.

Miss Amy wanted to lure Josefina into her own territory – the living-room, the dining-room, the bedroom – force her to reveal herself there, to make a big mistake there, to see herself there, in the bedroom after breakfast, in the ornate hand mirror that Miss Amy suddenly turned so as to banish her own reflection and force Josefina to look at herself.

– ¿Te gustaría ser blanca, no es cierto? – dijo abruptamente Miss Amy.

– En México hay muchos güeritos18 – dijo impasible Josefina, sin bajar la mirada.

– ¿Muchos qué?

– Gente rubia, señorita. Igual que aquí hay muchos negritos. Todos somos hijos de Dios – quiso concluir con sencillez y verdad, sin sonar respondona.

– ¿Sabes por qué estoy convencida que Jesús me ama? – dijo Miss Amy subiéndose las cobijas hasta el mentón, como si quisiera negar su propio cuerpo y aparecer como uno de esos querubes que son sólo rostro y alas.

– Porque es usted muy buena, señorita.

– No, estúpida, porque me hizo blanca, ésa es la prueba de que Dios me quiere.

– Como usted mande, señorita.

¿Nunca iba a responderle la mexicana? ¿Nunca se iba a enfadar con ella? ¿Nunca iba a contraatacar? ¿Así pensaba rendir a Miss Amy, no enojándose nunca?

Todo lo esperaba, por eso, menos que Josefina contraatacara ella misma, esa misma noche después de

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