The Divine Economy of Salvation by Priscila Uppal

Author:Priscila Uppal
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 2002-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

When the ice cream cake Rachel had requested, three layers high and the length of a small window, was brought out with all of its candles alight, a darker underbelly was revealed.

“Make a wish, Rachel,” Mr. M. said.

Rachel closed her eyes and concentrated for what seemed like an unduly long time, then puckered her lips to meet the candles. She left two burning, which Mr. M. and I blew out, already clapping along with the others. Some girls crowded around the table to watch and were slicing the air with their hands to indicate the size of the piece they wanted. The icing was pink and blue, spelling out “Rachel” across the top of the cake. While Mr. M. clapped furiously, Mother Superior approached from behind, tapping him on the shoulder, an apologetic and confused expression on her face.

“Mr. M.,” she stated as confidentially as she could amidst all the people. “Your wife has arrived.”

“My wife?”

Rachel looked up from her cake, knife in hand, about to take the first cut. Her father had his brand-new camera poised to capture the event. He handed the camera to Sister Aline, who had no idea how to use it and so asked Esperanza to take the picture. She managed to press the button as Rachel’s eyes shut. The flash lit up the table while Esperanza glanced over in Mr. M.’s direction. She appeared uncomfortable, unsure of where she now belonged in the party. And Mr. M. didn’t offer any indication of how he was going to handle the situation. Esperanza kept taking pictures, Rachel holding up her knife in a mock gesture of action. Mr M. adjusted the knot of his red-and-white striped tie, a gesture he performed while in thought or when taken off guard. He smoothed his other hand over his hair and began to follow Mother Superior. For once, she was leading him.

“I just don’t have enough money for her cab,” Mother Superior apologized. “As you know, we do our banking on Mondays.”

“That’s fine. Fine,” Mr. M. replied, although his voice betrayed a touch of anger, directed towards the stairs he was about to climb to reach the entrance lobby of the school, the cafeteria being on the ground floor.

Esperanza took another couple of pictures as Rachel cut the cake and handed slices to Sister Aline, who accepted them on paper plates. Rachel seemed grateful the party wasn’t halted and she directed Esperanza on how to adjust the focus for a broader picture of the room. I, however, felt anxious. I wanted Mr. M. to be the leader of the party at all times. And only the girls ought to have been there. Not Esperanza. I hoped that once Mr. M. returned, Sister Aline would ask her to leave. Notwithstanding, I helped Esperanza by distributing the plates, starting at the back of the cafeteria, then making my way to the front. Francine also helped, her body shaking from sugar intake.

“I didn’t know Mrs. M. was going to be here,” she said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.