The Heart Has Its Reasons by Maria Duenas

Author:Maria Duenas
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Atria Books

Chapter 23

* * *

Professor Cabeza de Vaca was seated at his walnut desk, waiting for Daniel as if nothing had happened between his last visit and this one. His appearance was, as always, meticulous. The thick curtains of his office kept out the morning light, and the inkstand and ivory crucifix occupied their customary places, in perfect harmony.

“Well, young man, I’m happy to finally have you back,” he said, holding out his hand without moving from his armchair. “It’s already mid-February and I’ve not heard from you since before Christmas. I imagine that your incursion into the old Canton must have been an intense experience.”

Despite his effort to give an update, not one single image came into Daniel’s mind of the literary settings that he’d gone in search of and never found. Instead there appeared a prolonged sequence of images and sensations: Aurora’s face, Aurora’s eyes, Aurora’s smell. Her infinite tenderness, her hearty laughter, her voice.

“Intense, sir, indeed,” he finally was able to mutter after clearing his throat. “A very intense experience.”

“I imagine, then, that you’ve returned to Madrid with a profound knowledge of the geographic background of Sender’s novel.”

He assented without words. He lied, of course. He had hardly glanced at the settings of Mister Witt en el Canton. Instead, he’d ventured to explore the territory of the woman who’d captivated him there. The tiny scar on her cheekbone, the softness of her lips, and those four beauty marks right next to her hairline. The gentleness of her fingers as she caressed him and the taste of the sea in Madrid—hundreds of miles from any coast—eternally present on her skin.

“I also imagine that you must have familiarized yourself with the historical events that are mentioned in the book.”

Again he assented; again he lied. The only events of relevance that had stuck in his memory were those that had to do with Aurora. That first encounter in her father’s pharmacy while she tried to put her disheveled hair in order. His stealthy pursuit of her, feverishly refusing to lose her. The encounter in the middle of the street the next day, not knowing what to do or say. His bitterness over the feast of the Three Wise Men, when he rashly imagined what wasn’t true. That long train journey in which they began to know each other, the beginning of all that was to come afterwards.

“And likewise I imagine,” Cabeza de Vaca continued, oblivious to the thoughts that assailed the American’s mind, “that you have already written a preliminary report regarding your thoughts and findings.”

Daniel’s response this time was to clear his throat. Unable to continue lying, Daniel murmured something unintelligible.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Carter. Speak clearly, please.”

“That I’ve been unable to do it, sir.”

“What is it you haven’t been able to do? To find relevant information for your work or to write the pertinent report?”

“Neither of the two.”

Cabeza de Vaca showed his surprise with a stern yet subtle puckering of one side of the mouth.

“Would you be

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