Where Dogs Bark with Their Tails by Estelle-Sarah Bulle

Author:Estelle-Sarah Bulle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Antoine: Love and the Wind

I RETURNED TO CARACAS, but not to buy fabric. I just wanted to see Armand again. For months, I had thought of him often, as a kind of mystery to solve. I was driven to know his story beyond the diamonds. I was also ready to buy a few more to satiate the taste for risk I’d developed since meeting him.

At first, I didn’t find him. After waiting for a long time at the café, I wandered the port to see if I might run into him, but he was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t stray too far by myself because it was a dangerous area, and I could feel all of the men nearby undressing me with their eyes. I was angry when I left.

When I came home, I had words with Lucinde, who from time to time displayed one of her dresses in my store window. She irritated me, bringing her haughty demeanor into my store. She didn’t think my clientele were chic enough and she wasn’t shy about letting me know it. Well what did she expect? Anyone could come into my store, even if all they could afford was a half a candle. But Lucinde and her créations, as she called them, her original designs, required their own space as well as rich customers. If she could have, she would have sold her dresses exclusively to the békés. A real Banania, that one.* That’s how I see it. Anyway, that day she told me that all my mess was giving her a headache and that I needed to sweep it up, and I told her that if she didn’t like my mess, she could see herself out. I was the boss in my store. Not long after that I caught another boat to Caracas.

This time when I went into the café, I found Armand sitting near the door. It was as though he knew I was looking for him, even though I hadn’t said anything to anyone. I sat down across from him and this time I studied his face.

“Take off your hat,” I said before even saying hello. He looked at me, surprised, and took it off slowly. I could see all of him, and his eyes were on me. We looked at one another without saying anything for a minute, then he ordered his ti punch. His eyes looked feverish. His bony cheekbones jutted from beneath his tanned skin. He wiped his forehead. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and murmured:

“So, mignonne, what brings us here today?”

I shrugged. “I’m guessing you have something to sell me. If not, we could just have a chat like old friends.”

He laughed his noiseless laugh, a single upward heave of his chest.

“No diamonds today. Can’t draw too much attention our way. Besides, we shouldn’t stay around here too long.”

“Is someone looking for you? The police?”

“Maybe. If so, you’d be my cover. I could tell them that I’m here to walk along the port with you.

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