Under the mulberry tree

The mulberry tree in Mr. Rodrigo’s garden was enormous. It was the only one in the neighborhood and stood right in the middle of a flowerless garden. Every July, huge, plump mulberries inundated its branches. The kind you don’t see in supermarkets. Pedro wanted me to see it, so that afternoon he grabbed the end of my white dress and pulled me towards the gate. Mr. Rodrigo was on holidays somewhere in southern Spain, so the coast was clear. I was new in the neighborhood and impressing me was mandatory. As Pedro climbed onto a lower branch and up unto a higher one, eating the succulent fruits as he went along, I stood below, watching him in awe. “Maria, looka this one!” he shouted. “This a one is fo you!” And like a little chimpanzee, he quickly swiveled down the tree and stood with his nose nearly touching mine. “Eat it”, he said. Between his fingers was the biggest mulberry I had ever seen. I looked at his stained red mouth, “C’mon, eat it”, he insisted, gently parting my lips with the warm berry. “Good, uh?” It was the perfect combination of sweet and sour. “I geta more,” he whispered. I smiled. The liquid started trickling towards my chin. “I can’t get dirty, Mamá will be angry.” Pedro’s hot breath touched my nose; his eyes scanned my face, suddenly stopping at my mouth. “Don’t wanna your mamá get angry,” he said, and wiped the excessive nectar with his kisses.     

Interview (Inner view)

“My son, you ask? Oh he's a hell of a guy. Loves ping pong and squash but hates washing the car and helping his mother with the dishes, whenever he visits. Not a manly thing to do, but being an only son he's gotta help around the house sometimes, heh heh. But Claire and I will do everything for him…Oh ya - my wife and I have a great relationship. Wonderful woman. And we’re so lucky to have a great son. I mean Rory means everything to us… Claire…  Claire had... well, she couldn't get pregnant easily so we went through a difficult time -- very difficult. But all that's gone. Rory came and grew up and went to college and has made us very proud… No, he's not finished his course yet. Not easy studying to be doctor. I mean Rory's extremely intelligent, he’s just ah… had bad luck with some professors, that's all. Otherwise he would have finished ah… ’bout three  years ago… Ah, ya... it's cost us a hunk of money, and we’re not rich, but we'll do everything for our little Rory - well, he’s really not that little anymore, heh heh… Naw, that's just lack of sleep. He's been real tired. You know, staying up late, studying, and all… Really? Nah, couldn't have been our Rory! Rory's studying in the east coast, Pennsylvania, not Nevada.”

Coldfrontation

That autumn morning, as usual, Henry woke up early, had his oatmeal before washing his face, and walked to the park to feed his birds. Today a woman sat on his bench.

“Nice to see I have some company today.” The woman sat like a broken statue. Only her hands continued to knit the scarf that covered her thin legs.

“My wife use to knit too. She…” He pointed to his chest. “She made this sweater, you know?” The noise of the needles was the only response Henry got.

“I come here every morning to feed my birds… My birds…” he chuckled.  I call them my birds ‘cause I take care of ‘em.”

The woman sighed, pulled up her glasses, laid her hands on her lap and stared at the scarf.

“It’s cold today,” Henry continued. “Winter’s on its way. I bet that scarf will help keep someone warm.” The woman’s hands started to tremble.

“You know, talking helps keep us warm. Moving our mouth is like exercise.” He paused. “But it’s the words that really warm us on the inside.” 

He smiled and rubbed his large, dry hands together. Suddenly, the woman covered her ears and squinted at the line of trees in front of her. 

“You remind me of my husband,” she said. Her words shot out like ice cubes. “I hated him.”

Ma George

Ma George had a way with words. He was not a writer or poet, but he knew his words. How he knew his words. He knew how to choose ‘em, how to speak ‘em. Every word he said was said with dis-tinction. (He taught me that word). Before he’d open his mouth, he’d always wait, ‘cause he always took longer than anyone else to say what was on his mind. But when them words came out, he made them sound so rich soundin’ like he was some Congressman or General or somethin’ important like that. Ma George knew how to choose his words and he didn’t need a dictionary or any of that university stuff. He just knew. It was like them words were in his bones. Know what I mean? Like they was born with him. Know what I mean? Like when someone’s good at soccer and was born already kickin’ a ball. Ma George didn’t cry tears when he came into this world, he spoke words. Words! I tell you! When ma George spoke, everyone stopped what they was doin’, to listen, even if he didn’t say much. But what he said, he said it right and even if it didn’t make much sense to them, they agreed anyway. You see, ma George didn’t know everythin’, but he knew a lot a stuff. He was an intelligent man; too intelligent for his time. I miss ma George, but I know he’s happy ‘cause he’s got the angels listenin’.

tainted love

“Good morning, sir. May I help you?”

“Yes, I would like some love.”

“What kind of love, sir?”

“The kind that makes me happy.”

“And would you like happy-love-occasionally, sometimes, or most of the time?”

“What? Look, lady, I’m tired of being miserable! I want always, happy-love-always!”

 “We don’t have always, sir. Humans weren’t programmed to be happy always.”

“Fine. I’ll take most of the time then.”

“Uh…one moment…Sorry, it’s unavailable. The woman before you took our last one.”

“Guess sometimes will have to do, then.”

“For how long? One week, month or…ah…let me see…yes, we still have years-”

“Years.”

“How many?”

“As many as you can give me.”

“Impossible, sir. We don’t sell love for eternity but what we offer is good compared to what’s in the market nowadays.”

“Look, I’m a simple man. Don’t complicate my life.”

“We’re not here to complicate your life, sir. We want our customers to be happy, but I can only give you three, four, maximum five years. The woman before you also took the maximum we had.”

“I’ll take five. How much?...That’s outrageous! Don’t have that kind of money!”

“But you want love and love’s expensive and can be very difficult to find.”

“That’s why I came here, but I want the lasting kind, not any of this bullshit!”

“Then you’ll have to try the Dream On store next door. Maybe they can help you. Here we only sell tainted love.”

“Never mind. I’ll just find that woman. Ah…What was her name?”