HAIR OF THE DOG

By Jo
EnyaJo@aol.com

#46 TRIO: piñata, candles, gold
QUOTE: "The way to love anything is to realize it may be lost." - Unknown
QUOTE: "I drink when I have occasion, and sometimes when I have no occasion." Don Quixote

~~~~~

Beatriz' chapped elbows were on the dining room table, one rosy cheek planted in one of her craggily hands as her other hand twisted a lock of her gray hair. When her nephew entered, she didn't make any kind of indication that he was there.

"Too much of the hair of the dog that bit you, Auntie?" Montoya asked.

"Do not talk to me."

"No problemo." Montoya moved past her to the gold tea service on the sideboard and poured himself a cup. After he sat in his chair at the end of the table, he took a sip of tea and tried to ignore her, concentrating instead on a letter that had just arrived from the Viceroy. After a moment more of silence, knowing that his aunt was usually anything but silent, he looked around the candles lining the table to her. "It is well after noon, Bea. You were in that exact position when I left breakfast."

Beatriz replied dejectedly, "I drink when I have occasion, and sometimes when I have no occasion."

"Ah. I thought so."

Beatriz picked up her cane that was resting on her leg and pointed it at her nephew. "That is what you expect me to say, but that is not my problemo. Only talk to me if you decide to listen to what I have to say."

"I wait with baited breath to hear what it is," Montoya said, with a smile, but his eyes were on the letter.

"You are my problem," she simply said.

"Me? How am I your problem? I even fitted you with that cane you are waving around. I give you a roof over your head, a bed to sleep at night, dresses you will never live long enough to wear."

Beatriz gathered all her strength and got herself to her feet, jostling the table in the process. "Remind me to never sit so long in one position again, Bunkie." She waddled over to him and slapped him on the head as if it were a piñata.

"I have about lost my patience with you," Montoya said rubbing the back of his head and adjusting his ponytail. "Someone once said, 'the way to love anything is to realize it may be lost'. When will you be lost?"

She slapped him up side the head again. "I am your elder."

Montoya, angered, stood up straight and looked down on her. "What is it, Auntie?"

"I just received yet another letter from friends back home. They have all heard of the Queen of Swords. When are you going to capture her? Do you know what kind of a laughing stock you are?"

Montoya waved her away and returned to his seat. "I have heard the talk."

"You must get rid yourself of this pest. Quickly."

Montoya smiled up at her. "And you have a solution?"

"As a matter of fact I do, and I have mentioned it on a few occasions. Are you just not listening to me? Do you think my candle is not lit? Let me remind you I was making my living before you were even born."

"Oh yes," Montoya said. "Invite the Queen of Swords to dinner."

"Exactly. You have been listening to me. But you have been ignoring it. Why?"

"Why? Do you think we would have time to chat between courses?"

"Yes."

Montoya said, "You must truly believe that I just let her ride free. I give no thought to how to wrangle her. I enjoy what she is doing. That is what you must believe." Montoya stood up, finished with his tea and his aunt and her harebrained ideas. He muttered, "Invite her to dinner," as he stalked from the room.

"You stop right there, Luis," she said loudly, rapping her cane on the back of the chair he had just vacated. When he stopped and turned around, she told him, "Who taught you manners? You do not leave a room in the middle of a conversation."

"I do when the conversation is frivolous. I have work to do."

"Invite her to dinner, treat her like a lady, talk to her. See her as a person, and in the process, she will see you as one, also. I am sure that all she sees in you is your uniform and soldiers."

Montoya chuckled and shook his head with a smile. "Sure. And how will the invitation by sent to the woman in black? Produce it from my pocket during a duel?"

"Hm," Beatriz said, rubbing her chin. "That is the only problem. You still have not figured out who she is. I am sorry to say that I have not either. I am sorry, Bunkie."

"Auntie," Montoya said, walking to her, then planting a kiss on her wrinkled cheek. "Go back to your room and sleep it off. The world will look better tomorrow."

"You can put up a placard in the square. You know, that big announcement board that you had erected to post the reward for her capture? Well, lot of good that has done. With all the poor people around here, you would think they would have jumped at the chance to turn her in and collect the reales, even though you have raised the reward. So, put it to good use. Post an invitation. Leave the menu to me."

"How many times do I have to tell you? She would not come."

Beatriz smiled and kissed her nephew on the cheek. She straightened his ascot as she told him, "How many times do I have to tell you that you do not know women? You have been treating her like a soldier. Treat her like a lady. It could not hurt. Even if you get nowhere with her, you will get a nice meal out of the bargain."

~~Jo