She woke up early that day even before the cock began to crow. She was restless and had not slept well the night before. Today she was to fly to Boston in the late afternoon but she really didn't want to go. The peaceful life in her small village was enough to make her happy. She didn't want to deal with departures and arrivals at airports, and the crowds of people waiting for planes to catch and carry them to exotic places. She hated to fly and was happy where she was. Besides, Boston was cold in November and Angelo had told her that there might be snow.
In her village of Santa Cruz every day was like summer. The weather hardly changed. They didn't have four seasons like the people up north. It was very hot in summer and less hot in winter. Sometimes it rained more than at other times but she never had to worry about snow.
Mamma Ramphis also hated the flight from Ponce to Boston. For her it was too long. She could never understand why people enjoyed flying. She would rather take a car or a bus or even better stay home and tend her garden, but she had to go this time. Angelo her son was getting married over the weekend and it would be wrong if she didn't attend even if she didn't like the arrangement.
She went through her daily morning rituals, but was not excited about packing for the trip. She had prepared her small suitcase the night before and needed only to worry about a few last minute items. Anyway she only intended to stay as long as she was expected. A few days. Then she would return to her small village.
Mamma Ramphis lived alone. Her husband had died a few years earlier and all of her children were out living on their own. They had urged her to come and stay with them but she cherished her independence in the same way that she encouraged theirs and she was not about to live in someone else's household.
When she first heard about her son's impending marriage she was shocked into silence. He said he was going to have a "commitment ceremony" whatever that was.
Mamma Ramphis heard the word 'committed' and thought that he was serving a prison sentence.
"No," said Maria the lady who lived across the road, "Committed don't mean that he done a crime. It means that they put him in a crazy house. You know, like a funny farm."
It turned out to be neither. Angelo was getting married, well sort of.
"It's not like it used to be," said Miguel, a close friend. "There was a time when people just got together, got married and had kids. Now they live together without having kids."
In the case of Angelo, he couldn't have any kids, not because he was infertile or impotent. It was just because he was not interested. "Kids are a hassle," he once told his mother.
Then it was that she got the news that he had found someone special with whom he was going to share the rest of his life. He was both nervous and happy when he broke the news to her. When she found out who the person was she registered first shock and then silence.
"Edgardo?"
"Yes, mom. It's Edgardo."
"Your roommate?"
"Mom, you don't understand. He's more than a roommate. He's my lover."
Mamma Ramphis did not understand. Who ever heard of roommates getting married. It never happened when she was younger. People in those days got married the way God meant it to be, and had kids and raised families and walked with pride to church on Sunday. But this?
"Mom, I don't want to live with anyone else."
"It's all in your head," she told him. "Change your head and everything will be all right."
"Mom, it's not that simple."
"You mean, you're not happy being just roommates? You've got to be lovers too? Then why don't you just keep it to yourselves? Why do you have to tell everybody ?"
"That's because we want to proclaim ourselves as a committed couple to the whole community." He tried to explain.
"You both really belong in a funny farm. Intellectuals!" his mother murmured to herself. "They all want to be intellectuals with all these new ideas."
When the conversation had ended there was no understanding between them established. Angelo felt badly. He knew it would be hard for her to accept but he didn't realize the anguish it caused her. Through all of the misunderstanding and lack of acceptance, she never said she would not attend the ceremony. She only found it difficult to accept but not impossible to attend. She liked Edgardo. There was something soft, gentle and caring about him. When Angelo had been sick a year ago with a strange illness Edgardo gave Angelo the support he needed.
Today she was to fly to Boston to attend the wedding which they had called a "commitment ceremony." The flight was later in the afternoon and the wedding was to be tomorrow. She would arrive in Boston by mid-afternoon,attend the ceremony the next morning, go to the reception, give her son her blessing and return home the following day.
She went over in her mind all that she had to do in such a short time. At here age she never looked forward to things which changed her routine. She had come to appreciate an ordered life and the slightest distraction challenged her peace of mind.
She groomed herself and combed her hair before going to church. This was her morning ritual. She never missed her daily Mass no matter how busy her schedule. It was part of the order that brought peace to her life. The Church was only a short walk from her home and always the same people showed up so early in the morning.
Mamma Ramphis sat near the front close to the altar of the Blessed Virgin. She had her special pew which she favored and those who knew her always left the space vacant for her.
When the Mass was over the small group of worshippers, mostly older women, began to leave by the side exit. Mamma Ramphis found herself alone with the Blessed sacrament. The sacristan had extinguished all the lights except the candles on the main altar. He drew closer to the altar an knelt before the statue of the Virgin. The Madonna of Sorrows looked at Mamma Ramphis as if ready to speak. The statue was nestled in the corner of one of the chapels and a row of candles were arranged in a line at the base of her feet. Mamma Ramphis lit the largest of the candles and the flickering flame danced in front of the Virgin animating her face.
In a low whisper the penitent mother beseeched the Virgin. "Madre de los Madres, Virgin de los Virgines, Virgin de los que suffran, Virgin de los pobrecitos, Virgin de los santos, Virgin de todos hagame un gran favor.. make Angelo find a nice girl."
Suddenly a strong wind passed through the church and the flame of the candle flickered sending shadows and light across the face of the statue of the Virgin. A second wind stronger than the first entered through the main entrance and blew the candle out.