Nacre's Promise

Chapter XXXI : Joys and sorrows

Cuevas-Blancas, 1912.

Jesus Andrea was growing and each important date was a pretext to celebrate the happiness he gave them. Birthday, Easter and Christmas celebrations brought the two families together. Salvador and Soledad now had two daughters, Octavia, the eldest, and Teresa, the younger.

In Diego and Isabel's family, another birth was expected at the end of the year.

Isabel lived this second pregnancy very well, without nausea or vomiting. She even rode in the countryside, with Loupa, until almost two months before giving birth. Diego was less absent. He had started the automation of his grandfather's factory, so it could run without a weekly follow-up. He always went to Barcelona but only once a month. He was therefore in Cuevas-Blancas when Isabel gave birth to their second baby boy. He was named José-Luis and quickly baptized.

Jesus was a very conventional first name in very Catholic Spain, which is why he was called by his aunt and mother by his middle name Andrea, which everyone copied. José-Luis it was just a little innovative, without being shocking, and it was well accepted. The reference to the Church seemed to have worked well for the elder one as Elvira, after attempting to remove him before he was born, was now mad about him. It is true that he was a charming child who, from the height of his two years, knew how to make himself pleasant with a smile.

Little José-Luis also had the chance to be favorably received by his grandmother. Taller than Andrea was at his age, he had inherited his father's stature and lean figure.

The two families regularly came to have lunch with Diego and Isabel to enjoy their presence and see the two little boys grow up. José-Luis was now five months old.

Isabel's little brother, Alfonso was in awe of his grand-nephews and, whenever he could, he sometimes spent a week at Isabel's to enjoy it.

— Isabel, can I take José-Luis in my arms? he often said.

— Yes, but first you have to replace his diaper, because there, I have the impression that he does not smell too good!

— Oh no, not that please. I just want to take him in my arms and rock him.

— Okay, I'm going to change it and put it in your arms, at least I would have tried! she said, laughing.

Since giving birth, Isabel had noticed that she still had a small, round belly. This detail worried her and she did not know how to react.

The following month, she took advantage of a doctor's visit to the hacienda to ask for his advice. He had followed her since childhood and knew her well. He, too, found that Isabel's body should have recovered from the birth of José-Luis earlier.

— Why has my stomach changed so much doctor? Is this the result of pregnancy? Isabel asked, I am not eating more than usual and my stomach is not going away. After Andrea was born, he disappeared in about two weeks and nothing has changed there.

— Daughter, I'm afraid you're pregnant again. You have all the symptoms and your belly is normal. You must have conceived him right after giving birth and he will be there in five or six months in my opinion.

Isabel was speechless, a child, not yet, the previous one is still too young! Not so fast!

Early the following spring, she gave birth to a tiny little girl, whom they named Loretta. She was born two months early and was breathing very hard. The doctor gave instructions to try to save the child. Steaming basins of water had to be placed in the room where the baby was sleeping. The water vapor was supposed to help her breathe more easily, but she did not pass the second night after her birth.

Isabel hadn't even been able to breastfeed her to give her strength. She sank into a kind of depression that made her stay in bed for several weeks.

Diego was also devastated, but apparently he put up with the situation better. He tried to convince himself that it was better for her not to live, rather than to be frail or disabled from premature birth.

Elvira remained prostrate when she was told that the little girl had not survived. This event made her plunge back into her torments. She relived over and over again the day she too had lost her daughter. His mind immediately drifted into dark places where nothing reached him. She was like crazy, screaming for no reason and sometimes even, throwing herself against the walls, crying hot tears.

The death of this child definitively marked the end of her mental equilibrium. She resented Isabel, proclaiming whoever wanted to hear it that it was her fault, threatening her with the same fate. She quickly confused the death of little Loretta with that of her daughter. She considered Isabel solely responsible and wanted to take her own life again.

The relative calm in which the whole family lived was irreparably destroyed from that point on. Isabel, whom Elvira perceived as the cause of all their misfortunes, was systematically questioned with each new disappointment. Without ceasing, she asked Rodrigo every day to send her away and Diego to repudiate her.