It's Just Lola (19 page)

The girls were still lying awake, each thinking of the events of the day when they heard a loud knocking at the door.  Lola picked up the small lamp they kept lit at night.

“Who is it?”

“Mehmet.”

“What
’
ll we do?”
Enriqueta’s voice
quivered with panic that mirrored Lola’s. 

“For God’s sake, Lola, open the door
.
  I’ve been traveling for weeks, and I’m exhausted.”

“You can’t come in—we’re not dressed.”  She heard a loud groan on the other side of the door.

“Throw the bolt and I’ll count to ten before
coming in
.”

“Twenty.”  Lola moved to the door.

“All right, twenty.” 

Lola spent a restless night.  Between reassuring Enriqueta that all would be well and her own fear that all would
not
be well, she dozed fitfully.  She tossed and turned trying to think of a plan.  When morning finally
came,
she dressed quietly and tiptoed
into
Mehmet’s office where Concha slept.

“Concha,” she whispered, and proceeded to tell the sleepy girl that Mehmet had returned.  Together they moved Concha’s pallet and few belongings into the bedroom and placed it next to the sleeping babies.  Lola warned Concha that Enriqueta was very worried and asked her to do whatever she could to make her sister more comfortable.

“
Mehmet may
sleep until midday when I get back.  I
’d
like to talk to him before Enriqueta, so please try to keep the girls quiet.”  Concha smiled and said she would do her best to let Mehmet
and
Enriqueta sleep until noon.

Luis arrived at the shop early with the fresh produce and left immediately, telling Lola that he had to replenish the supplies of candy and tobacco.  The morning seemed to drag on forever.  Lola dusted everything in sight just to keep busy.  She had climbed up on a crate to reach one of the high shelves behind the counter when a warm voice that she recognized instantly wished her a good morning. She let out a surprised exclamation as her arms windmilled in a barely successful effort not to fall.

“I’m sorry, Lola,” said Mehmet with a smile, “I seem to have very poor timing.  I apologize for startling you, and I apologize again for waking you and your sister so late last night.”  He ended his speech with a deep bow. 

“Estela
’
s grown wonderfully and is even more beautiful than when I left.  The beauty of her smile is only surpassed by that of her mother.”  Lola wanted to protest that startling statement, but words failed her.

“I congratulate you on your progress in my absence.”  He bowed again.

“Mehmet, I’m glad you returned safely from your journey,” said Lola.  She only wished he hadn
’
t returned quite yet.  “I
’
m sorry we
lost track of time and didn’t find another place to live
.  I’ll start
looking
today as soon as I finish work.  I promise.” 
She was close to tears.

“That was one of the things I came to talk about. 
Y
our sister wasn
’
t feeling well this morning
and
didn
’
t leave her room, so I couldn
’
t talk to her.”  Lola breathed a sigh of relief over that morsel of good news.  “I wanted
to tell
you
that
I’d like you all
to stay.  Concha presented me with the most delicio
us breakfast I
’
ve ever eaten, and the place really looks like a home now.  It made me
happy
just to walk through the living room. 
I
’
d be delighted if you stayed.”

“I
’
m touched by your kindness
,
but we can
’
t impose upon your generosity.”
  Maybe Luis would let them sleep in the shop at night.  Lola was grasping at straws, and she knew it.

“I assure you it wouldn
’
t be an imposition.  It would be my pleasure to have your company.”

Lola wanted desperately to accept his offer. 
L
ife would be
so much easier.
  After all, he had his own room.  He was pleasant company, and it was always enjoyable to talk with him.  They
’
d even feel safer with him in the house.  No, they couldn
’
t do that.  Some rules of ladylike behavior were sheer nonsense, and she was glad to be rid of them, but certain rules were there for a reason.  Living with a man that was not a member of the family was not acceptable—even under Lola’s new improved standards of behavior.

“I’m so sorry, Mehmet,” Lola’s voice quavered as the tears
f
illed
her eye
s.  “We couldn
’
t live in a house with a man.  It wouldn
’
t be proper.”

“It wouldn
’
t be proper?” repeated Mehmet.  “Perhaps I didn
’
t make myself clear.  I want nothing more than to be your friend.  My intentions are in no way dishonorable.”

“I’m sorry,” said Lola.  “It would not be seemly.”  Her voice was nearly a whisper.

“It would not be seemly?”  Mehmet’s voice got louder with every word.  “
N
ot proper?”  He looked at Lola with a strange expression on his face.  “And I suppose that living in a whorehouse was seemly and proper?”
H
e turned and left the shop with his hands clenched by his side, taking long purposeful strides.  “If that’s what you want—so be it!” he called over his shoulder as he left.

Lola
was devastated
. 
She had ruined everything.  Mehmet had offered his friendship without asking any questions.  His friendship had allowed them to prosper
, and
she had
angered
him
.
No, he’d looked more than angry—he’d looked furious. 
What were they going to do now?  And h
ow did he know
where they lived before
? 

A
persistent knocking woke Lola.  It took her a few seconds to remember why she was sleeping in the living room fully dressed.  Then she remembered, and embarrassment and shame swept over her once more.  She had insisted they could not bolt the door and deny Mehmet entrance to his own home.  She
had tried to
s
i
t up
and
wait for hi
s
return.  At the time it had seemed perfectly reasonable to her that perhaps she could talk him into staying in a hotel or with a friend for a day or two until they could move. 

Now, as she walked toward the door,
she knew it was
an outrageous request.  After all, it was his house.  Her hands shook as she reached for the knob.

“Mehmet?”

“Yes, Lola.  May I come in?”

She opened the door.  She felt weak with relief when she saw the smile on Mehmet’s face.  She stood back to let him enter.  He came in and sat on the settee, gesturing for her to join him.

She tried to smile and sat in a chair.

“Lola, I want to apologize.”

“No.  I
’
m the one who should apologize.  We knew you were coming home. We should
’
ve moved out long ago.”

“I should never have come in the middle of the night.  It was my fault that I couldn
’
t wait another day.  My haste to see you was ill advised, and I see that now.
You
’
re absolutely correct that it would not be proper for young women to be living in a man’s apartment.  Not only was my request improper, but it was inexcusable of me to betray my knowledge in such a crude manner.  I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

“Y-y-you want
m
-
me
to forgive
you
?”

“I’ll explain
everything.
I need to tell you why I asked you to stay.
 
I thought of you every single day I was gone.  On my way back, the closer I came to you the more I missed your bright presence in my life.”  He paused, waiting for her to say something.

“I
-I
don’t know what to say.
”
 
Was he asking her to be his…
Her mind searched in vain for a
n acceptable
word for mistress.  

“I arrived in the middle of the night because the thought of being away from you one more day was more than I could bear.  I missed you
so much
.  I couldn
’
t bear the thought that Estela was growing up, and I wasn
’
t here to see it
.
”  He looked intently at her face. 
“I’m not expressing myself well.  I can see that you
’
re confused.  Lola, I want to share my life with you and your beautiful baby.  If you will accept me, I want to marry you.”

Lola
couldn’t believe her ears
. 
Marriage? 
She couldn’t breathe. 
She should say something, but she couldn’t make her mouth move.  Her tongue was paralyzed. 
Marriage!  That was her dream—to have her very own family
.
  Mehmet was offering her the fulfillment of her most secret dream
.
  Only minutes before she had been worried that he would turn them all out into the street in the middle of the night—and now she had an offer of marriage from a kind wonderful man who made her laugh and who cared for her
.
 
She already knew him better than her sisters had known their husbands when they married.  She and Mehmet had spoken together for hours—and enjoyed it.  She should say something. 

“
Don’t answer now. 
I know t
his is
too
sudden
, and
m
arriage is a lifetime commitment
.  You should think about it
.”  Mehmet came over to Lola’s chair and took her hand.
  She
let him lead her to the settee.  She was numb with shock?
S
urprise?
P
leasure?  Words flowed from Mehmet’s mouth like
water
that had found a crack
in a dam.

“I fell in love with Estela the first time I saw her sleeping in that vegetable crate
,
and
I thought you were her older sister.  I used to come to see Estela, and I was so impressed with how bright and interesting you were that it wasn
’
t long before Estela took second place in my heart.

“When I knew I wanted more than our lunch hour conversations, I tried to find out more about you.  It was a simple thing to follow you home and find out that you and your sister were highly regarded by the others in the house.  You weren
’
t one of them, but you didn
’
t look down on them for their profession.  La Señora gave you high marks for obeying the rules and being helpful and generous.

“They told me about the man who brought you work every week.  It only took a few coins to get everything he knew.  He
’
d have sold his mother for a handful of coi
ns.  Y
ou were right—even a whorehouse would be better than living under that man’s thumb.”  Lola had to smile at that remark. 

The smile relieved her shock, and she realized she was so thirsty her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth.  How could she interrupt this moment for something as irrelevant as a drink of water?  “Can I get you coffee?” she asked. 

Mehmet gave a low chuckle.
 
“Yes, if you join me.” 

Lola
went
to the kitchen to make coffee—and get her water.  She
turned as she
heard
Mehmet
behind her. 
He was
walking on his tiptoes
and
holding out his arms to keep his balance
.  S
he put her hands over her mouth to stifle her giggles.  This was no time for giggles
.

“I changed my mind,” whispered Mehmet. 

“What?
 
You don’t want to marry me?” 

He
rested his hands lightly on her shoulders
and put his face very close to hers.  “No, my little innocent, I
’
ll never, ever change my mind about wanting you to be my wife.”  Lola
thought
she was drowning in his dark brown eyes.  She felt warmth spread from her shoulders where his hands rested.  “I changed my mind about the coffee.  It
’
s late and I
’
ve been walking since I stormed out of the shop this morning—or rather yesterday morning.  It took me a long time to decide what to say next.  Now that I
’
ve told you what is in my heart, I
’
m suddenly too tired to stand—and you still have to get up early because Luis is counting on you.
”  Only his hands on her shoulders kept Lola from leaning into him and putting her arms around him. 
“
W
e can talk more tomorrow when you
’
ve had time to think about what I said.”