Chapter 6: Boxes on the Lawn

On Wednesday morning Valeria's key stopped working in the gate.

She tried it three times, and then Fabiola leaned on the buzzer.

The gate swung open on its own, and they drove up the long drive.

Her clothes were on the front lawn.

Eleven cardboard boxes stood in two rows on the wet grass.

Her winter coats were folded on top, and her paint tubes spilled out of one.

Her wedding photo lay face up on the path, and a sprinkler had been turned on it.

Across the road, two neighbors stood at their fence with their coffee, watching.

A man in a dark suit came down the steps with a folder.

"Señora Ocampo. I'm the family's lawyer. Your cards have been closed."

"The house is under Doña Aurora's name. You are asked to take your things and go."

"The house is Rodrigo's," Valeria said.

"It was never transferred. I can show you the deed."

"Where is my husband?"

"In Veracruz, on business. Since last night."

Fabiola got out of the car, picked up the wedding photo and shook the water off it.

"That's cute," she said. "Is that your signature on the sprinkler, or did you hire someone?"

The lawyer's jaw tightened.

"I would advise you not to cause a scene."

"I advise you to get a better job."

Valeria put her hand on her sister's arm.

"We'll take the boxes," she said. "I'll be back for the rest."

"The rest is not yours."

"Then the rest can wait for the board."

She loaded a dozen boxes into a car built for four, with the neighbors watching the whole time.

The following Monday morning, five days later, the Escalante Foundation board met on the ninth floor of a glass tower downtown.

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