"
"You can imagine--hot, steamy, crowded, flowers everywhere. We had fun,
the five of us. She turned out to be smart, full of life. She'd just
come from Quito and was trying to find work and a place to live. She
was staying with a cousin and running out of money."
"The father was in Quito?"
"Yes. A hell of a thing. He was from a family that had been there for
centuries. I guess he and Constanza got into it when they were very
young. The family allowed her to stay on one of their properties, paid
all the bills. She kept having babies. The situation changed, and she
was let go. I don't know whether the guy was tired of her or whether he
married or took a position in the family empire that wouldn't allow the
arrangement or what."
"Terrible," Arthur said.
"Constanza was sad, but she wasn't bitter. She loved him. She was from
a poor family, and she had a good life for a while--that's how she
looked at it. When she told me the story I thought, for once in your
life, be useful. I married her. In a couple of months we were all set
up in California, kids in school learning English, the whole trip."
"Incredible," Arthur said.
"It was fine for a few years. Then I got restless. The kids kept us
going, but the relationship was out of gas. I didn't know what to do. I
had cash flow problems. But I got lucky and made a good call in the
market. I figured I'd better change things while I could, so I told
Constanza that we were going to take a vacation in Quito.
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