I received a package on our front door after our morning practice. It did not have a sender’s name or address on it. I had an uneasy feeling about opening the package. When was this package placed on our front door? I could usually hear footsteps when someone came up to the house.
“Let me open it,” Latisha said, after I had stared at the package for several minutes.
I handed her the package. She ripped it open and a cassette fell onto the dining room table.
“A cassette?” I said. “From who?”
Latisha pulled out a white letter envelope and opened it.
This conversation between Percy Braxton and Civita Member Haines Fonseca will help you. Mr. Braxton found out that Mr. Fonseca had the same conversation with Antonio Henderson, owner of the Mango Nightclub and gave his version to you. Mr. Braxton wanted to do the same thing and does not like being manipulated, especially over an issue between former lovers. His business, The Tajara Nightclub, should have nothing to do with a vendetta between a competitor in Darcie Fendlewiesen and friends like Ciscoe and Latisha Maldonado. That should be settled between the direct parties. Also, Mr. Braxton does not like the fact that a Civita member is using The Tajara Liquor License as a part of the vendetta.
Please listen to the five-minute conversation on the cassette and get it to the appropriate party as soon as possible.
I grabbed the cassette from Latisha and put it on the music player. We heard Percy’s voice first and I immediately recognized that it was from our last performance at The Tajara. Next, we heard Civita member Haines Fonseca telling Percy that he was to relieve us from dancing at the nightclub and if he wanted to sell liquor at The Tajara he would cooperate. Percy responded in anger and kept asking why he was being involved in something that had nothing to do with him. Haines Fonseca said that someone wanted to make sure that Ciscoe learned a lesson from crossing the wrong person. I knew who that person was.
“I knew I should have given that woman the whipping she needed a long time ago,” Latisha erupted. “She has gone too far!”
“A whipping would not change anything, my love. She has been scarred by her past in Santa Teresa. And the way we connected with Diondray Azur reminds her of it. She wants to remove everything from that past,” I replied.
Latisha sighed. “I understand that you two had a connection prior to us. But she cannot dictate how you respond to The Book of Kammbi or our connection with Diondray Azur. I know she loves him. Diondray told us that in his last letter from him. She has no right to keep us from dancing at Mango, The Tajara, or The Festival of Josette. And to have a Civita Member help her… she has a serious problem.”
“She is stubborn and will do anything to erase her past. Now we have something that will use that stubbornness against her. I will call Delia.”
I looked at my wife for several minutes and the anger had not subsided. I had not seen that kind of anger even after our arguments. Latisha usually remained composed under any situation. I would have to spend the rest of the morning calming her down. I knew she wanted to go to Darcie’s and give her a whipping. That could not happen. We finally had something to make the crookedness of our lives straight again.
I called Delia and explained that we had two cassettes implicating Civita Member Haines Fonseca’s role in blackmailing both nightclub owners. I played her the cassettes and Delia was speechless. She wanted me to bring the cassettes the next morning to the Civita building and she would get me a meeting with Katrina St. Claire. We only had four days left, but this could be the opportunity I needed to get the acceptance of Raphael’s petition reversed.
I shared with Delia that Antonio Henderson offered his parking lot as an alternative as we could not perform at The Festival of Josette. He suggested that we dance on the same day as the Guanamamma Extravaganza. Latisha and I had agreed to his offer and planned to spend the next couple of days getting ready for it. Delia liked the idea and wanted the Lavanny musicians and dancers to be a part of the performance. We had planned to include them anyway and were going to the Viddhana neighborhood that afternoon for our teaching session. Delia believed we should focus on the performance instead of trying to get the Civita to change their mind about accepting Raphael Reynolds’ position. I agreed reluctantly.
“I know what dancing at The Festival of Josette meant to Gustavoe,” Delia said in a soft tone over the phone. “It was his chance to show the city how much he loved the music and dancing. And he has passed that onto you.”
“Yes, he has. I still want dance at the festival. We cannot have it replaced by another music that came out of nowhere. My father would have staged his own march at the Civita if he were here.”
Delia went silent on the phone for a few seconds. “Correct, Ciscoe. He was a true believer in all aspects of his life. I loved that about him. When he believed in something, he was truly committed to it. I wished I had that same kind of commitment to him.”
“Same kind of commitment to him? Where you both together before he met my mother?”
Silence on her end of the phone again.
“Gustavoe and I were companions for a time. I loved your father. We had a passionate companionship. And you were the result of our passion.”
“You are my mother? Are you kidding?”
Delia began crying. “You are my son, Ciscoe. My companionship with your father ended shortly before you were born. Gustavoe was determined to make a living as a dannza and perform at the nightclubs in the Roxie and Penelope District. I wanted him to get a regular job and create a stable life for us. But he believed in dancing and would never accept that kind of life. We ended our companionship and I met Manrique a few days later. Manrique had just started his liquor business and I knew he was going to make it in that business. I started our companionship with him and ended up marrying Manrique.”
“What about Constance?” I asked.
“Gustavoe started his companionship with Constance after ours ended. I told Manrique that I was pregnant with Gustavoe’s child. I thought Manrique would end our companionship right then. This is Walter’s Grove and monogamous relationships are a rarity in this city. Manrique said he loved me and wanted to stay together under one condition. I had to create an arrangement with Gustavoe and Constance to make sure you were taken care of. And you could not know that I was your birth mother. Your father and Constance agreed to the arrangement. Constance could not bear a child of her own and she wanted to be a mother. So we agreed to the arrangement and I thought that it would be the best thing at that time. I was so wrong. I’m sorry, Ciscoe.”
I went numb and hung up the phone. Latisha wrapped her arms around me and I felt the tears fall from my face.
I was in a fog for the rest of the day. I did not want to eat or listen to music. Latisha and I did our teaching session in the Viddhana neighborhood and worked with the Lavanny musicians afterwards. But they could tell my mind was somewhere else. I kept seeing visions of Delia and my father together. I sensed the blue light was causing these visions. I knew her story about being my mother was true. Why would she agree to that kind of arrangement? I had called Delia my aunt for many years during my childhood. She was my mother all along? And the woman I called my mother, Constance, was not? Constance died a few years before my father but she raised me as her own. We got along quite well and I missed her. But why would she agree to the arrangement? The desire to be a mother was that strong? As a man, I would never understand that type of connection. I was even more grateful for her now. I wished she were here so I could express it to her. Delia Marie Villanueva was my mother and I was not sure if I could accept it.
***
That evening, Latisha and I had dinner at Saahib’s before going to Club Hancock to watch Zakiyah perform again. My wife did not want me walking around the house in a fog after Delia’s admission. Delia called several times throughout the day but I did not want to speak to her. Why would a mother give up her child so easily? For love? To help Manrique Villanueva become the biggest liquor business in the city? I could not wrap my head around why Delia would agree to his condition. She loved my father and it was true that being a dannza meant everything to him. Couldn’t she have joined him? And found a way to make it work? Latisha accepted I was going to become a dannza and follow in my father’s footsteps. Sixteen years later, we found a way to make it work. There were some lean years in the beginning our marriage. Latisha only had one condition: that we were monogamous. As long as I kept our marriage on that level, she would be there. Delia could have done the same thing.
A waitress brought Latisha and I our regular dishes as Saahib sat down with us.
“You saw Walter Fuente’s face amongst the tribe,” Saahib remarked after I explained our visit with the Nerdann tribe. “How could they bring him back from the dead? “
“Walter Fuente is still dead, brother,” Latisha added. “He is connected to the tribe through his spirit. He honored their music and recognized them as co-creators of Guanamamma music. We just saw an essence of his spirit out there.”
“Most people of this city know that Walter Fuente honored the tribe in his music,” Saahib said. “They have willfully decided to ignore that part of our history.”
“Raphael Reynolds has most of the city believing that Walter Fuente stole his music from the Nerdann tribe. And his petition to remove Guanamamma music and dancing from The Festival of Josette was accepted by the Civita,” I replied.
Saahib nodded as I finally started eating my tortas. “I heard about that, brother-in-law. I can’t believe the Civita accepted his petition. They have the history in their archives. What evidence did Raphael Reynolds provide to show that the archives are incorrect?”
Latisha and I stared at each other for a moment. “Some members of the Nerdann tribe believe Walter’s gift of the designated area for them was moved out of the city,” my wife said.
“We all grew up knowing that Walter’s gift to the tribe was an attempt to keep their way of life together,” Saahib said. “Sister, is there something else going on?”
Saahib picked up Latisha’s tone of voice. We did not want to mention the cassettes we had received from Antonio and Percy. That information could only be shared with Katrina St. Claire before it went public.
“There is a lot going on, Saahib,” she replied. “You and the rest of the city will find out soon.”
Saahib glanced at both of us and knew not to ask any more questions. “Well, the truth will always set you free.”
I nodded and finished eating dinner. I was glad to have this conversation with Saahib, and Latisha helped ease my mind somewhat about Delia. I needed to find out more about why she would agree to that arrangement before I could truly accept her as my mother.
***
Latisha and I met with Civita member Katrina St. Claire the next morning. We skipped our practice for that meeting. The last time we did not practice in the morning was when my father died. However, Katrina agreed to meet as soon as she got into her office. Delia told her about the cassettes and she wanted to hear them as soon as she could.
Her assistant, Nadine, brought us to Katrina St. Claire’s office. Nadine led us through several hallways on the second floor of the Civita building until we reached the offices of all five Civita members. Ms. St. Claire’s office was the last one on the right.
“Welcome, Ciscoe and Latisha,” Katrina said, as we entered her office.
She had dark brown skin and a wide smile that put me at ease immediately. Katrina’s braided hair extended past her shoulders and she dressed in a yellow jumpsuit with a red broach pinned near the pocket area. Katrina’s presence felt similar to Latisha’s.
“I appreciate you meeting with us, Ms. St. Claire.”
“Katrina is good. Ms. St. Claire is my mother.”
I nodded and handed her both cassettes. “Got it, Katrina. Here are the cassettes we received from nightclub owners Antonio Henderson and Percy Braxton. My wife and I were surprised that both of them recorded their phone conversations. But they both explained it was a regular occurrence due to the business they were in and if something happened to either one of them there would be something to show what happened.”
Katrina opened the envelope and took out the cassettes. She put the cassette that had Wallace’s conversation with Civita Member Haines Fonseca on her sound system first. “Oh no! That is his voice,” she said and placed a hand over her mouth. “He told me the night we saw your performance at Gancha’s that he believed the archives we have about Walter Fuente’s arrival here to create our city were accurate. And now he’s saying that he believes Raphael Reynolds’ claim is the correct history.”
“But you accepted his petition,” I replied.
“I was the only one that voted against the petition,” Katrina continued, and played the cassette that had Percy’s conversation. “The other members believed those Nerdann tribe members’ story that Walter’s gift was his way of moving them out of the city. He had got the foundation of his new music from them and since they would not assimilate into becoming citizens of the city, they had to be moved out.”
“We visited with the elders and they stated that Walter Fuente did not steal their music. They freely shared with him. Did any of the Civita members check with the tribe elders?” Latisha asked.
“No, we did not. Haines Fonseca assured us the tribe members that came to the hearing for the petition represented the entire tribe.”
I raised my hands in front of my face and saw the blue light glowing just above them. I felt that light race through my body. I could hear Walter’s voice in my head. I stood up and fell back on the floor. I heard my wife yelling my name. All I saw was blue light for the next several minutes.
“Ciscoe!”
My wife was behind me and had raised my shoulders up while Nadine sat next to me with a glass of water. I could tell she had given me some of it to drink. The front part of my shirt was wet.
“I saw everything,” Katrina said with a pained expression on her face. “The tribe shared their music with Walter freely and they wanted to have the designated area. And we voted to get rid of our city’s real music from The Festival of Josette. I’m sorry.”
I just realized the blue light had shown Katrina what we witnessed at the designated area with the tribe. I didn’t know if they could reverse their decision on the petition. But at least she knew the real history of our music and dancing and why it should have never been removed from The Festival of Josette.