The betrayal of someone I had trusted completely. I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t know things were so bad. Neither did I, Mom. I thought Eduardo loved me, that we were going to build something together, but it turns out I was just an easy way to get money and papers. Angela started crying again.
How could I have been so stupid? How could I not have realized what he really was? It was tempting to tell her that I had seen the signs from the beginning, that I had tried to warn her that Eduardo had never seemed trustworthy to me, but that would have shattered my facade of a compassionate, vulnerable mother. Love isn’t blind sometimes. Honey, don’t blame yourself.
But Mom, I didn’t just ruin my life, I ruined yours too. I treated you horribly. I took your house, your car, your things, everything, to give it to a man who abandoned me at the first opportunity. It’s over, Angela. No, it’s not over. Now we’re both in trouble because of me
You lost everything Dad left you, and I lost my marriage and my future. We’re two poor women trying to survive. If she only knew, I thought, if she only knew that right now I have more money than she can imagine, that I own the building where I lived, that I could solve all her problems with a phone call, but it wasn’t the right time yet. The next day we went to the bank.
Angela was nervous, hopeful. I kept up my act of a confused widow who didn’t understand much about finance. The bank clerk led us to the safety deposit boxes, checked my ID, and opened box number 247. Inside were jewels, lots of jewels: rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings. Some pieces I recognized as inheritances from Roberto’s family. Others were completely new to me
There was also a letter explaining the origin of each piece and its approximate value. Angela gasped. “Mom, this must be worth a fortune.” “Do you think so?” “Yes. Look at this emerald and this pearl necklace.” “Mom, Dad hid a treasure here.” According to Roberto’s letter, the jewelry was worth approximately 200,000 pesos.
It was a significant amount, but nothing compared to the rest of my inheritance. It was like finding coins under the sofa when you have a million pesos in the bank. “What do we do with this, Mom?” “I don’t know, honey. They’re family heirlooms.” “But Mom, we could sell some pieces. With this money, you could get your beach house back, and I could pay off some of Eduardo’s debts.” There it was again.
Even when she found something valuable, Angela’s first reaction was to think about how to use it to solve the problems Eduardo had created. She hadn’t learned anything yet. “Are you sure you want to use your father’s inheritance to pay off Eduardo’s debts?” “What other choice do I have, Mom?” If I don’t pay something, the banks are going to seize everything I own. And technically, I don’t own anything.
Everything was in Eduardo’s name. Think about it carefully, honey. Once you sell these jewels, you won’t be able to get them back. I know, but what else can I do? I can’t get a job with all these pending lawsuits. No employer is going to want to hire someone with so many legal problems. We took the jewels home.
Angela spread them out on the kitchen table and examined them one by one, calculating which ones she could sell and which ones she could keep. It was painful to see her reducing her father’s memories to numbers on a piece of paper. Mom, I think this will solve the most urgent problems.
Not all of them, but at least the most serious ones. And then what? Then I’ll look for a job, try to rebuild my life, maybe I can find a small room to rent, something cheap. You don’t have to leave, honey. You can stay here as long as you need. No, Mom, I’ve already taken advantage of your kindness too much. Besides, you need money too. You can’t support me indefinitely.
It was fascinating to see how Angela had constructed a completely false image of my financial situation. To her, I was a poor widow who could barely support herself when in reality I had enough resources to buy the entire building where we had found the jewels. That afternoon Jorge called me.
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