The doorbell doesn´t ring. It clucks with a plump annoying click - like some huge mechanical hen, imperiously announcing that you have someone waiting outside. I´m dried off and have on a pair of green khaki pants from Soho. Isa´s always pushing me to update my wardrobe so she didn´t mind the expense. I button my shirt halfway up and one more button and slip on my worn WalMart sandals. Diego looks at me quizzically and I shrug, hoping he´ll open the door. And he does, setting down his mate and easing through the kitchen to let ... yes it´s him, Cagnazzo in. The Inferno´s thirty third canto deals with betrayal especially of one´s intimates - friends and family. And it extends the biblical notion of the souls of traitors being cast into the inferno at the very moment of their treason while their bodies remain alive above on Earth. We are hardly in Rennaisance Florence or Rome in 1300 where the inhabitants surely felt themselves at the center of the world and where their particular problems were thus felt as universal. But the problem of how to trust a traitor is very much alive in this small two bedroom apartment on the coast in Mar del Plata. Had Kabe trusted Cagnazzo? I have no choice but to deal with him and try to secure what advantage I can. Cagnazzo kisses Diego fondly and moves quickly towards me exuding warmth and kisses me tenderly.
Che ahora si estas presentable. Llegaste un desastre!
I´m off balance already. He´s a step ahead as usual.
Y con este calor ... queres un mate?
Dale Keeley! A ver que armamos ahora!
I move into the kitchen, his jovial acidity washing towards me where Diego has already filled the kettle and cleaned out the gourd in one fluid lazy series of motions. Or did he already have the kettle on? I focus and notice that the water is almost boiling. Yes, he had the kettle going already. I take the gourd that Diego has filled and carefull pour a small stream of nearly boiling water on the dusty fragments of leaves and then sip first. I then refill the mate and hand it to Cagnazzo. He takes the gourd and sips a little, less than you would expect. He´s ready to get down to business. I speak. That is, I inform my superior on the day´s events.
Y bueno, la pc quedo ahi.
Cagnazzo fixes me with a cool stare and says kindly,
Che la plata que encontraste ahi lo dividimos. Te parece?
I involuntarily move several parts of my face at once - eyebrows up, mouth open and eyes wide and then narrowing. Cagnazzo laughs easily and Diego sips a little more quietly than usual. What choice do I have?
Son Shekels, Billetes de quiñientos.
Cagnazzo´s eyebrows lift slightly - Shek-les? Cuantos billetes?
Cincuenta, 25 mil en total.
Bien, y la tasa?
Y ... ponele 25 centavos US. Quizas algo mas.
Mira vos ... 6 mil ... dos cientos cincuenta.
Si mejor cambiarlos en Buenos Aires. Los billetes de 500 apenas salieron hace poco ... no se donde podemos averiguar si ...
Lo hacemos en el city si. Decime Keeley como quedo el PH?
Quedo la pc y los utensiles. Nada mas. Nada de afiches, diplomas, fotos, ropa ... nada mas quedo. Los Shekels los encontre debajo de la cama. Una cinto los sostenia.
Cagnazzo looks approvingly at Diego and nods satisfied. I gather I´ve passed this test. I try out my next pathetic little scheme and hope it interests Cagnazzo.
Ese buque Israeli. El Arcangelo. La tripulacion ... los alojaron aca en Mardel un tiempo.
Dale te acordas donde? ( leaning forward, good )
A ver ... ( god, don´t panic where the hell was it?? ) A! Claro! Felix Marino en Tejedor ahi por Parque Camet. Lo coparon para retener la tripulacion ahi.
Diego seems interested,
Si ... me parece que lo vi en CNN en Miami. Como un camping ... algo asi.
Bien. Ya casi es Febrero. Dieguito, vos vas a reservar una semana lo antes posible ahi en Felix Marino. Para los pibes de Cordoba. Son del partido ... ahi pasaran fin de verano. Keeley armame un plan para rastrear bien el lugar mientras estamos ok? A ver si esos marineros dejaron algo por ahi.
Diego sips his mate with a skeptical look. I wait quietly while Cagnazzo takes a call on his cellphone. Then he stands and kisses us both and heads downstairs. Let´s see what we find there. Maybe the Arcangelo´s crew left something behind. Shekels, dollars, euros ... weed? I´m actually excited enough not to be worrying about what may be a dangerous scheme. Who knows if anyone else is watchng the campground? I pause as I pour some juice into a glass. Ok, maybe I´m being dramatic. It was a month ago and no one likely cares. A few sailors were kept at the campground for a week. So what? Diego is out on the balcony again and Isa is still asleep and Oriana is out somewhere. If my soul is being cast down in bits and pieces, I´m doing it on the cheap.
Che ahora si estas presentable. Llegaste un desastre!
I´m off balance already. He´s a step ahead as usual.
Y con este calor ... queres un mate?
Dale Keeley! A ver que armamos ahora!
I move into the kitchen, his jovial acidity washing towards me where Diego has already filled the kettle and cleaned out the gourd in one fluid lazy series of motions. Or did he already have the kettle on? I focus and notice that the water is almost boiling. Yes, he had the kettle going already. I take the gourd that Diego has filled and carefull pour a small stream of nearly boiling water on the dusty fragments of leaves and then sip first. I then refill the mate and hand it to Cagnazzo. He takes the gourd and sips a little, less than you would expect. He´s ready to get down to business. I speak. That is, I inform my superior on the day´s events.
Y bueno, la pc quedo ahi.
Cagnazzo fixes me with a cool stare and says kindly,
Che la plata que encontraste ahi lo dividimos. Te parece?
I involuntarily move several parts of my face at once - eyebrows up, mouth open and eyes wide and then narrowing. Cagnazzo laughs easily and Diego sips a little more quietly than usual. What choice do I have?
Son Shekels, Billetes de quiñientos.
Cagnazzo´s eyebrows lift slightly - Shek-les? Cuantos billetes?
Cincuenta, 25 mil en total.
Bien, y la tasa?
Y ... ponele 25 centavos US. Quizas algo mas.
Mira vos ... 6 mil ... dos cientos cincuenta.
Si mejor cambiarlos en Buenos Aires. Los billetes de 500 apenas salieron hace poco ... no se donde podemos averiguar si ...
Lo hacemos en el city si. Decime Keeley como quedo el PH?
Quedo la pc y los utensiles. Nada mas. Nada de afiches, diplomas, fotos, ropa ... nada mas quedo. Los Shekels los encontre debajo de la cama. Una cinto los sostenia.
Cagnazzo looks approvingly at Diego and nods satisfied. I gather I´ve passed this test. I try out my next pathetic little scheme and hope it interests Cagnazzo.
Ese buque Israeli. El Arcangelo. La tripulacion ... los alojaron aca en Mardel un tiempo.
Dale te acordas donde? ( leaning forward, good )
A ver ... ( god, don´t panic where the hell was it?? ) A! Claro! Felix Marino en Tejedor ahi por Parque Camet. Lo coparon para retener la tripulacion ahi.
Diego seems interested,
Si ... me parece que lo vi en CNN en Miami. Como un camping ... algo asi.
Bien. Ya casi es Febrero. Dieguito, vos vas a reservar una semana lo antes posible ahi en Felix Marino. Para los pibes de Cordoba. Son del partido ... ahi pasaran fin de verano. Keeley armame un plan para rastrear bien el lugar mientras estamos ok? A ver si esos marineros dejaron algo por ahi.
Diego sips his mate with a skeptical look. I wait quietly while Cagnazzo takes a call on his cellphone. Then he stands and kisses us both and heads downstairs. Let´s see what we find there. Maybe the Arcangelo´s crew left something behind. Shekels, dollars, euros ... weed? I´m actually excited enough not to be worrying about what may be a dangerous scheme. Who knows if anyone else is watchng the campground? I pause as I pour some juice into a glass. Ok, maybe I´m being dramatic. It was a month ago and no one likely cares. A few sailors were kept at the campground for a week. So what? Diego is out on the balcony again and Isa is still asleep and Oriana is out somewhere. If my soul is being cast down in bits and pieces, I´m doing it on the cheap.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario