ASCENSION (27 page)

Maria Diaz looked up at the antique bronze clock
then closed her
Bargazine
Russian
s
able
coat
against the intrusive cold air.
An unspoken
strain
existed between mother and son
.
Alfonzo forgave her for lying
about his father
. T
h
e
reason for their estrangement
arose
from her disapproval
about
his lifestyle and
her
incessant
complaints about
the
negative influences around her grandson
.
T
he
once unbreakable
bond of a mother and son had begun to corrode
. It worsened when
he refused to allow Sal to spend summers in New York. She took this as an offense
and the
constant badgering
about it
wore on his patience
until
he
eventually
shut-down.
This emotional retreat pained him but it was the only way he
could
cope with her maternal
disappointment.
Their relationship
regressed
to the point
where
Sal
and his wife were the
only
thread
s
keeping them attached.
At some
juncture
he hoped she
’d
allow him to raise the boy without constant
i
ntervention. Of course, the likelihood of this happening was
improbable.
For now he s
ettled for
a respectful truce
.

H
e led
the small
party
into the main lobby
and approached the concierge. Once the
ir
names
were confirmed
on
the guest list
t
he
y
continued
across the marble floors
to the gilded elevators
. Alfonzo walked beside
his
mom
as she held
Sal
’s hand.
Aunt
Carmen
,
Jessica
,
Manuel
and
Raul
amongst the entourage
.
A
watchful
Giuseppe
followed a short distance behind
them
.

Selange observed her family enter the Vanderbilt Terrace banquet hall and
waved.
Th
e
formal affair
required the men to dress for the occasion. As she looked out she smiled proudly at Alfonzo and Sal wearing
elegant
m
atching tuxedoes
. They were a handsome pair, shiny locks of black and the unmistakable Diaz charisma
–but
it was the blue eyes sparkling with joy which caused her heart to pound.
She
waved
to them
from
the
ornate podium
as they were escorted to
an
oval table near
the
front of the room
. M
ore guests stream
ed
through the opulent
doors
and
she went back to checking the microphone.

Alfonzo listened to
the
excited chatter emanating from the tables
. He
observ
ed
t
he eager young faces
of applicants. Many
were
dazzled by the high
ceilings,
deep green
marble wainscoting
and pilasters capped with gold leaf cornices dressed with
nickel silver railings.
I
mmaculate dressed waiters mov
ed
unobtrusively
from each
table
attending to guests
. Tonight his wife
outdid herself. The classy
turn-out for this altruistic cause made him proud. She’d taken a tragedy and found a way to help those in need, a true indication of the woman he married.
A woman of grace.

Shanda
arrived with a date, a man with shifty eyes who appeared ill at ease in the lavish
environment.
He decided to go over and check the dude out up close and personal.

He
excused himself and strolled to her table. “
Hola
Shanda, how’s it going?” He leaned over to kiss her cheek then sat down for a moment, “Who’s your friend?”

“Hi Alfonzo, this is
Jason.
Jason Alfonzo
.”

Jason extended his hand, “Nice to meet you Alfonzo.”

They shook hands and Alfonzo nodded, “
Yeah, same here.”
He
scanned
the hall
and recognized a dozen or so
faces
out of the one hundred
odd guests. The open bar was practically empty
and
he asked Jason, “Do you drink?”

“Yeah…I do.”

“
Let’s go have a drink
.” He turned to Shanda, “Do
you mind?”

Shanda nodded, “Whatever, I’m going
over
to say hi to Selange
anyway.
”

Alfonzo got up and the men walked to the bar and sat down. “So what are you drinking?”

“Rum and coke.”

Alfonzo tapped the counter to get the bartender’s attention and the tuxedo clad gentleman hurried in their direction.

“Yes, sir what can I get you?”

“A rum and coke for my man here.”

“You’re not drinking?” Jason inquired.

“No
, maybe later
.”

The bartender placed the drink on a napkin with a colored mixer in front of Jason, “Here you go sir.”

Alfonzo leaned against the bar, “How long
have
you known Shanda?”

“Couple of weeks.”

“She’s a good woman.” Alfonzo put a hand to his chest
.
“A
n important part of my family.
”

Jason nodded his understanding.

“Where
are
you from Jason?”

“
Queens.”

“What part, Jamaica, Sunnyside, what?”

“
Forest Hills.”

Alfonzo nodded watching the man drink. From the silence he could feel Jason’s discomfort, “How
’d
you two meet?”

“
We actually met months ago when I did her taxes
then bumped into each other
recently
and you know
.
”

Alfonzo’s lip curled down, “No,
not really. Why don’t you tell me?
”

Jason frowned. Was this guy for real? He didn’t like the interrogation but something in Alfonzo’s posture told him to tread carefully.
He also noticed the large dude hulking nearby watching. This Alfonzo was trouble.
“I decided to ask her out
i
s what I mean.”

Alfonzo didn’t assume to know anything about a person. He preferred clarification and not half
sentences.
“And how is it going so far?”

“T
aking it one step at a time man.
We’
ll see where it leads.”

“As long as you treat her
right
you and I won’t have a problem
. Any
way
I have to get back.” He reached in his pocket to remove his
Hermés
snakeskin wallet and took out a fifty. He placed it on the shiny wood counter, “See you around, Jason
from Forest Hills
.”

“
Yeah, see
y
a
.”

Alfonzo
returned to his table and smiled at Sal whos
e
nose was wrinkled in disgust, “Manny farted.”

He chuckled, “Yeah I
smell it.”

His young cousin Manny smiled sheepishly, “
Sorry
,
couldn’t hold it
.”

Kids!

***

Finally, the guests were assembled and the ceremony
commenced.
He
noticed
a
young man seated across the room at a scarcely filled
table
.
Apparently, he was
n
ot with the well distinguished couple
huddled together a few seats away
.
Their sophisticated
attire and the
general
lack of communication
or eye contact with the young
man told him this.
Alfonzo’s eyes linger
ed
there
out of curiosity, hoping to gauge insight
into
the
young man
i
n the
ill-fitting black suit
sitting with an aristocratic air
of confidence
.
A noticeable
juxt
aposition
.
He wondered if he were
one of
tonight’s
recipient
s
or
there to lend support to a
family
member
.

“Hey cousin,” Domingo said over his shoulder
.

Alfonzo
turned around, “
Que
tal
?
”

“All good
cuz
.”

Domingo was late as usual. He turned down
an
opportunity to ride in one of the limousines
. He insisted on driving his car, a late model
BMW
M
-
series
c
oupe. His fiancée Teresa and their t
wo children
were at his
side. They were
nicely dressed
. T
he
li
ttle girls wore
dress
es
which
matched
their m
other’s
teal colored
gown
.

“
Hola
Teresa y
ninas
, you girls are very pretty.
” Alfonzo
complimented.

Teresa smiled and touched his shoulder, “Thanks.” She turned to Domingo, “We’re going to get seated.”

Domingo nodded and watched them walk away then commented on the swanky
event
, “Selange really did her thing, cool.”

“
Yes she did.”

Feedback from the microphone as Selange addressed the attendees gained everyone’s
attention.
Domingo
pat
his cousin on the shoulder then went to join Teresa at the next table.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Selange Diaz and
I am
your
hostess for this evening. I
am glad
to welcome each of you to the second
annual Brown-Diaz Foundation
Award Ceremony.
”

Everyone
clapped and Selange continued.

“The Brown-Diaz Foundation’s mission is to give bright young men and women
an
o
pportunity to pursue their educational endeavors by awarding two scholarships
annually
to college bound students who meet our eligibility requirements.” She smiled, “This year we
received thousands of applications from many wonderful and deserving students
.
I hope
those who did not receive scholarships this year will apply again next year.”

Selange
turned sideways as the large widescreen monitor came to life and pictures of
h
er parents and stepdad
Al
appeared, “The Brown-Diaz Foundation celebrates these wonderful
individuals
. Their
love of education
,
hard-work,
charitable giving
and the belief everyone despite their humble beginnings should have access to higher education
is the reason why we’re all here
–and
to recognize the achievements of very smart
,
inspiring young men and women from our community who despite adversity have excelled academically.”