Where Does My Heart Belong? (7 page)

CHAPTER
17

March
1972

Later that evening
Grandma tells me about Tony.  He’s 32 and from Cuba.  He came to the U.S. when
he was ten years old.  The youngest of five children, he has three older
brothers and one sister.  The family is wealthy.  They are commercial growers
of thousands of acres of fruits, vegetables, and wine grapes.  Tony and his
father manage the business end of things and his three brothers manage the
crops.  They employ hundreds of people during the growing season.

“Angelita is not Tony’s
biological daughter.  He had a relationship with her mother and got her
pregnant, or so he thought.  Being the decent man that he is, Tony stuck by
her.  Gave her a place to live and told her that he would take care of her and
the baby.  She wanted him to marry her, but he said no.  When the baby was
about 6 months old, Tony was convinced that she couldn’t be his.  She had fair
skin and blue eyes.  Angie’s mother was Mexicana, with dark skin and brown
eyes, as Tony has.  Tony confronted her about who the real father was but the
she insisted that he was her father.   One day Angie got hurt, and they typed her
blood in case she needed some. Her blood type is B negative, a rare type.  Tony
is O positive and her mother was A positive.  There’s no way that combination
can produce a B negative child.   When Tony learned this, he was determined to
get out of the relationship with her mother but he wanted to keep custody of
Angie.  Even though his name was on her birth certificate, the lawyers told him
that it probably wouldn’t happen.  Courts usually award custody to the mother. 
Then fate took it out of everybody’s hands when Angie’s mother was killed in a
car accident.  So, there you have it.”

“Oh, my goodness, that
poor little thing will never know who her real parents are.”

“That’s true, but Tony is
a wonderful father and Angie has Tony’s family who dote on her.”

A couple of days later
I’m lying on my bed reading a good book when Grandma calls down and says there
is someone here to see me.  What the heck, I don’t know anybody who would come
to see me but I make my way upstairs to see who it is.  I can hear her and a
man laughing uproariously.  It’s Tony. 

“My goodness, what’s all
this mirth and merriment?” I ask.

“Tony has invited both of
us to take a tour of his family’s farms, and have dinner with his parents. 
What do you think, would you like to go?”

“That sounds great.  I’d
love to go.  Thank you, Tony.  But what’s so funny about that.”

“Nothing, your Grandma
was just telling me a funny story,” he says.  “How does Friday sound?  Plan to
stay overnight.  I’ll send a car for you.”

“Oh, no, I want to drive. 
My
new
car is 2 years old and only has like 2,000 miles on it because I
never have any place to go.”

“Okay, I’ll write down
the directions for you.” 

”Libby, take Tony
downstairs and show him our wine cellar and get his opinion of it and the
wines.”

So I take him down and
show him the cellar.

“Wow, this cellar is
really great, Libby, and you’ve got a fine selection here too, seeing that most
of them come from our winery,” he teases.  “Which is your favorite?”

“I’m not a wine drinker;
I think it tastes like vinegar.  There was only one time that I had some and
thought it was decent.  It cost $20.00 a bottle at this restaurant where I had
dinner.  I think it was called Merlot.”

“Merlot is great.  I’ll
be sure and have some open for you on Friday.  Do you know which winery made
it?”

“No, it was in Spokane,
Washington, probably something local.”

“A good Merlot with a
steak, it doesn’t get much better than that.”  Then he bursts out laughing.

“What in the world is so
funny around here today?”

“Did you have to pay the
tip that time too?”  He’s laughing uncontrollably.

“What’s that old woman up
there been telling you?  God, nothing’s private anymore.  Come on, get on out
of here before you sour the wine,” and I push him out of the wine cellar into
the bedroom that adjoins it.  Still laughing, he throws himself face down on
the bed and pounds the mattress with his fist.  I can’t believe I’m watching a
grown man act this way.

Hearing his raucous
laughter, Grandma yells down at us from the top of the stairs.  “What’s going
on down there?  You’d better not be into that wine.  Tony has a long drive
ahead of him.”  I hear her coming down the stairs.

“Wine, my ass, I’m headed
for the hard stuff.”

“Libby, your language!” 
She looks over at Tony who is still in hysterics on the bed.  “What’s the
matter with him?”

“Nothing that a frontal
lobotomy wouldn’t fix.  He’s nutso.  You should be more careful who you let in
the front door. This is all your doing.  You just had to tell him about Bill,
didn’t you?” 

Tony gets off the bed and
is trying to get himself under control but my words have set him off again. 
“I’m sorry, ladies, but I would have given anything to see that. I can’t
believe that a little thing like Libby punched out Bill Fitzgerald.   If his other
dates hear about it, you’ll be a hero.  I just keep imagining the whole thing
in my mind.” 

“Keep it up, keep on
yapping, I can do you too,” I tell him.

Still laughing, he takes
my arm and leads me up the stairs.  “That has to be the funniest story I’ve
heard in a long time.”

“Where I come from women
stand up to their men, we don’t take that kind of shit.”

“I’ll remember that, but
right now I think I’d better head for home.   You ladies have a nice evening
and I’ll drop by later this week with the driving directions.”  Still
chuckling, he heads out the door.

Then this gorgeous,
crazy, hunk of a man is gone and I’m having second thoughts about going on the
trip to his farm.  I keep telling myself that I don’t want anything more to do
with men, but when I’m around him all those thoughts go out the window.   On
one hand, I’d like to get to know him better but on the other, I think I should
stick with my resolve to have nothing more to do with men.  If I let down my
guard, will he be the next man who will break my heart?

CHAPTER
18

On Friday, Grandma and I
go to Tony’s in Marin County.  The drive takes about 45 minutes and I’m so glad
to be going somewhere.  I’ve been getting so bored and restless lately.  When
we get there he introduces me to his parents, José and Isabel, and then takes
us to a beautiful little 2-bedroom guesthouse that’s situated behind their main
house.  “Take a few minutes to get settled while I get the car,” he tells us.

When he comes back, he’s
driving a beautiful white Cadillac sedan with Angie in the back seat.  I open
the back door and get in with her but Grandma hollers at me to get up front so
I can ‘see things’ better and not get car sick.  Baloney, she just wants me
next to Tony.  I tell her I’m fine where I’m at and if I get sick, I’ll let her
know.  Angie’s brought a baby doll along and gives it to me to hold. Then she
hands me some clothes for it and I change its clothes.  I listen to her chatter
softly in Spanish and we spend time playing with the doll until we get to the
fruit groves where we get out of the car and Tony introduces us to his brother,
Manuel.  After giving us a tour of the groves, he gives us a bag of oranges
that have been in cold storage and then it’s off to see the vegetable fields. 
Grandma has jumped in the back seat this time so I’m stuck up front with Tony. 
“She moves quick, doesn’t she?” he whispers to me.  I ignore him and stare out
the side window.  When we get to the vegetable fields, we meet his other
brother, Ramon and after touring the fields, we go back to Ramon’s house for
lunch.  After lunch, we drive to the vineyards, which are quite a ways away in
Sonoma County.  His brother, Luis, manages the vineyards and the winery.  Luis
gives us a tour of the winery and gives me a bottle of Merlot, and Grandma a
Chardonnay.  Then it’s off to tour the fields.  I am very impressed with what
this immigrant family has accomplished.  They left behind hardship and poverty
to come here and make a better life and they’ve certainly succeeded. 

After we get back to the
guest cottage, I ask Grandma how these people managed to accomplish all this.

“They came to the U.S. in
1950 and settled in Florida.  Tony was just 10 years old.  José, Isabel and the
three older boys found work in the citrus groves.  Tony and his sister, Elena,
went to school.  After a couple of years, José found permanent work for all of
them with a large grower.  They had five paychecks coming in with very little
expenses.  It doesn’t take long at that rate for the money to pile up.  By the
time Tony graduated from high school they were millionaires.  José had always
wanted to go to California so they sent Tony to college out here where he got
degrees in business and agriculture.  He and his sister are the only ones with
a formal education.  Tony found the property that Manuel now manages and
encouraged José to buy it.  He did and they all moved out here.  The rest, as
they say, is history.  They kept buying properties and developed them into what
you see today.  It just goes to show what can be accomplished when a family
sticks together for a common goal.”

“Wow that is truly
impressive.  What a great family.  They should be an inspiration to other
immigrant families who come here.”

“They are.  Occasionally,
José holds free seminars and explains to other families how he became so
successful.  Okay, enough of this, we’d better get dressed for dinner.  Tony
will be here soon to take us up to the main house.”

When we get to the main
house Isabel tells us that dinner is about an hour away.  That will give us
time to sample some wine and for Tony to give me the grand tour.  Their
beautiful five-bedroom log home has almost 5000 sq. ft. The main level has oak
wood flooring, a beautiful log burning stone fireplace, living room, kitchen
with breakfast nook, formal dining room, vanity bath and the master bedroom. 
The master bedroom has a gas-burning fireplace, full bathroom and opens out to
its own private balcony deck with a Jacuzzi.  Upstairs there are three
bedrooms, a full bathroom, and a TV loft area.   The lower level has a family
room, gas fireplace, dining room, wet-bar, one bedroom, a half-bath, a laundry
room, and a huge wine cellar.

When he’s done showing me
the house, we go back to the living room and join the others.

“Wow this place is spectacular;
it’s even bigger than Grandma’s.  I love log houses and I’ve never seen a more
beautiful one.  If you ever want to sell it look me up.”

He laughs.  “You’d rattle
around in here like a marble in a tin can.”

“But it’s out in the
country and it’s a log house.  Exactly what I want.”

“I hope one day you get
everything that’s exactly what you want.  Now, let’s go drink some wine.  We’re
going to have the Merlot you liked with dinner, but I want you to sample some
other ones.”  He offers me his arm and leads me down the stairs to the wine
cellar. 

I taste several different
kinds of wine and they all taste good compared to the vinegary stuff you get in
the grocery store.  My favorite is a Chardonnay, which Tony says, is his
favorite too.  Grandma has already drunk two glasses of it and is getting
tipsy.  We go back upstairs and the men put steaks on the grill while I help
Isabel in the kitchen. 

The wonderfully simple
meal of steak, baked potato, green salad, and asparagus is superb.  After
dinner, we sit around the fireplace and José plays his guitar for us.  His soft
strumming puts Grandma to sleep.  “I think it’s time we head back to the guest
cottage,” I tell Tony.  “I can’t thank you all enough for inviting us tonight. 
I hope we can return the favor one day.”

“Libby, you’re welcome to
come back anytime.  Come and spend a few days whenever you want to,” Isabel
says.  “I miss having another woman in the house now that Elena’s gone.”

“Thank you, I’d like
that.  Good night then, we’ll see you in the morning.”

“I’ll have breakfast for
you whenever you get up.  Sleep as long as you like.”

I shake Grandma awake and
Tony takes us back to the guest cottage.  “I had a nice time tonight, Tony,
thank you.  Your home is beautiful and your parents are wonderful.  I’ll see
you in the morning.”

“Buenas noches,
querida.  Hasta mañana.”
Good night, dear.  I’ll see you tomorrow.

CHAPTER
19

June
1972

Ever since we went to
Tony’s, he’s been stopping by several times a week.  “I think you have an
admirer,” Grandma tells me.

“I hope not.  I think
he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, but I’m not interested in getting
tangled up with another man.” 

“You could do worse than
Tony Vera.  He’s good looking, intelligent, has good family values, not to mention
that he’s extremely wealthy.”

“Yeah, well I’m wealthy
too.  That doesn’t cut any weight with me.  Besides, if he’s that great why
hasn’t some woman snatched him up?  There must be something wrong with him to
be single at his age.”

“When you’re as wealthy
as the Vera’s are, you don’t go off and marry just anyone.  Tony has to think
about his whole family.  A marriage and divorce to the wrong woman could end in
financial ruin for them, to say nothing of what it could do to Angie.”

“I thought rich people
always had pre-nuptial agreements so there wouldn’t be any financial problems.”

“They do, but everything
can be contested.  Fred and I talked about this.  He would like to marry me but
after discussing all the legal ramifications, we decided to keep things the way
they are. “

Just then the doorbell
rings and when I open the door Tony’s standing there grinning and looking
incredibly handsome in a suit and tie.  Wow!  I’ve only seen him wearing Levi’s
with a t-shirt and a cowboy hat before so this is a shock.    “Hey Libby, how
would you and Jessie like to go to the zoo with Angie and me this Saturday?”

“Not me,” Grandma says. 
“Too much walking, that place is huge.  You go ahead if you want Libby; I
already have plans with Fred anyway.”

“Say yes, Libby, we’d
love it if you’d come.”

“Well, okay then, what
time, and what should I wear?” 

“Great!  Jeans will be
fine.  The weather is supposed to be nice but be sure and bring a jacket in
case it turns cold, and wear comfortable walking shoes.  Jessie’s right, it’s a
big place.  We’ll pick you up at 10:00. ”

With that, he’s out the
door.

“Why is he here every
other day, and how did he get past the security gate without the alarm going
off?” I ask Grandma.

“He’s one of two people
that have the security code.  Leona is the other one.  When I ended up all by
myself, I needed to know that someone could get in if I was disabled.  We can
change that now, though, if you want.”

“No, that’s okay, if you
trust them, then I will too.”

 “The main reason that
Tony’s in town is that he’s looking for a place to live and a children’s
daycare for the summer.  He’s enrolled Angie in a summertime preschool and
doesn’t want to spend two hours on the road every day driving her back and
forth to Marin County.”

“Gee, Grandma, why don’t
they just move in here?  We can let Angie have the other upstairs bedroom. 
Since you think Tony and I would be such a good match, we can shack up
downstairs,” I tease her.

She looks at me for a
moment.  “That’s a great idea, Libby, but there’ll be no ‘shacking up’.  Let me
think about this for a while.”

“Hey, I was only
kidding.  Don’t go getting any big ideas.”

On Saturday, the three of
us go to the zoo and I have a really good time.  First, we take Angie to the
petting zoo, which is a great place for children. There are chickens running
around loose and ducks swimming in a pond.  She gets to hold a little kitten
and a small rabbit.  Then she pets miniature goats and brushes a little
miniature donkey.  A beautiful Golden Retriever dog drops a ball at her feet
and she throws it for him.  He brings it back and drops it at her feet once
more.  For five minutes, they play fetch and then Tony tells her it’s time to
go see the other animals.  He brought along a little red wagon for her to ride
in so he sets her in it, and off we go the see the monkeys.

We visit the monkeys,
elephants, giraffes, big cats from Africa and beautifully colored birds.  By
that time, Angie has had enough so Tony treats us to lunch at one of the zoo’s
restaurants.  When we finish lunch, he wants to go see the reptiles. 

“No way,” I tell him. 
“That child might have nightmares for a week if she sees all those snakes and
alligators.”  He grins, and says he was only teasing.  

“We’ll leave it for the
next time when it’s just the two of us.” 

“In your dreams.”

When we get home, we tell
Grandma all about it.  “You can go with Tony the next time,” I tell her. 
“There won’t be much walking, just one exhibit.  He didn’t get to see the
reptiles so he wants to go back.”

“I’m not looking at any
snakes so he can just go by himself.  Sit down, Tony; I want to talk to you.  I
think I have an answer to your housing dilemma.  How would you and Angie like
to move in here with Libby and me?  You can have the lower level.  Libby can
move upstairs with me.  When Angie gets out of her school at noon, Henry can
pick her up and we can watch her until you get home.  What do you think?”

“Oh my goodness, Jessie,
it’s an answer to my prayers.  Thank you.  What do you think Libby?”

“I’m fine with it Tony,
it sounds like the perfect solution for you.”

“Actually, Tony, it was
Libby’s idea in the first place, so say yes.”

He looks at me and grins,
then reaches over and squeezes my shoulder.

“Yes, I’ll do it but only
if you’ll let me pay rent.  I don’t want to take advantage.”

“There’ll be no rent but
you’re more than welcome to contribute your favorite food and beverages.”

“It’s a deal.  Angie’s
school starts a week from Monday so how about we move in next weekend?  That
will give Libby time to get her things rearranged.”

“Great, it looks like
we’ll be having a full house.  I couldn’t be happier.”