“Maybe she’s running late.”
“What time did she say she’d meet you?”
“About right now.”
The young man nodded. There were three chairs by the window. Maite sat on one of them, and she placed the cat on another. She kept the box on her lap, drumming her fingers against it. The young man went back to cranking the handle of the mimeograph. In a corner, a small metallic fan turned its blades.
After ten minutes had passed Maite began to fidget, tapping her foot against the floor. After around twenty minutes the damn cat began to meow mournfully periodically. When a whole hour had gone by, Maite stood up and approached the counter again.
“I think Duke is hungry,” the young man told her. He was smiling a little.
Maite blinked. For a moment she didn’t know what he meant. Then she realized he was talking about the damn cat. Of course he was hungry! Maite was hungry herself.
“Do you have any idea where I could find Leonora? I need to deliver the cat to her.”
“Sorry. I mean, if she’s not home…” The young man scratched his cheek. “Could be she’s at her sister’s house. It’s near here.”
“Do you know the phone number for her sister’s house?”
“I’ve got the address. I’ve delivered flyers to her there.”
“Can you give it to me?”
The young man frowned. “I’m not sure I should be giving her address to strangers.”
“I’m Leonora’s neighbor, okay? I live right across from her, that’s how I wound up with her cat. Now I really don’t want to drag the cat and that box back and forth a million times. Is her sister’s home really nearby? If it is, I could stop there and ask if she’s around. It sounded like she needed the papers in the box.”
Maite didn’t care if Leonora needed squat, but she wanted to get paid. Her car was not going to drive itself out of the mechanic’s shop. With the money Leonora had promised her, she’d be able to settle her bill and get the damn car back. They were holding it hostage. The good old days when accounts could be fixed with a handshake and a verbal promise were long gone. Shops and businesses would not extend credit to a person in need. The world was hard now, and those bastards wouldn’t let the car out of their sight until Maite paid every single cent owed.
Leonora had promised Maite thrice her original fee. She wasn’t going to pass on that. Yes, yes, maybe Maite had overcharged the girl in the first place, which meant she was going to make out pretty well once she collected, but Maite figured Leonora could afford that and more.
“Well?” she told the young man.
“Give me a second.”
The young man reached for a filing cabinet and pulled out a drawer, then found a receipt. He brought it to the counter and copied the address for Maite.
“Now look, I’ll give this to you, but please tell Leonora to give me a ring when you find her, will you?” he said, holding up a scrap of paper.
“I would if I knew your name,” Maite replied, irritated, snatching the address from his hand.
The magazines Maite liked to read offered tips on how to snag a boyfriend. Things such as ask him about his interests and don’t smoke too much. Recently she had read something called “The Fantastic Guide to Flirting” that included the recommendation to remember that every man you meet is a potential date, so women shouldn’t ruin their chances by being too rude or shy. Maite realized her harsh stare was probably not among the recommended tactics for interactions with men, but she was short on patience. Besides, even if the magazine assured her toads could turn into princes, this guy wasn’t a handsome specimen that she might want to impress, like Emilio. She could afford to be less than charming and it wouldn’t matter one bit.
“I’m Rubén,” he said with a certain pleasant blandness that must come with customer service, so that she felt compelled to reply in turn with a politeness that had been sorely lacking only seconds before.
“Maite. I’ll tell her,” she said, remembering her manners and shaking his hand. “And if you see her, can you tell her I went to her sister’s place?”
“Sure.”
Leonora’s sister lived in the Condesa, which was great news because it meant Maite would be heading in the direction of her apartment. If it had been somewhere else, she might have rethought her strategy. But she needed the money, and she also didn’t want to be stuck caring for the fat cat for days or weeks on end. Leonora had said she’d be gone for “a while,” and who knew what that meant exactly, if she was finding herself, or being creative, or god knows what. Maite didn’t even like cats. There wasn’t enough food to feed it. It would be on its last tin that night, and Maite would be damned if she was going to also be paying for meow-meow’s cuisine.
Maite finally arrived at the wrought-iron doors of a tasteful two-level house. She rang the bell and waited. A young woman opened the door. She was maybe a couple of years older than Leonora. The resemblance between the sisters was strong. She had Leonora’s pretty little mouth and her cheekbones, but her hair was cut shorter.
“Yes?” the woman asked.
“Are you Cándida? Leonora’s sister?”
“Yes.”
“Is Leonora around? I’m her neighbor. I’m trying to get a hold of her.”
“I’m not—” Nearby, a baby began crying. The woman turned her head and sighed. “Why don’t you come in?” she asked. “Follow me.”
Maite walked behind her. The cat, perhaps to compete with the baby, was meowing again. Maite wanted to give its carrier a good shake but contained herself.
Maite and Cándida walked into a large living room with plush sofas and a large orange-and-red rug on the floor. The house boasted a big TV and an impressive stereo console. A baby in a blue onesie was playing in its playpen in the middle of the living room. Or the baby had been playing. It was currently waving a pacifier in one hand and emitting a pitiful wail.
Cándida bent down, scooping the baby into her arms. Then she scrambled toward the television and switched it off. Maite set the box and the cat carrier on the floor with a grateful sigh.
“Sorry, you were saying you wanted to get a hold of my sister?”
“Yes. I’ve been watching her cat, and I need to return it to her.”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“I was supposed to watch it until Monday, but she hasn’t come home and now she wants me to bring her the cat, but I can’t seem to find her. I wouldn’t bother you, but she never showed up at the place where we were meeting, and that’s how I wound up here.”