At the height of the war, he obtained the best whiskey, the purest cocaine, and the most obliging party girls all doors opened to him. He became the indispensable element in Lima’s revels. In a short time he had managed to establish relations with the most illustrious members of Lima’s political and social circles, had discovered the weaknesses of each, and, through his contracts, heard a number of indiscreet confidences, even a few state secrets. Tomás installed himself in a house incommensurate with his position as second secretary in the embassy, surrounded himself with Indian servants, ordered a luxurious automobile from Detroit, and squandered money on parties, gaming, and yacht clubs, without anyone’s being able to explain how he could afford such extravagances. In contrast, in Lima, the city of viceroys, swagger, and swash is considered stylish. Ostentation had always been looked upon as a vice in Chile, where sobriety is a sign of refinement. She talked to me aloud, startling everyone who saw her carrying on as if hallucinating, and I suppose that I heard her and answered, although I have no memory of the intrauterine phase of my life. Clinging to the creature developing in her womb, she tried to compensate for the loneliness of a woman who has chosen badly in love. She named her Isabel and established a dialogue that continues to the present day. Nevertheless, as soon as my mother sensed she was pregnant, she knew it would be a girl. In those days, such matters were discussed in whispers before unwed girls, and Memé had given no thought to advising her about the libidinous preoccupations of the birds and the flowers because her soul floated on different planes, more intrigued with the translucence of apparitions than the gross realities of this world.
Nothing had prepared my mother for motherhood.
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Ceremony, 2017.
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