Page 132 of The Moon Sister
‘And there may not be enough brandy for everyone,’ added José, clanking his bottles to the floor.
‘This is what it all comes to.’ El Tigre shook his head. ‘We shall die here and be forgotten.’
‘Never!’ said Lucía, trembling now. ‘I shall never be forgotten!’
‘Here, señorita, you must stay warm.’ The broom lady took off her thin apron and wrapped it like a shawl around Lucía’s bare shoulders.
‘Gracias, señora, but I have a better way to keep warm . . .’
Half of her sentence was drowned out by an explosion that felt as though it came from directly above them. ‘Señores y señoras.’ Lucía shouted to be heard as she lifted her arms above her. ‘As theestupidos payosexplode this beautiful city, wegitanoswill dance!’
*
Of all the memories Meñique would hold of his Lucía in the future, the hours trapped in the cellar of the Teatro Coliseum while the beginning of Spain’s destruction began in earnest were the most vivid.
She roused the terrifiedcuadroto standing, insisting that the men pick up their guitars and that the women dance. As the army garrison was attacked by the Nationalists, the noise of the guns was drowned out by a dozengitanoscelebrating their ancient art, a lady with a broom as their only audience.
At four in the morning, the city fell silent, and, fuelled by fear, exhilaration and the alcohol José had brought with him, thecuadrosank to the floor and slept.
Meñique woke first, feeling dazed from the effects of too much brandy. It took him some time to work out where he was – it was pitch black – and when he did, he reached around the floor to find the candles that he’d stowed under his jacket last night. Lighting one, he saw everyone was still asleep, Lucía’s head lolling against his shoulder. Gently moving her to lie on his jacket, he took the candle, and, disoriented, searched for the steps that led upwards to the door. It took all his courage to push it open, knowing if he couldn’t that everyone in the cellar was already the living dead, buried under what rubble remained of the theatre above them.
Thankfully, it opened easily, and he stepped out into the passageway that led to the dressing rooms. All there was to show for the night’s violence was some missing plaster from the ceiling. Meñique offered up a prayer of thanks, then walked along the passageway until he came to the stage door. Opening it slowly, he peered outside.
The air was still thick with dust from the endless explosions, and the silence of the usually bustling city was eerie. He looked up and saw that the building opposite was scarred by bullets and grenades, the windows shattered. Meñique stifled a sob. He knew that this was the beginning of the end for his beloved Spain.
He returned to the cellar in a daze and regarded the peacefully sleepingcuadro.
‘I’m thirsty,’ Lucía said as he shook her gently awake. ‘Where are we?’
‘We are safe,pequeña, and that is what is important. I will go upstairs to the bar and see if I can find some water.’
‘Don’t leave me.’ Lucía clung to him, her nails like talons against his skin.
‘Then come with me, and help.’
The two of them took the steps up to the theatre, using their candles to find their way through the deserted auditorium and out into the bar.
Lucía piled chocolates on top of the boxes that Meñique had filled with jugs of water.
‘All this for free,’ she exclaimed, despite the circumstances obviously delighted as she stuffed the expensive confectionery into her mouth.
‘You know that you can buy as many chocolates as you want to, don’t you?’
‘Yes, but that isn’t the point,’ she shrugged.
Downstairs in the cellar, its inhabitants were waking up, assessing where they and Spain found themselves this morning.
‘We must leave for Lisbon as soon as we can,’ Lucía pronounced. ‘How can we get there?’
‘More to the point, how can we get the papers totakeus across the border?’ asked Meñique.
‘And how can I get to the apartment to get the money I’ve hidden under the floorboards?’ grunted José.
In the end, it was decided that Meñique and José would venture out and try to make their way to their apartments to take what they needed, leaving the rest in relative safety.
‘I will come with you,’ declared Lucía. ‘I cannot arrive in Lisbon without my wardrobe.’
‘There will be no room for that, Lucía. No, you stay here and behave yourself. No one leaves but me and José, okay?’
