FELISBERTO HERNANDEZ
393
"Of course not , darling ! 1 wouldn 't think of it !"
He spoke in a soothing voice. So then she said:
"Well , I'll tell you . She was my compl ete opposite. Calm as a
cl ear day. She could spend hours just sitting in a chair, staring into
space."
" Perfect," he sa id
to
himself. Though , on the other hand, after
pourin g himself a glass of wine, he thought : "1 can 't very well use
Daisy to have an affair with the spirit of my mother-in-law. "
"And wha t were her ideas on love?"
" Do you find mine inadequate?"
" Mary, pl ease!"
"She had none, lucky for her. Which was why she was able to
ma rry my fa ther to pl ease my grandparents. He had money . And she
made him a fin e wife."
Horace, relieved, tho ught : "Thank God for tha t. One thing less to
worry a bo ut. "
T hough it was spring, the ni ght turned cold. Mary refill ed Daisy,
dressed her in a silk ni ghtie and took her to bed with them, like a hot
wa ter bo ul e. As sleep came on him, Horace felt himself sinking in to a
warm poo l, where a ll their legs tangled, like the roots of trees planted
so close together there was no way to tell them apart.
III
Horace and Mary were pl anning a birthday party for Daisy. She
was going to be two years old. Horace wanted
to
present her on a
tricycl e. He told Mary he' d seen one a t a T ran sportati on Day exhibit
and was sure he could get it. H e didn 't tell her the reason for using this
particul ar device was tha t he remembered seeing a groom elope with
his bride on a tricycl e in a film years ago. The reh earsals were a success.
At first he had troubl e getting the tri cycle going; but as soon as the bi g
front wh eel turned it grew wings.
The party opened with a buffet dinner. Soon the sounds from
human throa ts and necks of bottl es mixed in a loud murmur. When it
was time to present Daisy, Horace rang a school bell in the courtyard
and the guests all went out, ho lding their glasses. They saw him
coming down a long carpeted hallway, struggling with the tri cycle,
whi ch a t first was almos t invisibl e. Of Daisy, who rode behind him,
onl y her flowin g white dress showed. He seemed to be fl oating on a
cloud. Daisy's feet were on the axl e that joined the small back wheels,
her arms thrust forward hugging him, with her hands in his trouser
pockets. The tri cycle came
to
a stop in the center of the yard, and in the
