“I don’t know if it did,” Kayana continued, “but after that time, they never said another mumbling word whenever I walked by.”
Leah picked up a forkful of mac and cheese. “I know we’re going to discussLike Water for Chocolate, but I really was looking forward to sampling some of the recipes in the book.”
“We can still do that,” Kayana said. “I was thinking about Super Bowl Sunday.”
“Where do you plan to hold the Super Bowl party?” Cherie asked Kayana.
“Graeme and Derrick still haven’t decided.”
“I wouldn’t mind hosting it at my place,” Cherie volunteered. “I’m expecting the delivery of my dining room furniture Tuesday morning. Y’all are welcome to come over early next Sunday morning and do what you do best—cook.” Kayana and Leah shared a look, and then nodded.
Cherie pressed her palms together. Now she didn’t have to wait months to host a book club meeting and entertain guests in her new home. Super Bowl Sunday was a week away, and during that time, she would also plan what she wanted to contribute to the festivities.
“I’m ready to discuss Tita and her tyrannical mother, Mama Elena, before I attempt to drink anymore. Y’all know I’m a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.”
“I know you’re still being carded when you go out and order a drink,” Leah told Cherie.
“Not really. I didn’t go out much, and when I did, I rarely drank anything alcoholic.”
What she wanted to tell her friends was that she’d never dated. Weylin had never taken her out in public, but had planned for them to meet in out-of-the-way places as far away as midtown Manhattan, Massachusetts, and even Vermont. She would go to a particular hotel, check in under her name a day or two before he’d arrive to meet her. He’d claimed he was considering a career in politics, and he wanted to keep his private life private until he announced his engagement. Like a gullible little fool, she’d believed him. It wasn’t until after he’d announced he was marrying Michelle that she began her campaign to get whatever she could from Weylin. Yes, she’d blackmailed him, but he didn’t seem to mind because, like Cherie, Weylin wasn’t ready to let her go. It had become a win-win for the two of them. She gave Weylin what Michelle hadn’t been able or willing to give him, while Weylin gave Cherie the financial stability she’d always wanted.
“Lee and I are big girls, so we like big-girl drinks.” Kayana and Leah again exchanged fist bumps.
“Give me time,” Cherie teased, “and one of these days I’ll be a big girl, too.”
Chapter 15
“Iknow I’m biased when choosing this title,” Kayana began, “because of the recipes. And it truly had me thinking about making my own sausage.”
“That’s a lot,” Leah remarked.
“I agree,” Cherie said. “Do you think it was right for Mama Elena to stop her youngest daughter from marrying the man she loved because she wanted her to take care of her in her old age?”
“It depends on the culture,” Leah said. “It’s called ultimo-geniture, where the youngest child inherits and is given the responsibility of taking care of the house and their parents, while the older children are free to marry and live their lives by their leave. Look at Jane Bennet inPride and Prejudice. As the eldest, she was expected to marry before her sisters. It was the same with Rosaura inLike Water for Chocolate. As the older sister, she was expected to marry before her two younger ones.”
“I’ve read about primogeniture, where the eldest of both parents, especially a son, have the exclusive right to inherit everything. But it’s crazy as hell that a girl—even the youngest—shouldn’t be allowed to marry or have children until after the mother’s death,” Cherie spat out angrily. “What if the mother lives beyond the time when her daughter is past her childbearing years?”
“That’s more plausible now than years ago,” Kayana said, “because people are living longer. Remember, Tita is initially agreeable to her fate until she falls in love with Pedro. That’s when everything changes for her because he becomes the love of her life.”
“And don’t forget that Pedro loves Tita unconditionally,” Leah reminded them.
Cherie emitted an unladylike snort. “He loved Tita so much that he agreed to marry Rosaura to be close to her. I think of it as a Mexican Romeo and Juliet where the lovers aren’t allowed to be together.”
“You’re right, Cherie,” Kayana said. “Pedro is Romeo, and Tita is JulietandCinderella. But we have to remember that the book is about how life used to be in Mexico and how tradition imposed rules of marriage during that time.”
Leah took a sip of her cocktail. “What I did like was the sexual tension between them. Tita said she would never forget the moment when their hands accidently touched when they both bent down to pick up the same tray; she knew then she was in love with Pedro. There was passion in the way they looked at each other. Whenever they were close enough, they touched each other, and that passion was transferred to Tita’s cooking.”
“As horrible as her mother was, Tita did have an ally with Nacha, the kindly servant and cook,” Kayana reminded them. “I liked that the author turned cooking into a sensual experience. All of Tita’s emotions were transferred to her dishes.”
Cherie nodded, smiling. “You’re right about that. However, I found Rosaura to be as hateful as her mother when she accused Tita of putting something in her wedding cake that made her vomit all over her wedding dress.”
“Don’t forget, Cherie,” Leah said, “Rosaura wasn’t the only one affected when eating the cake. Those who attended the wedding were crying uncontrollably because when Tita made the cake her tears of losing a love went into the ingredients.”
Kayana slowly shook her head. “Her mother thought she’d deliberately sabotaged the cake and beat her so severely that Tita had to spend two weeks in bed to recover from her bruises. And when she tried explaining to Mama Elena that she’d only added one extra ingredient to the cake and that was her tears, her mother was having none of it. When she went to find Nacha to back up her claim, she found that the poor woman had died.”
“Mama Elena was a real witch,” Cherie said. “I believe her husband died two days after Tita was born so he could be rid of her.”
“You’re probably right,” Leah agreed. “There are some people who are never happy no matter what you do for them. Case in point, my former mother-in-law. Adele complained if it was raining or if the sun was shining, and I think it was the same with Mama Elena. There’s no doubt Tita was devastated once she discovered Rosaura was pregnant with Pedro’s baby, when if she’d been allowed to marry him, she would’ve had his child.”
