Chapter 7: Alejandro – Peruvian mountains – next day morning, early December
Eva stepped back to examine her work, and definitely did not use the world 'admire' as she looked. She had attempted to copy a pattern that she had seen online. It had called for alternating red and green lights, but somehow something had not worked correctly. Unresolved whether to continue of not, she concluded that for now, she had other projects of concern to complete and time was a factor.
By February, things would change considerably in her world. Noting the position of the rising sun, Eva knew from almost 15 years of experience that Paul would be here soon, and they would, as ever, change places. She wondered what he would think of her attempt to brighten their dwelling. She had already prepared to hear negativity. She knew Paul too well – he would tell her that the lights bring unwanted attention to the dwelling. He would remind her that their work was secret, and that such an ostentatious display celebrating a ritual they had no belief in was too risky.
She would, as always counter that it was in the child's best interests. He had no others his age with whom to interact, and she could tell that during the past year, he had grown considerably both in body and mind: Alejandro was no longer a needy child, yet was certainly not mature enough to be on his own. This worried Eva, because before too long . . . her thoughts trailed off, and then she heard her partner approaching from the rear. She turned to face him.
"Good morning, my dear," he began, in Spanish, through the translating device built in to his protective suit. Seeing the curious lighting pattern, Paul inquired, "Have you been conducting an experiment? I must say it seems rather . . . overt."
Before he could continue on a path she had already predicted, she defensively explained, "It is a festive decoration. I did it for Alejandro."
Disappointed that his emotionally sensitive partner seemed incapable of controlling her impulses, Paul delicately warned, "You are making this hard on yourself, Eva. Remember, in February he will . . ."
Eva did not want to hear him say it, and interrupted, "Yes, we know what will happen, and that is precisely why I am making more effort this year. Soon, this will cease to be anyone's home – the end is near. My conscience troubles me, Paul."
Intimacy was something they had promised to each other, but the combination of duty to Alejandro and a rigid work schedule demanded that personal time spent together would arrive later. Trapped in these necessary protective suits, Paul had to control his resentment of the child. It did not help that she was so oppositional to him in her attitude towards the teen.
"You are right, of course," he began, understandingly. "Build whatever structure or device you feel will help the child . . . enjoy his . . . ritual."
Eva detected that she had not entirely won over his feelings, but appreciated his effort to comply. Gently, she reminded him, "It is called 'Christmas' – a celebration of a fallen religious faction leader. I think it is a perfectly charming way by which to remember someone, especially considering our own belief system . . ."
Playfully, he interrupted, "We are part of a science faction, my dear. We do not believe in . . ."
Now it was her turn to interrupt, and she countered, "Some believe in both things, Paul – they just support one or the other more profoundly."
Paul felt he had succeeded in returning her to good cheer, and had personally had enough banter after another long shift working alone. He inquired, "Speaking of Alejandro; is he nearby?"
Eva explained, "I left him inside with a language assignment. I must say, he is a rapid language learner. He seems to have a considerably advanced facility for them."
Educating the child beyond the basics had always seemed excessive to Paul, yet for discretionary reasons, his opinion had remained a personal secret. Politely he responded, "Yes, he has a certain talent there."
Deciding to return indoors, rethink her festive plan, and say goodbye to the teen before swapping with her partner, Evo spotted Alejandro seemingly hard at work and in Mandarin, inquired, "How is your lesson proceeding?"
"Very well, I believe," he replied in kind.
Surprised to hear him express uncertainty where it concerned language, she inquired in Spanish, "What might you be finding difficult?"
Again, in kind, he explained, "Mandarin has a problem regarding inflection. The words are easy to pronounce, but the tone one uses to speak them is difficult to master."
With a gentle reminder, she began, "The language ranks number one for planetary speakers."
"I know," Alejandro responded. Attempting to sway her thought, he asked, "Can I switch to English? I have been practising that, and except for the frequent multiple meanings of words, I feel very confident about it."
Eva was in charge of his language lessons, and wanted Alejandro to learn. Her attitude was that a part of learning should be enjoyment. She responded, "Certainly," and then spied some dates that Paul had just added to the morning nutritive sustenance. She added, "Can you tell me what, one calls the Spanish, 'dátil' – in English?"
Alejandro loved a challenge, and quickly ran the word through his translator. A few moments later, in English he announced, "Dates – they are a fruit."
Using her translator, Eva spoke in English, "That is correct. You have not tried this fruit before. I hope you enjoy it."
A few minutes passed whilst Alejandro ate his meal, and during which, as usual, Paul and Eva adjourned to their private quarters to share a few moments. After that, Evo headed to work, while Paul stayed with Alejandro. This was rare, but two years ago, Eva had encouraged Paul to exchange shifts with her once every two weeks. In this way, Alejandro had the occasional benefit of male company through the daytime.
Alejandro continued to use his translator program through his meal, eventually discovering that 'date' meant something else in English: the numerical day of a week. He explained to Paul, "I know today's date. It is December twelve!"
He knew that the correct word was 'twelfth' but he found saying anything in English with a 'th' letter combination in it extremely difficult to pronounce. Paul actually wanted to sleep, but encouragingly responded, "Less than two weeks until . . . Christmas."
Excitedly, Alejandro explained, "In Spanish, the date is 'fecha' – a completely different word."
Distractedly, Paul added, "You are doing well. I believe most native Spanish people speak little to no English."
Alejandro read another meaning for the word 'date' in English. A 'date' also described a meeting between two people who often had amorous intentions with one another. He declared, "I have found one more meaning for the word 'date', in English: it means an amorous meeting between two people. In Spanish, this is 'cita'."
Slightly laboured, Paul continued, "Very good, Alejandro."
Alejandro decided it would be a clever thing to think of a way to combine all three meanings for the word 'date', into one English sentence. He reasoned that eating dates on any given date of a week was easy enough, but since he had never been on an amorous date – he had never even met a girl his age before! – This required more effort.
While he cleaned up the dishes and Paul excused himself to sleep for a few hours, Alejandro thought about a science fiction film he had seen. In one, a beautiful woman had defeated evil and freed people from entrapment. Alejandro concluded that in his fantasy, he would 'arrange a cita on an appropriate fecha to eat dátil with a young and beautiful actress'.
Cleaning the table with a dishcloth, Alejandro reasoned that dates would taste sweeter shared with her. Then he reasoned he would eat her extra dates if she left any. Then he reasoned she was sweet and he'd very much enjoy an extra date with her – in his fantasy world, of course.
His mind drifted to thinking about what his guardians might reward him with for Christmas. Last year, they gave him the collected National Geographic Earth series. He had since viewed it once in its entirety every two months since. He very much enjoyed it and hoped for more things like it. If he behaved well . . .
Then he
thought about a few weeks ago when Alejandro had spied on his guardians. He considered himself lucky that no harm had come from his misadventures that day. His plan misguided, now he felt that it made sense his guardian's kept their laboratory so secretive. Surely, it was because their work findings were top secret.
At any rate, Alejandro had not tried any perimeter 'breaks' since then. It was not worth it to risk angering his guardians if they caught him and he could not imagine escaping to anywhere special. Besides, if he were caught doing this before Christmas, he was sure they would punish him by denying him a gift!