Babylon

In town with Duílio, Adriano, Aparecida, Andrés and master Danilo. We stopped at Zé of the Depths to have lunch (secretly praying that there would be food there). Duílio commented that he didn't understand how Zé managed to keep the bar open if he never had anything to serve his costumers except for the usual booze for the usual consumers of Taurinos.

And it seemed everyone had to meet at Zé's. So the clan Feletti had the same idea for their Sunday lunchtime. There are not so many places to go in a tiny town like this, you just can't avoid running into people, friends or foes, here and there. When the Felettis realized all the Conselheiro clan was sitting there, plus the impolite Santista who turned down birthday gifts it was all too late to disguise and walk away from the bar. And it was late even for them to choose a table outside. Simone, the youngest of the Feletti clan, loved Adriano and master Danilo and ran up to them the moment she saw them there. Adriano was too fond of the tiny and graceful girl and played with her a lot. Arthur greeted Adriano, Andrés, Aparecida, Duílio and master Danilo. Duílio was going to say something about my presence there and I kicked in on the shin under the table. An embarrassing silence followed, with the big man scowling at me and rubbing his offended shin.

"Come here with us, Simone", called her elder brother, "don't go round bothering people."

"She's not bothering at all, "sêo" Arthur", asserted the old countryman, "she's all so calm and easygoing."

"Arthur, sit down with us, dude. Call your parents, let's join the tables for everyone to sit", Adriano invited.

Arthur didn't even try to disguise a look towards me before turning down the offer. D. Carolina and "sêo" Horácio greeted us as uptight as their son. They chose a more distant table. Arthur cast sullen looks at our table where Simone insisted on staying in spite of her brother's calls.

Well, we had lunch. It was a dead silence in the bar as we ate. I was already telling myself I might as well be having lunch alone at home when the boredom of the Sunday meal turned into action, only of the undesirable kind. After calling his sister for the hundredth time, Arthur lost his patience and came to tow the little girl to their table by force. Andrés and master Danilo glanced at me showing no fondness for what was going on. The two couples exchanged looks, bound by the same feeling.

"Arthur, leave her here, dude, she's only having fun, she's not bothering us, believe me", tried Adriano.

"Let's go to our table, Simone. There's someone at this table that is ungrateful and impolite", and he pulled the girl, that started to cry.

It was clear that the problem at the table was me. I needed to stop coming to Zé of the Depths" since whenever I came there was someone on duty to ignore me or even mistreat me. Last time it was Anderson (and we even left the bar without eating) now it was Arthur. The scenery itself never changed. Arthur's father intervened, angry.

"Arthur, take it easy. This is hardly the way you address your elders!"

"That's it, she is ungrateful and impolite!", and stared at me infuriated in an almost scary way. One more bear cub to scare the hell out of me at night?

By what he said next I realized other people in town knew there was going to be a garden in my house. It was sheer hell, the parents trying to calm down the angry young thing (and the tiny little girl now crying like there was no tomorrow). I understood it all. They were poking fun at the kid in town because of the unfulfilled promise. Fortunately (for me) the news about the refusal were as quick as the news about the garden to get to people. That or I'd have a procession of people and cars in front of my gate all willing to see the gardens in my house, not hanging, not Babylon gardens. It was when I was sure turning the garden down was the best thing I could've ever done.