Rubber Ducky

"What am I going to do? How are we going to make it? This month we either pay the rent or eat!" said Ramona with tears running down her cheeks. "Oh dear Virgencita de la Altagracia have mercy on us!" she repeated over and over again as she rocked baby Sully in her arms.1

Her other child, Fello, was 12; old enough to understand the family's dire situation. Eight months ago and while his mother was pregnant, his father Porfirio died of a ruptured aneurysm. No longer being able to pay the rent, they had to leave the little two-bedroom wooden house and move into a small room to the back of an old dwelling in the poorest part of town, sharing a single bathroom with the other nine families tenanting there. To make matters worse, the rent was in arrears, the new baby had arrived, and now the two rich families for whom his mother used to wash clothes had recently relocated to the United States. She was all alone in Santo Domingo since she was the first member of her family to leave Dajabón, one of the westernmost provinces.2

Fello approached his sobbing mother, gently took hold of her shoulders, and looking into her teary eyes said, "Mamá, don't you worry no more. I'll go shine shoes and help you."3

"No, no, Fello, I don't want you to neglect your schoolwork! You know very well the only way you can have a better life than this is to get educated so you can get a good job."4

"I won't neglect my schoolwork, I promise. I can do afternoons and weekends, and I can always stop when you find work again."5

"Well, ok then. But you'll need a box and where are you going to get supplies without money?"6

"I already thought of that. My friend Rubén has been doing real well lately. I'm sure he'll be glad to take a couple of days off and lend me his stuff until I can get my own. I've been thinking about this for a while; I've got it all figured out. You'll see."7

As Fello ran off to seek out his friend Rubén, Ramona sighed and thought, "My son the dreamer...Well, if it doesn't help, at least it can't hurt and maybe it is time that he started learning what life's really about..." 8

Later on that afternoon Fello arrived exultant.9

"Good afternoon, Mamá! I had a stroke of good luck and I haven't even started shining shoes yet! I passed by one of those high-falutin' restaurants near the Zona Colonial called El Cantábrico and guess what! The cook was dumping stuff that was slightly off, not good enough for the tourists and rich diners, so I got six potatoes with eyes, one almost overripe tomato, an eggplant with a little wormhole in it, a pumpkin wedge, and a big piece of salted cooking ham hanging on the bone!"10

"A miracle! La Virgencita de la Altagracia answered my prayer!"11

"Well, not only that. I've got it all arranged with Rubén. I'm starting tomorrow. He gave me a quick course on shoe shining and then took me to the lumberyard's trash dump where I found some scrap wood and nails to make my own box. I'll use the very first money I get to buy my own supplies and give him his stuff back on Monday morning."12

"That's wonderful, son! I'll go start dinner now."13

Fello sat down in the rocking chair on the porch to rock baby Sully while his mother improvised a ham and potato soup. He thought his baby sister was the cutest little thing with high cheekbones, brown almond eyes, long eyelashes, pouty full lips, and coffee colored skin just like his mother's. He knew he would do anything to protect and care for both of them.14

After dinner, Fello started working on his shoe shine box. His father had been a woodworker and Fello had learned a lot from just watching him at work. Unfortunately, since his death the family had been forced to sell off almost all his tools in order to survive. So, Fello borrowed a hand saw and a hammer from the next door neighbor and began by carefully measuring the dimensions of Rubén's box. He then cut out pieces from his scrap wood accordingly. When he had searched the lumberyard trash he also found a small package of damp sandpaper. He now wrapped the best strip around a block of scrap wood and sanded the pieces well. He then assembled them with hammer and nails. Next came a light coat of varnish from an old can his father had salvaged some time ago. After this he went to the rear of the house and used the rainwater collected from the roof and a scrap of soap to bathe and wash his hair. 15

************16

The following day Fello was up and ready before dawn. Just as the sun was rising he heard Rubén whistle for him outside his window. 17

"Coming!" he answered.18

"Hi pal. This is what we're gonna do. I'm taking you over to La Francaise bakery at the corner of Paseo de los Locutores where the rich men go to have breakfast and read the newspaper so I can introduce you to the other guys and tell them you're gonna to take my place for the weekend. That way you won't have to fight for a place in the pecking order. You just borrow mine."19

"You're a real friend!"20

"Aw, it's nothing. I know your little family is going through really tough times. My family's not so bad off because Juancito and Chico also help and most of our relatives are here in la capital, so I can afford to take a couple of days off."21

When Fello and Rubén arrived at the bakery two other boys were already there. Rubén eased his friend in and left.22

In spite of Rubén's good graces, Fello had to wait until the other two boys had made their share of profits. He realized right then and there he would have to find another place to ply his new trade if he wanted to make enough money to help his family. Fortunately, that day many gentlemen wanting a shine came to the bakery and the lad was able to make enough pesos to buy a brush for buffing and a small tin of black wax. 23

Early Sunday morning he was back at the bakery and played the same waiting game, but at the end of the day he had enough money to buy a tin of brown wax, a bottle of alcohol and two little packages of powdered black and brown shoe dye.24

He was quite tired when he finally got back home where his mother reheated the last of the potato soup leftovers for his dinner. 25

"Ahhhh, that was good, Mamá! Talk about miracles. I'll bet this soup was far better than the stuff they serve at the expensive restaurants!"26

"Oh, that's because I have a secret ingredient..." his mother replied as she sat down in one of the rocking chairs to nurse Sully.27

"Yeah? What's that?"28

"Love, my son. Mother's love."29

"Mmm... Quite tasty!"30

"So, tell me, how did it go today?"31

Fello sat in the other rocking chair, stretched out his legs, and folding his hands over his stomach, replied, "Great! You've already seen my new box and I've been able to buy almost all the supplies. I'll take a little rest here while this wonderful food goes down and then I'll go return Rubén's box and thank him. Tomorrow after school I'm gonna try Parque de la Independencia. Lots of tourists go there."32

Ramona was not too surprised to see her son was able to get things done so quickly. She realized he had inherited his father's drive and intelligence, as well as his good looks. She had to admit he had the tenacity to make his dreams come true.33

"I'm very proud of you!" she said with a beaming smile. 34

************35

When Fello arrived at Parque de la Independencia there were two other shoeshine boys; one tall, the other short. As soon as the taller one spotted Fello's box he called out:36

"Hey, you! This is our spot! You wanna shine shoes here you give us one peso for every five you get!"37

Fello had been expecting something like this. 38

"Sez who?" he replied. "I have a widowed mother and baby sister and I'm not gonna pay you anything. Besides there are more than enough of customers around!" 39

Fello preferred to settle things peacefully but he was ready for the fray if these two got ugly. He was a wiry lad, but fast and strong. They didn't call him El Tiguerito at school for nothing. He was a fierce little tiger whenever he had to be. He loved wrestling as a sport and every Saturday he got a chance he would watch the matches on TV; somebody else's TV, that is, for his mother had to sell the one they had. He learned all the holds, carefully watched the falls, and memorized and practiced every move. Jack Veneno, El Enmascarado de Plata, El Santo, Blue Demon... These were his heroes and teachers... 40

The tall one put down his shoeshine box and tore over to where Fello was standing.41

"Sez me, Chencho Peralta!" he shouted and gave Fello a shove on the chest with his two hands. Fello was not unprepared and immediately grabbed both his arms and, arching his spine while falling backward, pulled the other boy with him, placed his feet on his foe's stomach and threw him over. While he was still stunned from the fall, Fello turned him face-down. Sitting on Chencho's back facing away from his head, he took hold of the guy's ankles and pulled towards him as hard as he could. Big Chencho Peralta started begging Fello to let him go! But Fello wanted to make sure he had learned his lesson and didn't release him immediately.42

"Now what, you big bully?"43

Chencho was begging in tears! Fello called his short sidekick over and said, "You saw what happened. Are you my witness that this is a clear, fair win?"44

The short guy nodded, not daring to even open his mouth. Then Fello addressed Chencho again: "Do you give up?"45

The bully whimpered a tearful "Yes, yes!" Fello let him go and so the fight ended. It was then the lad noticed that a group of people had gathered, but somebody said the police were coming and the small crowd quickly dispersed. 46

Fello then asked Chencho's shorty sidekick, "What's your name?" 47

"I'm Tito."48

"I oughta charge you guys one peso for every two you make, but I'm in a good mood today! So get outa here. I need some space. This Parque is big enough for all of us to earn the pesos we need without getting in each others' way."49

Chencho and Tito got their boxes and started moving off to the opposite side of the Parque, but Fello called them back and asked, "How come we're the only shoe shine boys here?"50

"There were three others but they decided to try cleaning car windshields at traffic lights. You make more money but it's more dangerous because of the moving cars."51

"I see. Ok. Get going. I have to make enough to put dinner on the table tonight."52

After that, Fello had a good afternoon and was able to make enough pesos to bring two plaintains for mangú, two longaniza sausages, and a large mango home for dinner. However, when his mother served dinner he noticed there was also some rice and beans! 53

"Mamá, where'd you get this moro de habichuelas?"54

"Oh, you know Manuela who lives upstairs?" Fello nodded. "She has a niece your age called Tanamá whose mother just died. She moved in last week. Today she made rice and beans and put some aside for us. She's a very sweet girl."55

"My age and she can cook?"56

"Umhmm."57

"How come I've never seen her?"58

"Well, you're a busy man these days, son."59

"I think we should send her some of this wonderful mangú and longaniza."60

"Yes, that would be a nice way to say thank you!" replied his mother. 61

**********62

The lad continued to pass by the Cantábrico restaurant regularly. The cook befriended him and would save items for him. In return, Fello would give him free shines. Day after day he continued to work at the Parque after school and on weekends, and eventually he and Chencho and Tito became friendly.63

Then Holy Week came. Many people had gone to visit relatives in the country or in other towns and those that remained respected the solemnities by staying home. The Zona Colonial was mostly deserted. Fello was only able to make five pesos and his colleagues Chencho and Tito fared no better. So, he decided to take a walk through rich people's neighborhoods calling out to advertise his services: "¡Brillo! ¡Brillo zapatos! ¡Pa' la Pascua Florida!" People would certainly want to have their shoes nice and shiny for going to church on Easter morning. He was hailed several times and did well.64

This neighborhood was quite different from the usually noisy and dusty downtown streets. Conspicuous for their absence were the otherwise ubiquitous conchos; the light motorcycles that served as public transportation for the poorer citizens of the city. As he continued to walk up and down the quiet streets upon which sat stately, portly homes, he passed the trash area outside a very elegant two story building. Near the cans a bright yellow patch of color partially hidden by some dry leaves caught his eye. He stopped, brushed away the leaves with his foot, and there on the ground was a rubber ducky! Dirty to be sure, but otherwise in perfect condition. The first thing that came to mind was his little sister. He didn't have enough money to buy her a gift, but this rubber ducky would be a perfect first toy! 65

He bent over to pick it up but when he touched it there was a strange sensation in his hand. Suddenly time seemed to slow down. There was a humming sound and he felt as though his mind was rushing through a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen! So delicate, so beautiful! About his same age, dressed in white, she had waist-length honey brown hair and eyes the color of translucent sea water. 66

"An Angel! I've seen an Angel from heaven!" he said to himself. He was so awed he dropped the rubber ducky. Instantly the vision fled. He just stood there for a while staring into nothingness in the middle of the street. A blaring horn and a shout from a passing motorist to get the heck out of the way startled him back into reality.67

Still in daze, he was barely able to move out of the way in time. Then he stepped back to retrieve the rubber ducky and again experienced the heavenly vision! Realizing there was a physical connection between touching the toy and seeing the lovely girl, he used a shoe shining rag to pick it up. He was afraid the magic in the ducky would wear out if he touched it again! So he decided to keep it bundled up in the rag, in the same state he had found it.68

Back to reality. He had enough pesos for dinner and it was almost twilight time, so he decided to start for home, but all the while he was wondering about this strange experience. He had an unfamiliar feeling in his heart; something he had never felt before...Who was the girl? What was the connection between her and the rubber ducky? One thing was clear to him; he couldn't continue with his first idea of giving the rubber ducky to his little sister. This was a very special object. He decided he would hand carve a ducky for her from a scrap of mahogany he had found in the hardware store lumberyard's trash heap, instead. 69

He continued pondering these things in his heart until he arrived home. He handed over the days victuals to his mother, slid his shoeshine box under the bed, and went to wash while his mother prepared their dinner. 70

When he went out to the rear of the house he saw a girl sweeping up some fallen leaves. She saw him and smiled. Her high cheekbones, large brown eyes, and golden bronze skin clearly revealed her Taíno Caribbean Native American ancestry.71

"Hey! Are you the girl who moved in with Manuela last week?"72

"Yes", she said softly.73

"I loved your rice and beans."74

"Thanks", she replied, lowering her gaze.75

"My name's Fello. What's yours?"76

"Tanamá" she sweetly but simply replied.77

"That's a strange name. What's it mean?"78

"It's the Taíno word for butterfly."79

Fello continued with his toilette. He didn't notice when she had stopped sweeping, but when he had finished he saw her walking towards him with a worn but clean towel. He dried himself, thanked her, and dashed up the stairs to dinner.80

"What's with this kid?" he said to himself, but didn't give the gesture any further consideration. His mind was filled with thoughts of the angelic vision81

*************82

The Monday after Easter, Fello left for school as usual. Ramona was tidying up their rented room while the baby took a nap and she noticed Fello's shoeshine box under the bed. She decided to tidy that up, too and she took out all the supplies and spruced up the cans and then came to a little bundle wrapped in a rag.83

"I wonder what this is..." she was thinking when out plopped a very dirty rubber ducky! "Oh dear! Boys! Always collecting things! Well, at least it's not a bug or a frog..." 84

Fello felt extra hungry that day, so before going off to the Parque to shine shoes, he decided to stop at home to eat some leftovers. As he walked into the patio he saw his rubber ducky, nice and clean, hanging on the line right next to Sully's diapers which his mother had washed that morning. His heart sank.85

"Oh no! My mother washed it!" He ran over to the piece of twine tied from the iron grillwork on one window to a nail on the opposite wall and stood there a minute, afraid to touch the toy and discover that its magic had been washed out of it!86

There was nothing else to do. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stuck out his hand to pluck the rubber ducky from the line.87

As soon as his skin made contact with the toy he felt the same electrifying sensation, his mind went rushing away down a tunnel and there was his Angel! He was so relieved! So washing it had not affected the magic!88

He took the clean handkerchief his mother had placed in his pants pocket that morning and wrapped the ducky in it. He really didn't want to tell his mom about the toy's magic, and he decided she probably wouldn't ask him any questions if he just treated it as if it were an interesting collectible; something he found and liked and wanted to keep. So when he went up to their rented room he thanked his mother for washing the toy and put it back in his box, had his leftovers, kissed her and his baby sister goodbye, and dashed off to work for dinner.89

Along the way he was immersed in thoughts about the beautiful girl. He sighed. "This must be what grownups call love!" He analyzed the vision by reviewing everything that he had seen. Of course the most important thing was the beautiful girl, but there were other things. As he reviewed the scene in his mind looking for clues he noticed the surroundings. The girl was standing on the second floor balcony of the very building where he had found the toy! "So that's where she lives!" Fello said to himself. "I've got to see her in person! I've got to talk to her!" So he thought out a plan. "Instead of coming to the Parque on Sunday, I'll peddle my shoe-shining around her neighborhood until I get the pesos I need and then I'll do my best to have someone hire my services at her place!"90

That was a very slow and grueling week, not because business was bad, but because Fello couldn't wait for Sunday to arrive! But finally, Sunday did come and he followed his plan. After he had made the pesos he needed, he went to the girl's building and offered the guard a shine. Luckily, the guard accepted. Fello did his very best and the man was very satisfied.91

"I'm very glad you like my work, patrón", Fello said, "so if I may be so bold, please put in a good word for me with the gentlemen who live in this building so I can earn my family's keep shining shoes and in return I'll give you a free shine! Oh, and if any of the ladies need a woman to wash their laundry, let me know because my mother is a washerwoman."92

Next Sunday he returned to the building and there were two pairs of shoes waiting for him. He took his time...hoping the girl might appear... Then as he was getting ready to leave he heard a girl laugh! 93

"Who's that?" he asked the guard.94

"Oh, that's la señorita Ana María", he replied, "the daughter of Don José Manuel Cuello, the famous industrialist and his wife Doña Circe Espínola de Cuello, the famous journalist.95

Now he knew his angel's name!96

**********97

Fello continued to frequent Miss Ana María's building and Fermín, the guard, befriended him. He did catch glimpses of his beloved angel now and then when she would descend for outings with her parents. 98

One day Fermín ventured to him, "Are you interested in la señorita Ana María?" 99

"Well, she sure is pretty!"100

"Pretty, yeah. But she's a spoiled brat!"101

Fello couldn't believe what the guard was telling him. "How can somebody so angelic-looking be a spoiled brat?" he remarked to himself. "Fermín is probably just being protective of her," he reasoned and put the statement out of his mind.102

He continued to shine shoes, at the Parque on weekdays, and around Miss Ana María's neighborhood on Sundays, ending his journey at her building. Even when there were no shoes to shine there, he stayed on talking to Fermín hoping to get a chance to see her.103

Every day, no matter how late he returned home, Tanamá had always sent some of her home cooking to supplement his family's dinner and she always brought him a clean towel for his toilette. Otherwise she was just quiet, modest, and cheerful. When Ramona finally found a family who hired her as a washer woman, Tanamá would help by babysitting baby Sully after school. She had also started growing some vegetables and herbs in empty tin cans in the patio: tomatoes, green peppers, oregano, basil, cilantro...104

***********105

Summer came and Fello was able to devote most of the day to shoeshining. Ramona's and his combined income helped make things better. Things were looking up for the little family.106

On the second weekend of summer vacation, Fello was plying his trade as usual when a group of people came through the Puerta del Conde walking across the Parque towards the Altar de la Patria; the grand mausoleum where the heroes of the Dominican struggle against Haitian domination rest from their labors.107

He was thunderstruck when he realized that his Angel was in that group! His pulse was racing, his hands were shaking! It was clear that she had come with her parents to show some foreign visitors the sights. He decided to try to speak to her right then and there. Removing the rubber ducky from its corner in his shoeshine box, and unwrapping it, he walked over to the group nonchalantly, hoping and praying for a moment when he might make his presence known to his beloved. 108

When she lagged behind to steal a flower from a wreath laid on the tomb of the three great men, he took a deep breath and simply went up to her.109

"Hello," he said.110

Caught in her petty thievery, she turned around abruptly, and when she saw him she gave him a look of utter contempt.111

"Who do you think you are, shoeshine boy, presuming to address your betters?" she said with a frown on her face and addressing him with the formal pronoun usted, though not out of respect but to emphasize social distance. 112

Fello noticed how the frown uglified her otherwise beautiful face and for a second it seemed to him that when she had opened her mouth flies and cockroaches had come forth. He was appalled! He couldn't believe it! Nevertheless, in spite of her haughty rebuff, he valiantly continued:113

"I wanted to return your magic rubber ducky", he said, holding it our in front of him, offering it to her.114

"What? Where did you find that disgusting thing?" she shouted at him, swatting it with her hand so it fell upon the thick marble slabs of the monument's floor. Then she looked at him with scorn and before turning to leave she snootily continued:115

"Don't you dare talk to me again or I'll have my father call the National Police on you!" 116

Fello sat on a ledge outside to think things over...117

After a few minutes he started laughing out loud! "He, he, he! Fermín was right! She really thinks she's hot manure!"118

He went back inside the mausoleum and retrieved the rubber ducky. When he picked it up nothing happened. Its magic was gone.119

He took it outside the mausoleum where the town gardener had loped off a few branches from a nearby tree. He picked a baseball-bat-sized one, threw the rubber ducky up in the air, and whacked it so hard that it struck the bell on the Puerta del Conde making it peal three times!120

"I shoulda known better!" he said to himself disgustedly. "A girl who discards her rubber ducky has no heart."121

That evening when he arrived home, Tanamá was sweeping up the fallen leaves once more.122