Manuel's Cold
During the rest of the week, we work hard on the farm. At night, Manuel calls me, and we chat happily. He wishes to know how I am and my daily routine. I also ask him how he is and his day. Whenever I ask him about his routine or his work, he becomes shy, for I don’t know why. We also talk about our plans to meet on Saturday afternon, at his store, and some other plans. I hear him and smile for no reason. Then, I blush and nearly drop the phone. I’m sure my cheeks have turned red. He continues telling me he could not help but read my lines from my diary entry! I gulp and answer him shyly.
“I hope you forgive me for being too curious, my precious. But I just couldn’t resist glancing at your delicate, round, and neat handwriting. And every time I saw my name written on the page, I noticed upon close inspection, how you forced the pen harder and embellished the initial ‘M’ of my name and stretched the ‘L’ in a curl. Only an angel could move me this way, my precious!” Of course I feel terribly conscious of what I’d written, but I was honest with myself. After having talked to Mariana and having dinner with Manuel back then, I realized I was welcomed to their world, and felt part of it. But still, my heart pounds in my chest and the palms of my hands become sweaty.
Then, we talk again of our weekend plans. I’m to meet him at the store on Saturday afternoon. But this time, I’m sleeping over at his place—for the very first time!
Of course I’d asked Dad and Mom’s permission first. Mom naturally opposed the idea. Dad, on the other hand, said I’m an adult and should go. Finally, Mom told me I could go, provided I ate little, did the dishes, behaved well, and cleaned after myself. She insisted I mop the bathroom after taking a shower, and leave the bathroom sink impeccable, for Manuel would certainly notice these things. As they agreed with the plan, I jumped and kissed them.
On Thursday night, as I am doing the dishes, Dad says the weather on the weekend will be rainy and cold, even in summer. I stop the water and think for a moment. I wonder what Manuel and I will do then. Surely he’ll think of something for us to do on the weekend, for we were planning to go to the waterfall. I finish doing the dishes and dry my hands. I excuse myself and retire to my bedroom. I write down on my diary and then, fall asleep.
On Friday, it rains the whole day. It’s started early in the morning. I hear it pelting down all day. Surely, the waterfall would be flooded, and we wouldn’t be able to get near it--much less swim or fish there. Well, I suppose by now we need to call off our plans. But let us hope tomorrow will be sunny. Then, on Sunday we might stick to our original plan to go to the waterfall.
As I feared, Dad’s weather prediction is right; and consequently our plans have to be postponed.
The Saturday morning air is cold and damp. It’s also cloudy and likely to drizzle for the rest of the day. Then Dad, Mom, Marcelo, and I go to town early in the afternoon. They go to a relative’s house for a short visit, the supermarket, and some other stores, while I go directly to Manuel’s store. My heart skips a beat as I walk on the street where his store is. I’m taking along a small backpack with my clothes.
As I reach his store, we meet and smile. What a handsome and charming man he is! He is surely the man I love most in the world!
“Hello, Manuel.” I smile. He smiles and kisses me.
“Hi, my precious! It’s great to see you!” I greet Jurandir, and Reginaldo, who is the new helper. Manuel sneezes and blows his nose.
“Are you all right, dear?” He nods.
Jurandir helps some customers and so does Reginaldo. Manuel sneezes again and continues working in the cash register, helping customers, and giving orders to Jurandir. Reginaldo tells
me Manuel got wet loading and unloading the store’s truck early this week. Following that, he started sneezing and coughing. As he’s quite stubborn, he hasn’t taken any medicine, hoping the cold to just go away. He says there’s no way of telling him to take some medicine or rest, especially on busy weekends, when customers come for their weekly shopping. I can hardly believe Manuel has been sneezing and coughing and not having taken care of himself!
“Manuel, you look pale. Let me feel your temperature.” I feel his large forehead. “You’ve got a fever.” He shakes his head impatiently.
“I’m all right, my precious. My cold’s almost gone now.” He forces a smile and looks away. “It’s just that I didn’t have a good night’s sleep, that’s all.” He sneezes again and blows his nose.
“Tell you what. I’ll go to the pharmacy and get you some medicine. Then, you’ll rest in the back while I give you a hand at the store, ok?” Manuel is about to protest, when I rush to the pharmacy on the corner. Gosh, I am really surprised older men can be so stubborn. I cannot help but think of Dad and Grandpa. Men are all the same!
The drugstore attendant smiles behind his counter.
“I know what you wish to get, son! Something for the flu or the cold!” I smile.
“I suppose you’re selling a lot of medicine because of this weather, aren’t you, Mr. Soares?” He grabs some vitamin C capsules, pain relivers, and a cough syrup bottle. Then, he asks if I need anything else. I shake my head and pay him. As he hands me the change, I return him a bill.
“You’re giving me extra change, Mr. Soares. Bye!”
As I enter the store, Jurandir and Reginaldo turn to me. I look for Manuel and he is sitting on his chair by the cash register. He looks angry with his stern face staring at nothing. But I have none of it, and open the first box of medicine.
“Here, Manuel. Drink this and you’ll feel much better.” I know exactly which medicine to take, for Mom has always taught me those practical things. Manuel forces a smile and takes his Nevralgina pill, which is the best medicine for relieving fevers or any sort of pain. “Now, you stay here in the back while Jurandir, Reginaldo, and I do the work, all right?” He is about to protest but I take off his apron and put it on me. He hesitates but ends up following my instructions. I turn to him and give him a kiss.
“I can never win against you, my angel.” I smile and kiss him again. “All right, I’ll do as you say.”
“I love you, Manuel.” I rush to the counter and open the cash register machine.
The afternoon goes by fast. Many customers keep coming, in spite of the rain and cold. I’m sure they keep coming to Manuel’s store for his products are first-rate and premium, though his prices are a bit more expensive. He chooses each item carefully and only offers the best to his loyal customers. Moreover, his store offers products hard to find in the region, especially the ones that the Portuguese and Italians like: dry cod fish, imported olive oil, olives, Italian parmesan cheese, Italian salami, special flours, imported dry pasta, special pepper grains, dry fruits and raisins, dry dates, not to mention the large selection of wines, beer, and imported chocolates. Then, Fridays and Saturdays are the days people usually swarm to his store. I know some people come from another city to shop here.
As I find some time between customers, I get to the back where Manuel is making some calculations and filing documents. I’ve told him to rest but he cannot keep still. He is stubborn as a mule!
“How do you feel, dear?” I do not wait for his reply and feel his forehead again. Mom taught me how to feel the temperature this way. I feel his large sweaty forehead and it’s still hot, but I can tell he’s feeling better. I look for the medicine bag and open the large bottle of syrup. I give him two caps full to drink. I tell him the syrup might make him feel sleepy. I notice he is shivering a little and bring him a sweater.
“Thanks, my precious.” He forces a smile. He seems drowsy now and blows his nose again. I hug him and kiss his cheek.
Back to the cash register, I keep myself busy and take quick turns to see how he is doing. He tells me to watch for the cash register and go back right away, for he says he’s feeling better. Reginaldo and Jurandir take orders by phone and I give them the receipts.
“Reginaldo, I want you to accompany Jurandir for those deliveries. You can see there are already many boxes of groceries to be delivered. I’ll take care of the store until you come back!” I hand them several receipts. They both look at me, almost fearing Manuel will come fuming and shouting at me for having taken over the store.
I can hardly believe I am actually taking control of this situation. I feel more like Mother, who is small and quiet, but is also brave and steps up when necessary. For Manuel I’ll do anything to keep him safe and well.
They go right away and I help the customers, when Manuel joins me. He does not say a thing, and remains quiet. He coughs and I tell him to sit and relax. I service the customers and take care of the cash register machine.
Reginaldo and Jurandir come back and hand me a large envelope with the receipts. I check them carefully and hand it to Manuel. He looks at me with a perplexed look. He goes back to his figures and scribbles with his pencil. Finally, he opens a big smile.
“My precious, you can be the manager of this store!” He smiles and blows his nose. I take his temperature again.
“Well, your fever is gone.” I check his throat and he says he feels fine. It’s just that he feels light-headed.
“It’s the syrup, Manuel. It’s supposed to soothe you.” I make some tea in the back and add a lot of honey. “Drink this, dear.” I go back to the cash register machine and continue working until closing time.
When the last customer leaves the store, we call it a day. Jurandir and Reginaldo close the doors and go home. I collect the money and put it in another leather case that Manuel carries home every day.
“Do you feel better, honey?” He nods.
“After the help and attention you gave me, I feel much better, my precious.” Manuel manages to drive home and puts his things away.
Mariana tells me everything is ready and organized in the house. She tells me about dinner and other details of laundry, etc. I smile and tell her to go home. Manuel puts his money and papers away, and joins me in the kitchen.
“You sit down and let me serve you soup.” I feel his temperature again and he’s fine.
“I feel much better now, thanks to you, my angel! I also feel very hungry.” I serve him soup and cut up slices of bread and bring the butter, cheese, and salami that he loves. We hear the rain beating hard against the window panes. “There goes our plans to go to the waterfall tomorrow, my precious.” I smile and kiss him.
“No problem. It’s going to be a time for you to rest and recover.” I take his hand and kiss it. He smiles and kisses mine.
After our dinner, I help him upstairs. He protests but I insist I help him. I watch him undressing slowly and he moans at the slightest movement. I’m sure he must be in pain, but denies it, being a big proud man. I help him undress and turn on the hot shower.
“There! You can take a lovely shower, dear.” I put his used clothes in the hamper and prepare his bed. The moment he comes out, I help him dry off and help him into his pyjamas. “Now, straight to bed!” He is about to protest again, but I hear none of it. He lies down and moans again. I cover him and make him take some more medicine. Then, I turn off the lights.
“My precious, aren’t you going to join me in bed?” He smiles.
“I need to prepare a couple of things first, dear.” Manuel must be fuming with my running and fussing around because of him. But I need to take over and help him.
I go downstairs and do the dishes right away. I also make my own cold syrup Mom taught me to make. We used to drink it when people in the house got a cold. I pour a little bit of honey, ginger slices, some orange juice, rum, crushed garlic cloves and stir in the pan over high heat. I pour the hot drink through a sieve in a large mug and rush to Manuel’s bedroom.
“Drink this, honey.” He smiles to me.
“Are you going to join me in bed now?”
“Not now, dear.” He smells the drink.
“It sure smells potent, my precious, what is it?” I tell him it’s a home remedy. I tell him to drink slowly. He drinks up the whole mug of syrup and smacks his lips. “Jesus! Did you put garlic in it? That was very strong, my precious.” He closes his eyes and his breath smells of rum and garlic. I kiss his cheeks and he smiles.
“Now, you’re going to sweat a lot during the night. I’ll get you some changes of clothes and be ready for your sleep.”
In the bathroom I take a quick shower. I dry off and collect my clothes and brush my teeth. I put on my pyjamas and join him in bed.
“Finally I’m having my precious in bed with me.” I touch his forehead again.
“You don’t have a fever, Manuel. Wait, I need to get a stack of hand towels for you first.” I leave the bed and take a towel and dry his already sweaty forehead and neck. I feel his chest and it’s also wet from perspiration.
“I’m pespiring a lot, my precious.” I kiss him and his breath smells of garlic and rum. He takes my hand and kisses it.
“What would I do without you taking care of me, my angel.” I join him in bed and lean my head on his chest and we fall asleep.
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