Palm Trees in the Snow

by Luz Gabás

  “Don’t worry about us,” said Jacobo, taking a glass from a passing waiter. “For the moment, we will find a good spot and wait for them to come over and say hello to us.”

  His friends winced at the sarcasm. It was no secret that Mateo, Marcial, Kilian, and Jacobo felt a little self-conscious. They were not used to frequenting places like the casino, where the crème de la crème of the city gathered. Despite their impeccable appearance, they could easily be found out as plantationers not sophisticated enough to rub shoulders with this crowd.

  Jacobo signaled for his companions to follow him to a table near the door to the dining room, a good vantage point to observe both the mingling inside and out on the dance floor. Soon after, Kilian and Jacobo heard familiar voices: Emilio and Generosa, accompanied by two other married couples, plus Julia and two friends.

  “Julia! Look who’s here!” Emilio beamed at the brothers. He turned to the girls. “Jacobo and Kilian with some friends … You could make a group!”

  Various introductions and pleasantries were exchanged before Generosa and the other couples continued on their way. Julia and her friends sat down, and the brothers remained standing with Emilio. Out of the corner of his eye, Kilian noticed that Julia was a little tense and let her friends, Ascensión and Mercedes, lead the conversation. They wasted little time asking Marcial and Mateo about the plantation, then their childhoods in Spain. In turn, the girls shared what they did in Santa Isabel and boasted about being able to enjoy the sports facilities in the casino whenever they wanted.

  Emilio, in high spirits because of the drink, stayed a while longer.

  “So this is your first time at the center of the European upper class? And where do you normally go partying?” He waved his hand in the air and lowered his voice. “Don’t tell me, I can imagine. I was young once too …” He winked. “Anyway, as you can see, everyone mixes here, whites and blacks, Spaniards and foreigners, if and when we share a common denominator. Money.”

  Jacobo and Kilian shot each other a telling glance: if this was the criteria, they certainly did not meet it.

  One by one, Emilio pointed out various people while listing their professions—salesman, banker, civil servant, landowner, customs agent, vehicle importer, another salesman, lawyer, doctor, colonial businessman, head of the Colonial Guard …

  “That one is the owner of a heavy machinery and car company. He has the agency for Caterpillar, Vauxhall, and Studebaker. The parents of Julia’s friends work for him. And that one over there is the secretary of the governor general of Fernando Po and Río Muni. The governor wasn’t able to come today. A shame. I would have introduced you to him.”

  Kilian had never seen so many important people in one place. If one were to come over, he would not know how to start—much less continue—an even moderately intelligent conversation. Surely these people talked about important current events. He glanced again at Jacobo, who seemed to be listening to Emilio attentively, though his eyes were scanning the place for a more enjoyable corner. Luckily, someone made a hand signal from afar.

  “Boys,” said Emilio, “I believe my wife requires my presence. Enjoy yourselves!”

  The brothers joined the group, where Ascensión and Mercedes shared a sharp wit, despite their different appearances. Ascensión had blond, almost white hair, a turned-up nose, and blue eyes inherited from her German grandmother. She was wearing an indigo dress with a drop waist, a wide belt, and a round neckline. Mercedes was sheathed in a tight-fitting green crepe silk dress with a full skirt and had her dark hair gathered up in a high chignon, highlighting her prominent nose.

  Several waiters came over to their tables with trays overflowing with delicious canapés. The group ate, smoked, drank, and chatted for a good while. Kilian appreciated the easy conversation of Mateo, Marcial, and Julia’s two friends. Julia herself would not even look at them. She remained silent, her head very straight, listening with feigned interest to everyone else’s comments. Kilian thought that she looked gorgeous, with her crushed-silk dress, white polka dots on light blue. A thin strand of pearls graced the neckline of the dress. The only thing missing was the smile that normally lit up her face. It was impossible for Jacobo not to pick up on her coldness, even though Kilian had not told him of Gregorio’s indiscretion.

  Around ten o’clock, Julia started to look at her watch persistently.

  “Are you waiting for someone?” Jacobo finally asked.

  “Actually, I am,” she replied in a hard voice. “I suppose it won’t be too long before your boy arrives to rescue you from this boring party.”

  Jacobo was struck dumb as Kilian hung his head. Julia looked at them triumphantly, and the others fell silent, caught by surprise.

  “How did you find out?” Jacobo said, sounding more annoyed than penitent.

  “And what does that matter?” She straightened herself up even more in the chair. “Do you want me to tell you where you were that night at eleven o’clock?”

  “That’s none of your business. As far as I know, you are not my girlfriend.”

  Jacobo got up and left. The others remained silent. Kilian did not know where to hide himself. He looked at Julia, her chin trembling. The orchestra picked this moment to play a pasodoble that received a large round of applause from the guests. Kilian got up and took Julia by the hand.

  “Come, let’s dance.”

  She accepted, thankful that Kilian had saved her from an embarrassing situation. They walked in silence to the dance floor. He circled her waist with his arm, and they began to move to the rhythm of the music.

  “I must warn you that I am a terrible dancer. I hope you’ll forgive me if I step on your toes … and for the other day. I am truly sorry.”

  Julia raised her eyes toward him, tears still glistening.

  “It’s obvious I picked the wrong brother …” She nodded, trying to smile.

  “Jacobo is a good person, Julia. It’s just that …”

  “I know, he doesn’t want to commit. At least not with me.”

  “Maybe it’s too early.” Kilian did not want to see her suffer.

  “Oh, come on, Kilian! I’m not fifteen!” she protested. “And this is Africa. Do you think I don’t know how Jacobo enjoys himself? What annoys me most is that men like him think that white women are completely stupid. What can a mininga give him that I can’t? What would he think if I offered my body to him like they do?”

  “Julia! Don’t say that! It’s not the same … You can’t compare yourself to them.” The song seemed endless in that moment. “Now you are angry, and with good reason, but …”

  “I can’t stand these double standards, Kilian!” she interrupted. “Everyone turns a blind eye to the looser black girlfriends, while the white women have to wait until you get tired of them before you come looking for a good and faithful wife. What would happen if it were the other way round? If I got together with a black man?”

  “Julia, I …” Kilian swallowed. “All this is new to me. It’s a difficult subject.”

  “You haven’t answered my question.”

  Kilian hesitated. He was not used to talking about these things with a woman, but Julia could be really persistent.

  “It’s different with men … I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation.”

  “Yes, right … for a woman,” she finished, irritated.

  To Kilian’s relief, the pasodoble ended and the orchestra moved to a swing number.

  “Too complicated … ,” said Kilian, forcing a smile.

  They walked off the dance floor, passing Mateo, Ascensión, Marcial, and Mercedes, paired off for the number. Kilian and Julia walked in silence to the table, where they met Manuel having a drink.

  “I’m taking a break,” he said to Kilian. “I haven’t stopped talking since we got here.”

  “Manuel, I’d like you to meet Julia, the daughter of friends of my parents.”

  Manuel stood up and, very politely, greeted the young woman. He noticed how her blue h
airband pushed back her brown hair and revealed a pretty face with thoughtful eyes.

  “Manuel is the plantation’s doctor,” explained Kilian. “He worked in the hospital in Santa Isabel before that.”

  “Haven’t we met before?” she asked, studying his dark-blond hair and the pale eyes behind his thick tortoiseshell glasses. “I’m sure you’ve been to the casino before.”

  “Yes. I used to come to swim. And on Sundays to play cards or have a drink with people from work.”

  “I come every Sunday, and every now and then in the afternoon. How strange that we haven’t met until today!”

  “Well, since I’ve been in Sampaka, I don’t go out as often.”

  “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get something to drink,” Kilian said, wanting to give them some space.

  He was happy to have some time to himself after swallowing Julia’s bitter accusations. Inside, the voices had grown louder. He waved to Generosa and Emilio and continued until he reached the billiard table, where he spotted Jacobo enveloped in a cloud of smoke. Jacobo looked at him but did not beckon him over. When he got closer, his brother didn’t look up. “Ah! There you are.” Kilian wondered if he was still angry at Julia. “These are my friends Dick and Pao. They have come from Bata. We met on my first trip.”

  Kilian held out his hand, soon learning that Dick was an Englishman who had worked in Douala for years before working in the logging industry with Pao on the continent. From time to time, they took advantage of their friendship with the pilot of the Dragon Rapide to make the hour-long crossing from Bata to Santa Isabel. Dick was tall and strong with pale skin reddened by the sun and brilliant blue eyes. Beside him, the Portuguese Pao was a lanky mulatto with a sharp nose. They had not held back on drinks and, between laughs, insisted on telling Kilian about the last time they saw Jacobo.

  “It was on an elephant hunt in Cameroon,” his brother explained with glassy eyes. “The most extraordinary experience! There was a whole group of us setting out with shotguns. We followed a guide along a trail of broken leaves left by the beast. A noise like an earthquake told us that we were close, and not much farther there were more …”

  “You were scared out of your life!” Dick chimed in with accented Spanish. “Your face was as white as a sheet …”

  “It sneaked up on me! The guide, an expert hunter, of course, shot him in the ear, and the elephant went crazy. We started to run in the opposite direction …”

  “We knew that since the animal was so big, it would be hard for him to turn around,” continued Pao, chortling. “But that day it didn’t turn at all. With blood gushing from his ear, he continued straight ahead with us close behind …”

  Kilian took an increasing dislike to Dick and Pao. There was something about them he did not trust. Dick did not look him in the eyes, and Pao’s laughs were cruel.

  “Finally, the animal began to slow down. We shot him several times and”—Jacobo raised the palms of his hands—“the elephant vanished! He disappeared from sight! The hunt ended and there I was, frustrated because I didn’t see him fall!”

  “These devils take an age to die.” Dick took a drag from his cigarette and held the smoke in his lungs before letting it out.

  “This one, a couple of days!” Pao interjected. “When we returned with the guide and found the body, it was still warm.”

  “It took a number of men to carve it up. And they left nothing but the bones!” Jacobo raised his glass. “The tusks were as tall as that door!”

  Kilian had found the story quite gruesome. He was used to hunting mountain goats in the Pyrenees, but he could not imagine a scene like the one described. Since the days of Adam, the suffering of animals could be avoided with an accurate shot. He did not know any man from home who could enjoy the prolonged torment of one. He could only shake his head and say, “It sounds very dangerous.”

  “It certainly is!” Dick looked at him with his cold, expressionless blue eyes. Kilian turned his head to light a cigarette. “I was on a hunt where the elephant caught one of the blacks with his trunk and flung him to the ground, trampling him into a pulp of flesh and bones.”

  “Not even his mother could have recognized him!” Pao laughed insipidly, showing off his crooked teeth.

  Kilian had heard enough. What a night he was having! Between Julia’s outburst, the extreme wealth on display, and the story of this cruel hunt, he guessed that his first night in the famous casino would be his last. The drink was going to his head, so he pulled at his tie to loosen it.

  “What’s wrong with you now?” Jacobo asked in a low voice.

  “It turns out that I’m happiest in the forest,” murmured Kilian, lighting another cigarette with the butt of the previous one.

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing, nothing. Are you going to stay much longer?”

  “Oh, we’re going to go to somewhere a bit livelier.” Jacobo paused, wondering whether to invite his brother. “You can go back to the plantation with the rest.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  If I can avoid annoying them … , he thought ironically.

  After Jacobo, Dick, and Pao left, Kilian watched some young men playing billiards until some raised voices caught his attention. He turned and saw Emilio, all steamed up, arguing with a hefty black man in an elegant tan suit. Generosa was pulling her husband’s arm, but he took no notice. The discussion got louder, and the crowd began to fall silent. Kilian went over to see what was happening.

  “How can you, especially you, say that to me, Gustavo?” Emilio almost shouted. “I have been a friend of your father’s for many years! Have I ever treated you badly? I dare say I have lived more years on the island than you!”

  “You don’t want to understand, Emilio,” Gustavo hissed. A few drops of sweat beaded on his furrowed brow and slid down his temples past a pair of large square-shaped glasses. “You whites have exploited us enough. Sooner or later you will have to leave.”

  “Yes, of course, that is what half of you here tonight would like. That we leave so you can keep everything … my business as well! Well, you won’t get it, Gustavo!” He pushed his finger into the man’s chest. “I have worked my fingers to the bone in this land so that my family could have a better life. I won’t let you or anyone else threaten me!”

  Generosa, beside herself, did not know what to do. She pleaded with her husband to leave and looked relieved when she saw Julia come over with Manuel.

  “Nobody is threatening you, Emilio! I thought you were more reasonable. Have you ever considered our position?” Gustavo’s nose flared in agitation.

  “In your position?” roared Emilio. “Nobody has ever done me any favors!”

  “That’s enough, Dad!” Julia took his arm and gave the two men a hard stare. “Others have been punished for less than this! Tell me what’s going on. Are you going to allow damned politics to ruin your friendship? If so, you’re wasting your time. Things won’t change here for many years to come.”

  The two men fell silent, but neither apologized. Emilio finally agreed to follow Generosa toward the exit. Little by little, all those present resumed their conversations. Manuel and Kilian accompanied Julia and her parents to the door.

  “Are you all right, Julia?” asked Manuel softly as she caught her breath.

  “Fine, thanks, Manuel.” She held out her hand affectionately. “I had a very nice time with you. In fact, it was the only nice part of the night.” She saw Kilian make a face and hastened to add, “The dance with you wasn’t bad either. Still, it would be best if we left. How embarrassing, my God! I won’t be able to come back to the casino for weeks!”

  “I’m sorry, my child,” said Emilio sadly. “I couldn’t help it. Generosa, he rattled me.”

  “Relax, Emilio,” his wife comforted him, nervously adjusting her fine lace gloves. “I’m afraid that from now on, we’ll have to get used to the demands of these ingrates.”

  “That’s enough, Mom.” Julia looked at Kilian and M
anuel. “We’ll see one another again.”

  “I hope so,” Manuel said wistfully. “And soon. Good night, Julia.”

  Manuel and Kilian remained at the door of the casino for a few seconds until they were out of sight.

  “A charming woman,” said Manuel as he cleaned his glasses with a handkerchief.

  Kilian grinned for the first time all night.

  A few days later, Julia was handed a note from one of Sampaka’s boys: “I am truly sorry for my behavior. I hope you will forgive me. It will not happen again. Jacobo.”

  These few lines swirled around in her head for several days. She could not stop thinking about the sparkling green eyes, the black hair, and the muscular body of the man she had thought she wanted. Soon, she convinced herself that this could mean something, that her insolence in the casino had made him realize that they could share a future together.

  This lasted for two weeks, but she could not manage a third. She needed to see him and hear his voice. She thought of different ways to meet him, but each felt wrong: another dinner in her house would awaken her mother’s suspicions; she was not sure if Jacobo would accept an invitation to go to the cinema or for a meal or drink, and she did not want to risk a refusal; and resorting to another group outing at the casino did not seem a good idea after her father’s outburst, which was probably still being gossiped about. That was the worst thing about Santa Isabel: in a city so small, it took weeks for a little bit of news to fade.

  Julia had a sudden harebrained idea: She would go and see him on the plantation one night after dinner. She had been there twice with her father and remembered the main house perfectly. She would make up some excuse and sneak into Jacobo’s room, where they could talk alone and maybe … She bit her bottom lip, caught up in the excitement of her scheme. If anyone were to catch her entering the bedroom passage, she could always say she had a message for Antón from her father. Nobody would blink!

  She chose Thursday as the perfect day to carry out her plan. On Thursdays, her parents played cards with the neighbors, so it was the day Julia used the car to go to the cinema; there was no reason why Jacobo shouldn’t be in Sampaka then.