Fiction: Jaudon – An American Family (a novel) [28]

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Chapter 28. Rodrigo Family

Things were going well for Ricardo. He had hired the company that J.W. Hankins used to drill his three dry wells and hid the entire thing through a fake corporation in New Hampshire. His three wells in Corsicana were top producers. His import/export business was doing better than he had ever hoped, as were his other investments. After the snowstorm of ’85, he foreclosed on two well sites whose owners couldn’t make their payments, and he now had five wells pumping oil. Claude had picked up four more wells and was now pumping seven.
    In the winter of 1897, Ricardo felt it was time to go home for Christmas. The last time he had seen his family was the day he caught the train for college. He was now a wealthy businessman and, with much pride, he was coming home the victor. He still had scores to settle with J.F. and Claude, but that could wait.
    Sadie, Ricardo, and their twins got off the train in Brownsville, Texas. Jesús Jaudon and Ricardo’s sister Carmen met them with a large enclosed buggy that looked almost like a stagecoach. They had left their son, Juan Martinez, at home so there would be more room. The trunks were loaded on back and everybody piled inside, except for Jesús and Ricardo, who wanted to ride outside with the driver.
    The driver sat the horses at a slow trot heading out of the small border town. Jesús lit a thin short cigar and offered one to Ricardo, who declined.
    Ricardo asked, “Have you heard from your brother?”
    “He’s working at Michael Reese Hospital, the biggest hospital in Chicago, and he loves his work. You are an uncle, by the way. They have a baby girl, named Maria. She was born last month, on November 23.”
    “Why didn’t someone tell me?”
    “The letter just arrived. It seems that envelopes with Mexican names on them often get delayed, or even lost.”
    Ricardo held onto the seat rail as they hit a rough place in the road. “You’d think these Texans would be over the Alamo by now, wouldn’t you?”
    They, and the driver, too, laughed so hard they almost wrecked. Jesús was the first to catch his breath. “For some reason, they think the battle at the Alamo was a great victory. I’ll never understand the way white people think.”
    Ricardo put his arm around Jesús’ shoulders. “Don’t you feel you’re white? Your father was, after all.”
    Jesús shook Ricardo’s arm off. “Juan and Rafael have been my fathers. I know nothing of my father’s world, nor do I care to know.”
    “How about José? Does your brother feel the same way?”
    Jesús thought for a second. “Yes and no. He lives and works in the white world, so he is more like them, but he wants nothing to do with the Jaudons.”
    Ricardo patted him on the back. “That’s good to know.”

    Jesús and Carmen’s ranch estate was built in the style of a ranchero. High whitestone walls surrounded the main buildings, with a gate that led into a square with a fountain. The main quarters were straight ahead as you entered. Most of the other buildings inside the walls housed workers.
    Rafael and Maria were waiting on the porch, along with their little grandson Juan. They had yet to meet Sadie or their grandbabies by Ricardo. The grandson was named after Rafael: Rafael Ricardo Rodrigo. The granddaughter was named after Sadie’s mother, Sonia Anna Rodrigo. Both of the children had begun school.
    The elder Rodrigos welcomed Sadie with open arms, and Maria hugged and kissed Ricardo. Little Juan jumped from the porch and into the arms of Jesús. Rafael threw his arms around his son and pulled him close. But when the twins came from the carriage, their grandparents’ attention quickly turned to them, and the twins’ faces lit up with instant recognition of family at seeing their grandparents. The grandparents took the two and disappeared into the casa.
    Ricardo turned to Sadie. “I guess that’s the last we’ll see of the kids.” Their faces beamed at each other.
    Jesús let Juan down, and the boy flew after the departing grandparents and his cousins. Jesús put an arm around Ricardo’s shoulders and led him inside, while Carmen took Sadie’s arm. Inside, Ricardo was moved to the left toward the study and the bar while the ladies made their way into the sitting room, where the laughter of children could be heard.
    Jesús picked out a bottle of Sauza Tequila. He smiled at Ricardo and whispered, “Papi doesn’t like us drinking his good tequila, but this is a special occasion. I hardly remember you, it has been so long since you left.”
    Ricardo took the shot glass he was offered. “I have had much to do before I could come back home. But now we will be a family once more.” He raised his glass and toasted, “Saludos a ti.”
    They had four of five more drinks before Jesús stood and said, “Come, before it gets dark. I want to show you my orange trees.”
    They saddled two horses and rode out. The orchard was down by the Rio Grande River. The trees were now dormant and waiting for spring. Ricardo looked out admiringly over the vast orchard. “How many trees do you have?”
    “Over 700. I have two windmills for pumping water for them from the river during the summer.”
    Ricardo shook his head. “How have you been able to make it work and the Englishman couldn’t?”

    They got down from their horses, and Jesús led Ricardo to a tree and pointed at its bark. “Do you see the difference? The darker bark on the bottom is the tree the Englishman was growing. The fruit from it wasn’t sweet. It looked like an orange, but it tasted like a lemon and no one liked it. I had seeds shipped to me from Florida. There they grow sweet oranges. I grew the seeds until stems sprouted, and then I grafted the stems onto the trunks of the Englishman’s trees. Once the grafts took hold, I cut the bitter tree off above. And now I have two trees in one, and each one is producing sweet oranges.”

    “What future do you see in this fruit growing?”
    “More of a future than cattle. Texas is running out of good land for cattle. The new cattle are not like longhorns, who could eat anything. The Circle J Ranch had to use irrigation to grow grass to feed its cattle, and the grass requires as much water as any other crop. We can grow crops year-round down here, with the river. Along with these trees, I’m going to plant a few acres of corn, beans, and I may try planting some cotton. I think the cotton will grow good down here.”
    Ricardo laughed. “The son of the Texas Cattle King is going to be a farmer.”
    Jesús mounted his horse. “This is no joke. I thought you would see the future of farming here in the valley.”
    “I wasn’t laughing at you,” Ricardo said as he too mounted. “I do see the wisdom of planting crops instead of growing grass. I was laughing at the picture in my mind of the look on J.F. and Claude’s face when they hear.”
    Jesús knew what he was doing and had hoped his brother-in-law could see that. “The only cattle that can survive down here are longhorns. The weather is harsh, the water is scarce, and there is little grass. Besides that, nobody buys longhorn cattle anymore. One day all you’ll see down here will be farms.”
    “You know I have a bank. Well, we invest in businesses. If you ever want to expand – like buying more land or expanding irrigation – let me know, and we’ll look at it with a favorable eye.”

As they re-entered the estate, night was beginning to come on. But even in the winter, the temperature was still in the seventies. A party was being set up and people were arriving. Rafael and Maria had all three of their grandchildren on the front porch showing them off to one and all.
    Ricardo saw Sadie sitting in a rocker at the end of the porch smiling at him.He handed the reins to Jesús and hurried to her side. “I’m sorry I left you alone.”
    She took his hand and smiled as he kissed her cheek. He sat down in the rocker next to her. “I love your family,” she said. “I wish we could live here instead of in Houston. It’s so peaceful and friendly.”
    “It hasn’t always been that way. A lot of blood has soaked into the soil of this valley. Most of it Mexican.”
    She took his hand and squeezed it. “I don’t want to think about such things. Today has been too nice to destroy it with sad thoughts.”

    A mariachi band had begun to play. The smell of roasted pig filled the air. And waiters were bringing drinks around. The party began to pick up pace. Ricardo and Sadie were pulled to the dance floor, in the area in front of the fountain. They danced with a number of people and even danced once with the kids in their arms.
    As people began to leave the festivities, Ricardo took a quiet moment to say to Rafael, “Tomorrow we need to talk about the Jaudons.”
    Rafael looked at his son. “Why do we have to talk about your brothers-in-law?”
    “I speak of the other two Jaudons. The ones you call friends.”

The next morning, Rafael had coffee brought to the study for himself and Ricardo. He closed the door before pouring coffee and asking, “What has happened?”
    “What makes you think something has happened?”
    Rafael sipped the hot drink and then placed the cup in the saucer. “You’re in business with a man I have known for many years. Had you asked me before going into business with him, I would have said, don’t do it.”
    “I’m not sure if it’s J.F. or Claude, or both of them, but J.F. and I had an agreement, and when Claude came back from France, our agreement was suddenly out the window.”
    Rafael studied his son for a moment. “Is your bank doing well?”
    “Yes. I have plenty of money, but I put the oil deal together and they cut me out.”
    “My son, I don’t know what you have in mind, but James Jaudon is not a person you want as an enemy.”
    “I have time, Papi. I need you to keep Jesús and José away from J.F. and Claude. I want them in our camp, because after J.F. dies I’ll need them to make a run on his empire. Claude won’t know what hit him.”
    Rafael finished his coffee and stood up. “Pitting blood against blood is a dangerous game.”

Copyright © 2019 by Ed Rogers