When two people live in the same town, it should be a matter of little effort to get together at some point and, in fact, get together several times over the course of the years. Right? Well, not so fast guy. My dear friend and brother Hector and I shared the same town of Miami for nearly a decade and, in all those years we only managed to meet for a few minutes; once. Yup! Once…
That can’t be so, you would rightly say. Yet, I could probably write here a number of reasonable excuses as to the why of this situation and I bet you these could even be made to sound plausible. In truth, there were times during these years in which I would have not wanted to see anyone, much less a friend whom I would have wanted to meet under better conditions. This is a very normal, yet very selfish thought, because a true friend will really want to see you under any condition; it is much more important to have the relationship than to brag about what is… especially when it isn’t.
All that aside, I had to go to Miami last week for a short, almost turnaround trip. My goodbyes to the city of the sun had been said almost a year and a half before, at a time when everywhere I looked, all I could see was darkness. This parting has been discussed elsewhere in these notes, so they will not be discussed again here and now. So I picked up the phone and called Hector, inviting myself to his house for two nights. Didn’t give him a chance to argue the concept, nor to even comment.
-“Hector, I will be in Miami Wednesday and Thursday night (this call took place on a Monday afternoon, mind you).” –“Do you want to put me up and put up with me?”
There was no hesitation, or that moment in which you clearly could hear the “Oh Man!!, What’s this about?” drop.
-“At what time are you getting here, and what do you like to drink?” was the answer.
-“I’ll be there sometime around 7:30pm and I drink red wine, the drier the better”.
-“We’ll be here waiting for you… have a safe trip”
That was that. We had not talked or seen each other but once in almost 50 years, and this brief contact had been 10 years before. This brings to light that in an honest friendship, there is no need for explanations, nor any need to make excuses. We may not see each other or talk to each other for long times, but the feeling of brotherhood and of belonging will never diminish.
So, at 4am this past Wednesday I, with my brother alongside, took to the road, knowing he had to be in Miami (Hialeah, to be exact) not later than 5pm for an appointment with his dentist. The trip itself was actually devoid of any surprises. We had a rented car which I put into cruise control all the way down, and actually made it to the Dr.’s office by 5pm. We should have arrived earlier, but as soon as we hit Ft Lauderdale, we hit heavy traffic all the way to and into Miami. This constantly heavy and aggressive traffic would actually be highly rated as one of the reasons there will be little or no interest on my part to go back to live in that city again, as much as I may like the lifestyle options it offers.
When I finally arrived at Hector’s house, I was greeted by little Paige, screaming her head off. Actually, I should say barking her head off, since Paige is Hector’s and Diana’s little dog and doubles as warning siren when the door bell is not heard by them. She and I became friends quickly, with her coming into my room to say “Hi and Good Morning!” And to look for a tummy rub. Right after Paige, Hector came bounding out. We sort of fell into an embrace (we latinos do love to hug!) and all the years we had missed washed out. This was followed by an introduction to his wife Diana and an invitation to eat home made “Cuban Tapas” and to down the bottle of wine he had gone to get for me. I then remembered that he always had liked vodka and drank (or drinks) nothing else. So between glasses of wine, shots of vodka, small ham rolls, meat “pastelitos” (meat filled pastry) and I forget what else, we spent 2 hours trying to reconstruct 50 years. After all this, I was given a couple of minutes to freshen up and to join them at the dinner table, where we had a light (after all the preceding goodies, anything else would have been impossible to eat!!) dinner and said good night. It was already past 11pm and I had been on the road driving for almost 15 of the last 19 hours. I also had to get up early to go get my brother to the appointment that was the real reason for the trip; mine being set for Friday am.
Thursday day time was spent doing all kinds of errands (you know… the ones that get put aside and let accumulate until the day you “get back there”, never thinking you are really going back…) My brother had his “Cuban lunch” at a Cuban pizzeria (main difference: Thicker, softer crust and about 1 inch of Italian cheese on top), this being preceded by a plate of spaghetti and all being washed down with a strawberry shake. I filled up just watching him eat and, yes, he long ago left the 36 inch waist line mark behind…
On Thursday night, I was invited by my hosts to dine at a nearby restaurant, where I had two favorites of mine: boiled yucca with an olive oil with garlic, salt, and lemon sauce, and fried sweet plantains. Yes, there was a piece of chicken to go along with this, but that I can have anywhere, anytime. That night we continued our conversation and discussed girlfriends, parties, other friends we have not seen in a long time; friends who had asked for me at a high school reunion he was able to go. We also went into other areas like the VN war, where I thought at one time he had died, the armed forces and the many issues grunts had to deal with after coming out of an environment which had no guarantees and which required that you take people’s lives as a matter of course. I’ll tell you: only those who lived through this can truly understand the weight it brings to your life.
Anyway, Friday morning came all too soon and the visit was over. However, we both realized that a brotherhood that is (as this was) formed at a time of uncertainty and difficulties, is a brotherhood that will withstand the test of time. We will see each other again sooner than you may think and I look forward to seeing some of the other people from those times, with whom we have reestablished virtual communication.
Be Well… Back soon!!
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