Moura Enchanted: Cousins & Friends, #1

By Clotilde Martinez

 Febronia Roca is comfortable with the way her life has always been. She arrives to her job exactly the same hour every day. The same tedious job she has hold on to for past 13 years. Her love life went up in flames when she caught her groom to be cheating with her ex best friend. From there on, Febronia swore off love and was happily getting used to the fact she was going to be a spinster or better yet an old fart. When Febronia answers her telephone at 3 a.m. in the morning. She learns that she had inherited her great aunt’s lands in Ardura located along the Galician seacoast. Then, Febronia does the unthinkable by quitting her job and taking the trip to Ardura.  There Febronia discovers a love she never knew exist along with the truth about her great aunt and her sardine factory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aranga2Cee
• Release date: Nov 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540170064

Clotilde Martinez

For those who are curious to know about me. Here’s a few tidbits. This Jersey girl comes from a large super close Galician family. My siblings and cousins were the first to rallied around me when I was diagnosed with both ovarian and uterine cancer. After working overnight, my brother drove to the hospital where I was getting my surgery. My sister held my hand when I went to my first chemo treatment. My other brother drove me back and forth to my treatments. Cancer for me has been a blessing. It sounds weird saying that but it’s the truth. I have so many people praying for me, sending me positive thoughts, that it gave me the strength to deal with the aftermath of the treatments. When I lost hair, I couldn’t stop staring at myself in mirror. Which I could explained how powerful and how fucking beautiful I felt in my bald head stage. The hair has grown back. It’s curly. The color’s now salt and pepper. I’m rocking it.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE ringing of the cell phone. Looking at it from the comfort of my pillow, I tried to ignore the pesky sound. But, boy was it ever persistent.  I answered not knowing that the life I thought I knew was going to change with a simple hello. The voice on the other side of the line was cheerful and male with a hint of a heavy foreign accent. Spanish-I think it was. No clue about who he was. I should have been pissed at being awakened at the ungodly hour of three in the morning but I wasn't. I think it was the stranger's sunny voice personality that did it for me. Mr. Sunny before I knew him as Candido Perez explained to me that my great Aunt Febronia has passed away.  I have now inherited her lands over in Ardura located somewhere in Galicia, Spain.

Great Aunt Febronia, I vaguely recalled of the woman that my dad decided to named me after. According to him, she was conceivably the greatest woman to ever walked the earth. It was only fitting that he named his first-born daughter after his heroine. I should have been honored to have the name. But then again, you did not have to stand in front of your class and try to explained the correct way of pronouncing your name. This whole name business would have been a lot easier if I was growing up in Ardura but alas it was not.  My home was Jersey. Land of red ripe tomatoes and Aqua Net hair spray.

Growing up, I have meet Great Aunt Febronia several times. The last time I saw her. It was during the funeral of my grandma Isolina- Febronia's baby sister. I remembered Febronia smiling and doing her best to cheer my dad and his brothers. I remembered her honeybee hair do and the bright shade of pink lipstick.  I remembered the high heels she wore and her blue flowery dress. Most of all I remembered her confronting a group of gossiping women.  They were busy critiquing her one of a kind outfit. Great Aunt Febronia quickly put them in place.  Why am I going to wear black? My most beautiful and precious sister is in heaven. I dress to celebrate her arrival there. was Great Aunt Febronia’s comeback. Her remark quickly shut the gossipers up.

Candido was still talking about the property. Correction- my property. My restless mind began to wonder again. I was trying to figure out a way of how I was going to explained to my boss that I needed a week or so to settle my affairs over in Ardura. Easier said than done. It was like pulling teeth to asked for a day off at the store especially during inventory season.

Finally, Candido stopped talking or maybe my mind had stopped wandering.

Silence until Candido asked What is your answer? 

Strange I don't recall hearing the question. I did the one thing that I always do when I haven't a clue on what to do.

I said Yes

Excellent, we will see you next Tuesday. Not to worry about anything. We will email you the airline tickets and itinerary. Also, I will have my nephew pick you from the airport. I'm looking forward to meet you. answered Candido.

Wait, what just happened.  There was no way that I could just fly off to another country. I have responsibilities People counted on me. I try to explain all of this to Candido. Only then did I realize that there was no one on the other line. Slowly, it dawned on me that this was a prank. It had to be. An all- expense paid trip to Ardura? I laughed at how ridiculous I was being, but then I heard a ping. One quick looked at the flashing email notification told me that this was not a joke.

The next day, I told my boss about the phone call and how I needed to go to settled the affairs there. True to form, his answer was no. He informed me that I was needed for inventory and that there was no way he could afford to spare me. I would have agreed with him if his latest blonde bimbo- I mean recruit didn't walk in our conversation at that exact minute. Bimbo hugged and thank him for giving her the days off she requested. Curious, I asked what days they were. She replied that they were the two days before inventory.  I worked thirteen years at the same company. Holding the same title position. Never once did I put my needs before the store.  Bimbo started last week and she gets whatever she wants. It was not her fault. It was my fault for being a doormat. No more.  Something in me finally snapped.

Smiling, I turned to Bimbo and in my best molasses voice, I said, I’m so glad that you're just in time to hear my good news. 

She flashed her pearly white What is it?

Looking at my boss and Bimbo, I replied I am giving my notice. Today is my last day.

With that, my head held highly and a newfound spring in my step, I walked out of the office. I could hear him calling me back but I went to my station and began to packed up thirteen years of stuff. I began to loaded the stuff into the trunk of my green Ford Pinto. Suddenly I realized the stuff that I was loading was just junk.  There was no need for junk in where I was going. I threw everything out in the trash cans. If I could set it on fire, I would have.

Driving home, I realized that I broke one of my set-in stone rules. I committed the unforgivable act of leaving a job without having another one lined up. My stubborn and foolish pride came before my brain. Obviously, I had to go back and groveled to get my job back. No sooner did I turned the door knob of the front door of my home that I was greeted with a three-way hug from my aunt Eve and my cousins Julia and Holly.

What is going on? I asked, taken back by the greeting.

Running her hand thru her wavy copper hair, Holly answered

I told them about what happened at your store today, Feb. 

Of course, she did. Somehow I am not surprise to hear that. After all, Holly and I worked for the same company. So, did Julia and Aunt Eve who retired two years ago from her position as greeting card coordinator for the entire East Coast. Julia was store manager but was taking night classes in district management courses. There was word that three of the district managers were retiring at the end of next year.

Holly refused to work at the same company as her mother and sister. But after years of jobs not working out. Holly swallowed her pride and took a job as a cashier at the store. One day, the pharmacy technician became ill and called out sick. Holly was asked to helped out at the pharmacy. She did just a great job that the head pharmacist asked that Holly to be transferred to the pharmacy.  A new Holly was born.  She became interested in the pharmacy and soon she was back in school studying for her pharmacy diploma. Today, Holly is pharmacy district manager supervisor for the East Coast.

There is a mixture of a blessing and a curse when your family and you worked for the same company. Not sure which was it at this moment.

I bet old Stingy was shocked when you told him said Aunt Eve, smiling.

Looking at them, I answered I acted in haste. Tomorrow, I go back and apologized.

The three of them looked at me as though I have lost all of my marbles and then some.

You will not. They stated firmly.

Fate has given you a chance of stepping out of your comfort zone. Take the trip. said Aunt Eve. Julia and Holly nodded. I was shocked by Aunt Eve's bluntness. After all, Aunt Eve was a workaholic herself.  That was until two years ago, when her husband of twenty years suffered a fatal brain aneurysm as he was giving a speech in the middle of a board meeting. Uncle Steve had only five more years to retiring. Burying her soulmate changed Aunt Eve.

She decided that life was too short to be only working. Uncle Steve was a good man but he never took vacation days when he should have. It was always next year. The next day after Uncle Steve's funeral, Aunt Eve gave notice that she was retiring.  Two days after that, Aunt Eve after reading one of Uncle Steve's college essays which was all about places he wanted to visited in the USA, packed a small suitcase and went on a yearlong trip across America.  She was not alone. Uncle Steve went with her.  Of course, he was in the urn.  Aunt Eve returned home with only a tiny bit of Uncle Steve's ashes which she scattered all around the backyard especially by her rosebushes.

I should take this moment to mentioned that I lived with my aunt and my cousins after my parents decided to retired to the sunny weather of Miami. Actually, my dad grew up there. He only came up North after winning a full scholarship to one of the universities here. It was at the university that my dad met the woman who would change his life-my mother. The story goes like this. He was waiting in line to get his fall semester schedule approved when suddenly this amazon of a woman with fiery red hair cut right in front of him. Dad politely pointed out that he was first and that she had to get back of the line. Well, La Roja as my dad nicknamed her, smiled and told him a few choice words. Needless to say, that Dad was shocked by her attitude but at the same time was fascinated by the sparkles in her emerald green eyes and that mischievous smile. La Roja was trouble. Dad did not want any part of it. His goal was to be the first in the family with a college degree. Dad put La Roja out of his mind.

Image Dad's surprise when he found La Roja in all of his classes. Dad loved to sit in front row of each class he attended. Guess who sat to the right of him. That's right- La Roja.  Once and only once, some girl did try to sit next to Dad. One look from La Roja and the girl moved to back row. Come to think about it, I believe that the girl transferred to another class. No other girl attempt to sit next to Dad. At their college graduation, La Roja told my dad her secret which was that she had a perfect photographic memory. That explained why a girl who hardly opened up a textbook could graduate second in their class. Dad graduated first and asked La Roja what classes she remember.

Her reply was Calculus 101  8:00 am – 10:00 am Monday and  Thursday. British Lit 201 Tuesday 9:30am- 11:30am Biology Tuesday and Thursday 1:00pm -3:30pm . Fine Arts Friday 8:00 am- 12:00 pm It was Dad's schedule sophomore year. The one where La Roja cut in front of him. Dad looked at her as she was crazy.

La Roja fixed his black graduation cap and looked him straight in the eyes. Of all the things I memorized to memory the most important was the school schedule of the man I am going to marry.

Dad was speechless. To this day, he doesn't remember giving the valedictorian speech but there are plenty of videos to prove that he did. Exactly three minutes in his speech, Dad thanked the fierce red head woman who challenge him in all of his classes.  He walked down from the podium to the last