Boy couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. It reminded him of the old parable about wishing for too much—or maybe the one about cosmic punishment for seeking ultimate perfection.
“Are you sure you want me to have that painting? Haven’t you been carrying it around since college? Even gave up some of your chivas to make room for it in your ramfla and cantones? Qué no it also pushed out a ruca or two?” he asked is cuatche, Ram.
It was a painting of a vast plain seen from higher ground through an opening in a forest with a hint of a body of water far off in the distance, as if the viewer was leaving one world to enter another. The detail and perfect proportions of distance gave it a sense of profound depth and time. It was a beautiful piece of art, but its extraordinarily wide dimensions made it a hard piece to fit into any lifestyle that didn’t revolve around it.
“Simón! Don’t want it anymore. hought it’d be more de aquellas than an engagement ring to give someone. But it’s only brought me sura luck,” Ram said.
Boy raised his eyebrows.
“It not match something more special now, o qué?” Boy asked.
“Chale. I’ve been carrying it around most of my life cuz it was the most special thing I wanted to give to somebody special— a girlfriend who would see it as a very special gesture, like an engagement ring. But it’s been keeping me from getting engaged,” Ram said.
“When I finally had the feria, I remodeled my chante to make it fit and match. But then when the workers started moving the walls, they turned out to be structural—immovable— and in need of widening, the opposite of what I needed. I then started looking for another chante, and my girlfriend got all scared. So she left and said that painting was spantado,” Ram added.
Boy raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“So you’re giving it to me, ese?” he asked Ram.
“It’s valuable cuz it’s so beautiful. Sell it if you want,” Ram said.
“Nel. It’ll take over my life if it comes into my chante. That’s probably why it was so cheap when you bought it. By the way, how much you pay for it?” Boy asked.
Ram didn’t answer and took a long deep breath and turned away.
His reaction made Boy’s hair stand up.
“Lots?” he asked Ram loudly.
“Chale. The vato who was selling it saw me look at it over and over and came over and said he’d let me take it home for nothing if I took it right away,” Ram said.
“Lilo de amadres! It’s spantado. The vato who sold it to you was trying to get rid of it like you are now. It’s a wicked bride, ese. Like they say, if she’s too beautiful to be real, then…, ” Boy said, walking away without completing the saying.
