The Alcalde and Jodeda (Adrian)

Adrian arrived late from work and stepped into the dark, cool hallway of Casa Rocio. He dripped sweat. His green shirt stuck onto his back. "A hellish hot day." His wife Rocio turned toward him, away from the huge pot she stirred on the stove. He kissed her quickly on the lips. "The Rio Guacabon looked like it was evaporating and the air felt like it was turning into a river, air and river were blending into each other. She laughed and pushed him away. "I told you not to go work on the roof of the Hotel Coral today, not under the blazing sun. It wasn't a day to repair rows and rows of red clay roof tiles."
Adrian laughed. "Right, because I can choose not to work."
"Ni me digas. I've been avoiding coming near this stove." Rocio stepped away from the flame. Adrian threw himself into one of the kitchen chairs and Rocio pulled up the chair beside him and sat. "The heat was the least of it. I was on the roof of the hotel and you won't believe what happened. A crate of roof tiles slipped and crashed into the skylight." She laughed. "You broke the glass ceiling." She stood, walked back to the stove, stirred the pot again.
Adrian took in a deep breath. "It's the end of the month and I'm smelling cinnamon." He stood beside Rocio, took the stirring spoon from her, and tasted the harina de maiz. "Mi plato favorito." He savored the sweet corn meal mush Rocio cooked at the end of the month when they'd run out of his last paycheck, and before the huespedes had paid their first of the month rent.
She spooned the mush into two platos hondos and they sat at the long table. "Que bueno that for a change none of the huespedes are here yet." Adrian ate the corn meal slowly. He fished out the cinnamon stick and sucked on it. Any minute Elbita would get home from school but for now he had his wife's attention to himself.
"The skylight breaking was nothing, or at least not the strangest thing. What was strange is what I saw through it when I went to look at the damage." Rocio looked at Adrian and waited. He leaned toward her and whispered even though there was nobody else in the house. "The skylight is over the big hotel hall where they have the banquets. The box of tiles broke through the glass and fell in and landed on one of the tables. That's still not the strange part. What's strange is who was sitting at that table. El Alcalde and Capitan Jodeda from the Base." She shrugged. "Y que? Who cares who the Mayor has lunch with?" Adrian slapped the table. "We didn't elect him to go meeting with the enemy."
Rocio shrugged again. "It could be innocent."
"You say that because you didn't see the guilty look on his face when he looked up and saw me looking down." Adrian finished his harina and pushed away his plate.
"On my way here I showed up at the Alcaldia. I wouldn't take no for an answer and I intimidated the Alcalde's secretary by towering over her and leaning into her until she led me into the Mayor's private office in the rear of the ground floor. It's a huge room and almost empty except for two enormous chairs made of dark, shiny wood and facing a dark, wooden desk. On the other side of that desk the Aldalde sat in a gigantic chair, big as a throne. As I walked into the room the Alcalde rose to greet me. The throne chair almost swallowed his skinny little body. As he rose to greet me I saw him slide a small black notebook under a stack of papers on the desk.
"I screamed at him, que carajo were you doing with Jodeda?" He tried to be high and mighty. He said, 'Primero se saluda. Did you forget how to say hello? His name is Capitan Ojeda, not Jodeda, and meeting with him is my job.'
"I strode to the desk, shoved the papers to the floor, and grabbed the small black notebook I'd seen the Alcalde hide. Before the guardia at the door could stop me I managed to look at the book. Then the Guardia grabbed the book and I walked out."
"They let you just walk out?"
Adrian nodded at his wife.
She waited for him to tell her.
"The notebook had a list of names, all our names."