The Dictator's Ex-Wife Writes Him a Letter

(Alinari Archives -- Corbis - )

"Let us go sit under the pear tree," Bienvenida tells them, leading them back outside. An unseasonably hot day for autumn, not a breeze. She could be back home in the sweltering heat of Monte Cristi.

They give her the news. El Generalissimo is getting remarried. She receives it calmly, the nurse anxious at a nearby window.

Bienvenida tells herself not to get agitated. This is why she has always miscarried.

She speaks at last, finding it easier to address the woman. "Will you deliver a letter?"

But it is the man who responds effusively. "Anything, anything. I want to assure you that our jefe has said you are always to be treated with every consideration. He is obeying the new law. The world needs his heir. He belongs to history. And, therefore, to none of us."

"Mentiras," Bienvenida says. Lies. The word like a glob of spit on his face. Such a shock from the lips of the former first lady. "Wait here," she commands. Already she feels stronger.

SHE ENTERS THE BRIGHT ROOM. THE SUN IS POURING IN LIKE THE PICTURE IN HER OLD CATECHISM BOOK. The dove descending in a ray of light. Blessed am I among women.

October 6, 1935

Illustrious and beloved Generalissimo,

I write to congratulate you!

She can imagine how, when he begins reading, he will think she is referring to the news she has just been given: his marriage to the whore who has ensnared him. But no! She will be restored, a step ahead of sorrow, and gaining.

I have the pleasure of delivering the most happy news. I am with child and now safely past the three months' mark that has always been my debacle. Dr. Marion has referred me to Dr. Vincent, who has examined me and expects a happy delivery.

By April of next year we will have our first child! History and honor! Neither will be cheated.

Your excelsa matrona and loving Bienvenida.

SHE IS SO IMMERSED IN WRITING that she is surprised when she looks up to find Dr. Marion at the door. He is dressed in his impeccable white uniform, his skin powdered, his mustache trimmed. He holds out a hand for her to join him.

"Madame." That soft, enigmatic smile. "What are you drawing?"

She rises, folding the letter. "My happiness."

Julia Alvarez is a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. Her most recent book of nonfiction is Once Upon a Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the USA, and her latest novel is Saving the World. She can be reached via susan@susanbergholz.com.