WEBVTT

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"Brunhilda knew how to make all
kinds of delicious desserts,

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meringues, pies,
puddings-- all of which

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she sold to her exclusive
clientele in Caguas.

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But her specialty had
always been the ponqué.

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She had her own secret recipe.

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A dozen egg yolks beaten
to a lemon-yellow, a pound

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of pure butter, 3 cups of sifted
flour, a cup of sugar, 1/2

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a teaspoon of baking
powder, a pinch of salt.

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Everything folded together,
as intimately as lovers.

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The mixture was poured into
a round aluminum mould,

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with a hole at the center.

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And put in the oven a fuego
lento, al baño de María,

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at low temperature, in a pan
of water, for 45 minutes,

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until an aromatic
golden ring emerged.

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It was said that,
Brunhilda's butter and egg

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cake had magical
qualities and that once it

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was tasted by the
groom, he would never

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be unfaithful to his bride.

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But Brunhilda gave
all that up, when

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she married Dr.
Mediavilla, and she

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hadn't baked a cake for years.

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Brunhilda enjoyed the
finer things in life,

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and my grandfather soon
recovered his joie de vivre.

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The day after her arrival, she
began to poke about the house,

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and see what was inside
the cabinets and cupboards.

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From the sideboard
in the dining room,

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she took out the fine
linen tablecloth,

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hand-decorated China
and Fostoria glassware,

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that Adela used only
on special occasions.

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She ordered the maid to
set the table with them,

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and throw out the everyday
tableware and glassware.

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When Chaguito expressed
surprise at lunchtime,

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she told him, I don't see the
point in living like a pauper,

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when we have such nice things.

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What are we saving them for?

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So your children can
enjoy them after we die?

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Let's take pleasure
in them ourselves.

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Chaguito found
this preposterous,

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and laughed his head off.

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Brunhilda's exuberant potlatch
was a refreshing change

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from the thriftiness
of Adela, who

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had saved every penny
as if it were gold.

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Chaguito was still in his 50s,
but he had a difficult life.

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He had worked 14 hours a
day, practically since he

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was a child, struggling
against hell and high water

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to keep his family afloat.

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But the effort had
taken its toll,

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and he looked much
older than his age.

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He was almost completely
bald, and his mustache

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was snowy white.

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Chaguito loved to wear old
clothes, the kind that feel

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they wear themselves on you.

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But his wife enjoyed buying
him elegant Belgian linen

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suits, French ties,
Spanish Quarter-man shoes.

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She soaked his handkerchief
in all the cologne

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and took him out for a
ride every afternoon,

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in the shiny blue DeSoto
sedan she had also purchased.

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Chaguito didn't mind any of it.

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He remembered it with
nostalgia, the days

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when he admired beautiful cars.

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But now he was tired, and
could find little enthusiasm

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for them.

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He wanted Brunhilda
to enjoy herself.

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Brunhilda loved to
show Chaguito off,

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whenever they went
out for visits.

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'And how does my puss
in boots feel today?

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Doesn't he look
like a sugar-daddy?'

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she'd say to her
friends, laughing,

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as she patted Chaguito's
cheek and combed

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his perfumed mustache with
a tortoiseshell comb she

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had ordered from Paris.

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Abuelo would blush
with embarrassment.

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But he didn't complain lest
he hurt Brunhilda's feelings.

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Brunhilda was very wise in
the ancient ways of love.

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And soon had Chaguito lighting
up like a match, every night.

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The first night they made love,
Chaguito climbed on top of her,

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and felt like Captain Ahab,
astride his mythic whale,

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cruising the seas of immortality
far from the sight of shore.

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Brunhilda banished
Abuelo's German shepherds

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from under Chaguito's
bed where they

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had reigned supreme for years.

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In the early morning,
she loved to walk around

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the house in her
semi-transparent nightgown,

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looking exactly
like Rubens's Venus

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in the Judgment of Paris."

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I think I'll leave
it there, because I

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don't want to bore you.

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[AUDIENCE NOISE]

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