The Last Song

he is a Christian who blesses his children without making the sign of the cross. You will know that your neighbor is a heretic if he is a Christian who celebrates the Jewish festival of the unleavened bread. It is your duty as good Christians to report to the holy office heresy committed by your family, by your friends, and by your neighbors.”
    After he finished reading the proclamation, thefamiliar grabbed his horse’s bridle and swung himself into the saddle.
    A man pushed his way to the front of the listeners. “Master,” he asked, “can you tell us if – ”
    “I will tell you nothing more!” the familiar cried.
    “Bastards!” Yonah muttered.
    The familiar threw a coin at the boy who was holding his horse and then he was gone. The town crier left hot on his heels. The boy scrabbled around in the dust, trying to find the money.
    “Let’s go home! I want to tell my mama and my papa about this.”
    “How can you? They would ask where you heard it. You’ll have to come up with a good excuse.”
    “I’ll think of something.”
    We had just passed through the city gates when the clop-clop of galloping horsemen made us scurry to the side of the road. Everything happened so fast that the riders had already reached us by the time I realized that Luis was leading the pack. Before I could turn away, I felt his eyes on my face. Then he was gone.
    I tugged at Yonah’s sleeve. “That was Luis! He saw me!”
    “How do you know?”
    “He looked straight at me! He must have recognized me.”
    “How could he?” Yonah squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry. All he saw was a Jewish boy – not the pampered Doña Isabel.”
    I tried to tell myself that he was right, but the memory of Luis’s cold eyes horrified me. We melted into the crowd around us in case Luis decided to return. He did not come back.
    I snuck upstairs to my room without anyone seeing me. Sofia helped me change. I was rushing so much that I was still out of breath when I went to look for Mama. She was in the courtyard, walking. She kissed me on the forehead.
    “Luis is coming for supper tonight,” she said.
    “Again?” I asked, stepping in line with her stroll.
    A tightening of her lips was the only sign that she had heard me. “Change into another dress,” she continued.
    I lifted the green skirt of the gown I was wearing. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”
    “Nothing. Your dress is pretty enough, but you have nicer ones.” She cocked her head. “Let me see … wear your yellow gown, the one embroidered with silver threads. It’s important that you look your best tonight.”
    She quickened her pace and walked toward the entrance to the house, leaving me behind.
    I called after her. “Oh, Mama! You know how I feel about –”
    She turned around and stopped. “No time for that now!” she said with an impatient wave.
    I did not dare to disobey her.
    Sofia tamed my curls with a snood. I changed into one of my most elegant dresses. My skirts whispered along the stone floor in a dignified manner as I walked. Only the tips of my jeweled slippers were visible. I could not have looked more different from the grimy Jewish boy I’d pretended to be at the city gates. I kept my eyes cast down modestly as I made my way toward the ornate trestle table in the middle of the dining hall. Papa and Luis rose from their seats.
    Mama looked as handsome as ever in red silk. “You are late, daughter,” she said.
    The doors to the hall burst open. Two servants entered, carrying a suckling pig on a large silver tray. A large apple was in the pig’s mouth, and the animal was surrounded by a mountain of cabbage and other vegetables from our garden. I glanced at Mama. This was the first time that I had seen pork served in our home.She did not meet my gaze, her hand fluttering at her throat. I sat down beside her, across the table from Luis. He nodded in my direction but did not greet me.
    “So much food for the three of us. The servants must be hungry!” Papa laughed.
    He sliced off a large piece of pork and put it on Luis’s plate. He cut another slice and started to pass it to Mama.
    She pushed away his hand. “My stomach is queasy. I better not eat anything tonight – although there is nothing I like more than pork roasted in a pit!”
    “You must have some of this delicious meat.” Papa’s voice was steely. “It’ll settle your stomach.” He put the meat on Mama’s plate and added some cabbage. Then it was my turn before he helped