Don't dream it's over

Dinner with the devil

October 1st ,1987

Dionne Diaz .

My mother was running for senate .

She was previously a council women before we moved .
 
Everythings going well so far & next month we find out if she'll be apart of senate or not , tonight we're having dinner with my family and the menendez family as this will be the last dinner all of us will come together for before the election takes place .

my father & Jose were talking business in our den .
I knock at the door.

"Come in "  I hear my father say
"Good afternoon papi good afternoon mr . m would you guys like any tea or coffee ?"
"Tea would be nice Thankyou"  they both say .

I stepped out to  get everything ready for tea , my mother always says it's polite to offer guests something to drink when they come into our home .

I  knocked softly on the door until I heard my father say come in once again , I place everything needed for tea down at the table and prepare the cups ,   they thank me as I walk out.

  I helped Maria & my mother and grandma prepare dinner,  we were having a Cuban dish called arroz con pollo I made the rice as my family prefers my rice .

Eventually I set the table with the help of Maria's daughter Delimar , eventually we all sat down and started passing food around to make our plates . 

"Mom, I have something for you "'
"What is it?"

I get up from the table to hand her a sheet of paper .

"I put a lot of thought into this , and I've decided this is my passion and I want to pursue it , I just thought I'd tell you first"
I say as she opens the piece of paper.

"Politics?  you wanna go into to politics"? I nodd
"Really"? My father says .
"Yes" 
My mother gets up from the table to give me a hug.
"I am so proud of you mija! This is the perfect news for a day like this"
Everyone claps as I sit back down

"Congratulations! That's so wonderful just like your mom" Erik & lyles aunt Marta says to me .
"Thank you Marta "
"That is amazing congratulations Dionne"'Jose says .
"Thankyou "

We start to eat our food when I realize erik isn't eating,  I look around and notice he doesn't have any lemon I go into the kitchen and cut him up a lemon and discreetly hand it to him so his parents wouldn't get upset ,  I sit back down as he mouths "Thankyou "  to me .

Erik ate lemon with almost everything and I don't know why even Sutton didn't know why .

"This rice is Marvelous it reminds me of your grandmother Sofio " Jose said.
"Yes , Dionne made it we try to keep the recipe in the family" my dad said
"It takes me back to Cuba" Jose says .
" yes it reminds me of my first time having it in cuba"

my mom says as they reminisce.

  My mother was born here in America Mississippi actually, she always wanted to go into politics.
  my mother is also part cuban herself with some distant family in Cuba ,  my uncle who was part of the senate back then went out to Cuba on a business trip & took my mother with him so she could learn about the Cuban government, that's where she met my father & Jose.
  It was love at first sight my fathers uncle Felipe worked as sort of a tour guide and took my mother around as her uncle worked she was in Cuba for 2 weeks , im that time she taught my father a little English and when it was time to leave he promised her when he came to the states he would find her and marry her , he found her name in the newspaper one day while she was in college and rode the bus all the way from Chicago to Yale university in Connecticut where my mother went to school & the rest was history they married 6 months later and have been together since . 

"Have you talked to lyle , Dionne"? I heard Jose ask me taking me out of my thoughts.
"Uh a few days ago"
" politics , a great cook , polite and intelligent you remind me of your mother , you will make a great wife one day I hope you and lyle are keeping in touch  "  I knew what he meant immediately.
"Me and Lyle decided rightnow we both need to focus of college he doesn't wanna distract me from my studies"  he looked irritated with my response  I hope I didn't get lyle in trouble , he can't force us together .
"I think that's a great idea I think Lyle Is a great young man but he is absolutely correct I think school right now is the top priority " my dad followed up with .
"Lyle isn't good at making decisions especially women , he would never find a girl  worth anything"  Jose says taking the opportunity to put his son down  I kinda look around not knowing what to say .
"How is lyle ? I heard he's doing well at Princeton yeah ? " I heard my father say quickly changing the conversation of course kitty laughed at Jose's rude remark about his son , I don't understand these 2 .