Dominga

Dominga and Beatriz's mother	These three ruled the household – Roberta being the housekeeper, as it were – which gave her a lot of real power – but did not surround her with the glamour which distinguished the other two -–who were world travelers. Dominga had been my mother’s personal maid for many years – but there was no resemblance between her and the personal maids as seen in "Upstairs, Downstairs." She was very short and plump – almost square. Her very Maya face never showed emotion. Nothing could upset her – nothing hurry her. I never made up my mind whether this was stupidity or a very subtle way of always being her own woman – uninfluenced by anyone or anything. She seemed untouched by either praise or reproach. As she had traveled several times to Europe and the United States – she had given up wearing the native costume of Yucatán – which was a pity – as the Maya woman looks undistinguished in Western clothes – tho’ majestic in her traditional ones. She was a woman of property – therefore looked up to by the other domestics. She owned beautiful jewelry of gold filigree in the style of Yucatán – also sophisticated jewels of French origin – nameday and Christmas gifts from my mother. She also owned a house in Mérida – [..] bank account. – I don’t think she was very attached to me – but she doted on my brother Paul whom she insisted on calling "Bebito" even after he was a grown man. The bond between my mother and Dominga was a curious one – for her ineptitude at times drove my mother to exasperation – and would stir up a swift flare of temper. But no matter what my mother said, Dominga remained completely impassive – and soon things would go along as usual since mother’s temper was short-lived. The two women seemed to need each other. I don’t know what she got out of her travels abroad. She learnt little English in spite of living 4 years in England during the years of World War I. – This did not keep her from getting English books out of the ship’s library whilst on our travels, and sitting closely for hours on a deck chair, looking over the top of the book at the vastness of the ocean. Incidentally – the book would often be upside down. After my mother’s death Dominga spent a few years in Yucatán – until she and Maria joined our household in Panama. She had been living in her house – waited on by some of her nephews and nieces and perhaps she felt bored. Anyway – she came to us without demur – and traveled with us to our several posts in S. America. It was in Uruguay where she again became a very special person.
Dominga and Paul Muse	Our son Paul – a frail child of 2 was put into her care by special order of the knowledgeable German trained pediatrician – who told us the child would prosper only if he could have a completely tranquil environment in which this special regime might be carried out meticulously. The doctor took one look at Dominga and said – "There is the person to take over." They were put into the quietest room in the house – away from the noise and high spirits of Benny and Katie and the Sanchez children – and they set out on the long path to health. They lived a life apart – the Indian woman and the tense little boy. They ate by themselves, Paul’s medicines were doled out at the right hours, and every morning the two set out to the beach – which was 3 blocks away and spent hours on the sands – Paul –naked as a cherub – would be allowed to dip into the warm sands (in fact part of the cure involved being buried in sand up to his neck). Very gradually we saw him change from a frail wisp of a child into a very sun tanned youngster with merry black eyes – inherited from his great great aunt Felipa – and a mass of platinum blonde curls. Dominga went with us to Dunedin and as Paul grew stronger and adjusted to the life of an ordinary small boy she went back to her old job of looking out for me – Her tortoise pace I found very trying, but her loyalty and the memories we shared were a great comfort during my early years of adjustment in Petersburg. It was a great joy to her to see my brother Paul again when he visited us at "Dunedin" in 1936. She always called him "Bebito Grande" even to his face, to distinguish him from our Benny who was "Bebito chico." -- (Paul was a good six feet tall at the time whilst Benny, tho’ only 9 showed every promise of the 6 ft, 4 which he later achieved).
Dominga returns to Mexico	When the war broke out and Mexico joined the allies, Dominga became very uneasy. German submarines had been reported in the Gulf of Mexico. Mexican ships had been sunk. She came to me, tears in her eyes, to tell me she wanted to go home. She did not wish to die in a foreign country. So with sad hearts we made the necessary arrangements and our four Mexican servants (which included Isaura and Isabel, Carlota’s nurse –late comers to our household) went back to their homeland.
Maria Jalapeña	Maria Jalapeña left a great gap, for she had – in sickness and health, radiated sunshine wherever she went. The slim graceful girl I remembered from my childhood had grown heavy and slow moving, but her black curls [....] black curls, flashing eyes and delightful smile had remained, and she would still on occasion tuck a red flower into her hair. I remember her best with her arms full of ruby red amaryllis blossoms, filling the big Japanese jar in the long corridor of the Quinta in Mérida – and the scent of the nosegays she made for the dining table still survives in my memory after 70 years.
Dominga's death	Dominga we never saw again. She died of cancer not long after her return home – in her own little house and well tended by her closest kin.

Dominga, Maria Jalapeña, and Roberta