For a full list of chapters, click here: Table of Contents
August, 1968
“This is the last car you will ever get from me, Francisco,” Don Octavio Benítez said as he handed his son a silvery set of keys to a 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider. “You crash this one, and you might as well leave this house and move back to the mountains. Happy birthday, son.”
Francisco Antonio Benítez took the keys from his father, whistled, and sprinted towards the Spider’s red sheen. The outside felt like silk and when he opened the driver’s door, the leather greeted him as if he were a Puerto Rican noble. No one in Francisco Antonio’s family would disagree. Francisco Antonio was the prince of the Benítez family, the youngest of four, who could barely remember the family’s cramped house in Caguas, where he was forced to share a room with his older brother and go to the bathroom outside with the goats and roosters.
That all changed when Don Octavio Benítez moved the family from Caguas in 1957 to the brand new subdivision of Diamante, just 15 miles from the capital city of San Juan. It was one of the first true suburban experiments on the island, where you can buy plots and cement houses equipped with all the modern amenities you would find on the mainland. Don Octavio, with cash in hand, bought three plots on the same day the subdivision opened for business and within a week he assigned a crew of Dominican and Haitian workers to build a one-floor, four-bedroom home with a rainbow-tiled swimming pool and a covered garage for at least three cars. He made sure to add the newest Sears air conditioners to each bedroom and an RCA color television, the largest he could find on the island, in the living room. To 10-year-old Francisco Antonio, this home in Diamante was truly a palace.
The early years were filled with swimming pool parties, baseball games, basketball tournaments, and trips to Miami Beach. While Francisco Antonio rode his bike around Diamante for hours, Don Octavio celebrated the Cuban Revolution by buying more real estate around San Juan and Río Piedras.
“The money is leaving Havana, Francisco. And it is coming here. I’m telling you, the Americans will take over this place now. Just you see,” Don Octavio would tell his son. Even with his seventh grade education, Don Octavio knew that cash ruled the island. If you had it, you can lift yourself from misery. Don Octavio now had the cash, and the transactions he made after Fidel ruined Cuba guaranteed an exquisite life for the Benítez family.
So when Francisco Antonio turned sixteen years old in 1965, Don Octavio gave his son a lime green Volkswagen Notchback. Within months, his son crashed it into a highway divider, after spending hours drinking rum and pineapple shots in Old San Juan. Francisco Antonio left from the accident unharmed and walked the six miles back to Diamante alone. He told his father the truth.
“It is only a car, son. The best news is that you are not hurt. Now let me make a few calls to the police so we can forget about this incident,” Don Octavio said as he hugged Francisco Antonio.
In 1966, Francisco Antonio received a pitch black Chevy Chevelle for his birthday. Around the Christmas holiday and after drinking a bottle of scotch with his former schoolmates from Caguas, he steered into a roasted chicken stand on the way back to San Juan. The car was smothered with adobo, garlic, and cooked chickens. The front side was also crushed. Francisco Antonio hurt his neck slightly, but he still managed to crawl out of the car, help the chicken stand owner with the damage, and stumble back home to Diamante. This time, Don Octavio was in New York on business, so Francisco Antonio made a long-distance call. He told Don Octavio that he would also need to pay for repairs to the chicken stand as well as replenish the stand with food.
“It’s just money, Francisco Antonio. I am glad that you are safe. We will talk later. Let me make a call or two now and we can forget this,” Don Octavio said that day.
One more accident occurred in 1967, on the very same day Francisco Antonio received a new metallic blue Ford Galaxie. He was leaving a beach barbecue in Piñones with a six-pack of Schaefer beer for the ride back home. He ran through a red light and was clipped by a public bus carrying house maids who were heading home to the shacks of Loiza from the Ocean Park neighborhood. No one was hurt on the public bus, so Francisco Antonio left the car on the road, hopped into the public bus with the maids and the driver, three unopened cars of Schaefer remaining. He sang songs with the maids on the way to Loiza and talked about Roberto Clemente and Juan Marichal with the driver on the way back to Diamante. This time, his father was reading a newspaper when Francisco Antonio told his what had happened, while his mother, Doña Luisa, was preparing pork chops and rice.
“At least you are safe,” Don Octavio said.
Later that week, Francisco Antonio went to go see The Graduate with subtitles in Spanish. In the film, Dustin Hoffman’s character zoomed around the screen in a Spider. Francisco Antonio was turning twenty-one the next year. He went home to that night from the cinema with only one idea in mind.
“I want a new car, Papi. I just saw it in a movie,” he told Don Octavio.
Don Octavio, who didn’t even have a car until he was thirty years old, agreed without questioning his son. Within months, he had arranged for the first Alfa Romeo Spider to be imported into the island.
“Happy twenty-first Birthday, son.”
Anything for the Prince of Puerto Rico.
Franky Benítez 
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Julio Ricardo Varela and Julio Ricardo Varela, Elianne Ramos. Elianne Ramos said: RT @julito77: Just completed another chapter: August, 1968: http://wp.me/pp13w-nk (meet Franky's father) #amwriting #latinolit #latism […]
Julio, this story feels so deep, so real. I’m totally hooked. Can’t wait to get it in bound, printed form (or hey, I’ll happily buy a Kindle version too).
I don’t doubt you know how good your writing is (I’m learning a lot from it). Just wanted you to know I, and doubtless many others, feel the same way about your skills. Great work man. Personally I’m grateful to have a real connection to a serious and talented writer with a future this early in his career.
Mike, your words humble me. I am so thrilled to know that you like the story a lot. Please, let’s continue the connection and if there is anything I can do for you, you know where to find me.
Thanks again.
Julio
Through your well-drawn characters, you are peeling back the onion on a slice of society in Puerto Rico few readers will even knew existed. Keep going, bro. I am digging it.
Gracias, hermano. It’s a big onion! Abrazos, Julio
Keep going!
Will do! Approved.
Ok, you got me — hook, line & sinker — it intertwines today and gives us glimpses of how he became who he is today — and that last sentence? Now, I’m really wondering & contemplating & waiting as to what exactly happened to this Prince…
That Prince, Franky’s dad, is such a character.
Nice job so far building the foundation for what promises to be an interesting story. Looking forward to the next installment.
Harry, thanks so much for the comment. #FridayFlash is a very cool community.
Wow, Franky is just…charmed isn’t he? To mangle three cars and then get a Spider? Or maybe Don is simply naive….
This is such a fabulous installment Julio, you’ve taught us an awful lot about Franky with but a few words. So, if this is August, is Franky a Leo or a Virgo? I would think a Leo, what with how reckless he is.
Thanks so much for the great read Julio!
Hi, Deanna
This is a scene with Franky’s father Francisco Antonio when he was a teenager. Funny you think it’s Franky, that is actually one of the goals I am trying to do with these characters, show their similarities and differences.
Well hello! If I’d paid attention to the dates, (at the least), I would’ve figured that out. My apologies Julio. This is proof that those of us with a one-track mind should not try to do more than one thing at a time.
In any case, I love this scene. 🙂
Ha! No worries and thanks soooo much for the comments!
Wow…can’t believe you’re giving this stuff away, Julio. This is such good writing and story telling.
Ha! Thanks, bro. Gotta start somewhere. Thanks, bro.
You really bring these scenes alive with the descriptions.
Tony, thanks so much.
Beautifully vivid excerpt. The descriptions of “Pleasant Vally Sunday” consumerism from a rich community was brilliantly done. I remember the red spider from The Graduate.
It’s funny that after Cisco saw a movie about a man discovering the difference between what’s superficial and what’s real, the only thing he takes away is a longing for the red car. God I wanna punch him. (heh)
Well done. : )
Yes! You defined Cisco’s core character flaw already. Love it.
The descriptions are really vivid; I can imagine living on the island with Franky. He really is a prince, though — my Dad wouldn’t have given me a car after the first crash, let alone the third. These are great characters, and you set the scene very well.
Thanks so much. I thought it would be interesting to explore the spoiled teenager character.
This is a different sort of life than I’ve seen depicted in prose in some time. Kind of pleasant, a little dusty and lively without hitting cliches or cloying nostalgia.
Keeping a chapter catalog at the top is a wise move. Is there a reason the chapter number doesn’t appear on the post itself? Especially for folks jumping in through #fridayflash, it would be easier to gauge how far in they are and if they want to/need to go back from immediately seeing the number.
Hey, John, that is a great question about the chapter number. I am a big fan of Cortázar’s Hopscotch where he tells readers that you can read installments out of order. Right now I have this crazy idea of just putting the posts in no specific order, but there is a traditional TOC here: https://juliorvarela.com/the-toc-5/
Am still working through it and polishing things but what I love about #fridayflash is that it forces me to submit something and write to a deadline.
BTW, your flash was awesome.
“cash ruled the island”
Of all the lines, that one stands out to me. Doesn’t need any description or elaboration. Power in simplicity. Love it.
Thanks so much for the comment!
Wow, that is one understanding father, and generous, too! I think he ended with the best car which, of course, The Graduate made into a Sixties icon. Great story!
One of the themes I am exploring is how Don Octavio gives his youngest son everything, because when Octavio was younger, he had nothing. Yeah, I love that car.
Me? I want a Mercedes 1957 190 SL, please. Although, the spider will do nicely. 🙂
Interesting character, your Francisco Antonio, and a very long-suffering Don Octavio (though I note the declining cadence in Don Octavio’s statements after the news of each crash).
I wonder does Francisco?
You have a gift for description – I can see everything vividly as the story moves along.
Nicely done.
My man, Kevin, thanks so much for the comment. Yeah, the relationship between Francisco and Don Octavio intrigues me a lot and I am excited about the possibilities.
After the first car crash, I would have made him buy his own. It seems Frankie has a problem with driving responsibly, which is an excellent for you to demonstrate a personal character flaw that he either deals with or it deals with him down the road (pun not intended). Good work.
Thanks, Stephen. I love the fact that Francisco Antonio is so spoiled, will make a nice contrast to his son and his dad Octavio.
Spoiled, but fun. Very nice car.
Yeah, Francisco is such a Prince.
You have such a richness to your prose, it invites you in, makes you want to stick around and savor. And as someone who likes detail, you’ve got the gift, man. Really like the way this took hold of me. Well done.
Thanks so much, my friend!