Don Arnulfo’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. The Secretary at his son’s wedding! He must have heard about the event and come to pay his respects. His ego swelled to the point of bursting. This was the definitive confirmation of his status.
He quickly grabbed the microphone, breaking the stunned silence of the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” he announced, his voice trembling with emotion. “What an immense honor! We have the surprise visit of our esteemed Secretary of Defense. Please, a round of applause!”
Don Arnulfo practically ran down from the platform, pushing his own wife aside, to be the first to shake the General’s hand. He was already imagining the government contracts, the concessions, the photos in the society magazines the next day.
“General!” exclaimed Arnulfo, extending both hands with an exaggerated, servile smile. “What a wonderful surprise! Welcome to my son’s wedding. Please, come in and sit at my table. It is an honor that…”
But General Valdez did not stop.
He didn’t even glance down at Don Arnulfo’s outstretched hand. He walked right past it as if it were a piece of furniture, just another decorative column. Arnulfo’s smile froze into a grotesque grimace. His hands hung suspended in mid-air.
The Secretary of Defense stared at a distant point in the room. He walked with a martial stride, his boots clattering on the polished marble floor. Behind him, four major generals followed in perfect formation.
The silence in the hall was absolute. The clinking of ice melting in the glasses could be heard. Hundreds of heads turned, following the General’s movements.
Where was he going?
He walked past the senators’ table. He ignored the bankers’ table. He crossed the empty dance floor
Don Arnulfo, pale and confused, turned to see what was happening. The General was heading to the darkest corner of the room. To the service area. Toward the chauffeurs’ table.
Don Arnulfo’s heart stopped for a moment. It couldn’t be.
General Valdez stopped abruptly in front of the humble table at the back. In front of the man in the simple guayabera who was drinking water.
Leo gently placed the glass on the table. He stood up. He didn’t do so hastily, but with a deliberate slowness and a natural elegance that suddenly made his simple clothes seem like a formal uniform. He straightened his back, squared his shoulders, and lifted his chin.
And then, the impossible happened.