The Romance of Magno Rubio by Lonnie Carter, Essay Example

Day One

I think I found him. Yes, mysterious Mr. M. My ads in the back of the magazine finally worked. My other says that it’s foolish to try and find love in those magazines but for me, I haven’t been able to find it anywhere in Arkansas so why not be a little bit creative.

I think I have to be creative because of how tall I am (and big I guess). In school I was teased and I think that had a little bit to do with me thinking outside of this box to find love. Sure I’ve been on dates here; but they always squirm in their chairs when I sit down especially after I order my first course. I think diners ought to have first courses; a soup and a salad, then the main course then a desert (which I don’t share –why should I!). But after the first date, no one comes calling again. I don’t think it’s just the country that’s depressed, I think depression has wormed its way into the very fabric of the American dream. But I think I’m getting off track here.

Mr. M. I don’t know if I love him, or could love him (but he does write very nice letters, in fact, some of the time I’m not afraid to admit, I have to get the dictionary out because he uses words I don’t know), but I do trust him. That is, I trust him to send me money.

Now, don’t think this is shameful; it’s merely a way for him to secure my affections. See, thousands of miles separate Arkansas from California (his postage comes from there) so it’s not prudent (a word I had to look up!) for him to send me flowers or anything else through the mail as they’d either die, be destroyed, or someone would steal them before they got to me. But money; good old Western Union is a failsafe. I know that when he sends me money, he’s thinking of me. The more often he sends me money, the more often he’s thinking of me, and the amount he sends me, well, you get the picture.

Day 5

My friend thinks I’m using him (she doesn’t judge, she just says that I should be aware of what I’m doing so I can keep doing it, deny doing it, or at least know how to play the game) but I don’t think I am. I think money is an exchange. Kind of like, if he dedicates his time to making the money, that really means he’s dedicating his time thinking of me. I like that. That’s how I feel.

Day 10

What if he stops sending me money…I don’t think the letters are enough to keep my attention. I’ve had at least one other gentleman respond to my ad in the magazine, someone named Nick, and I like him but he doesn’t send me money. Now I’m completely torn—what to do, what to do. Well, so far Mr. M has kept sending the money so I guess I don’t have to worry about it too much, at least not yet.

Day 15

It’s happened! The money stopped! It must mean he caught on to what I was doing. I guess I really did just want the money. No, what I wanted was for him to come and rescue me and take me to California. I always wanted to move away from Arkansas. There’s no culture here and the pies are all the same. Love can be so cruel. I think he almost had my heart now he goes and destroys all of the faith I had in him. Maybe he died…that would be better. Somehow I would like that more than if he just stopped his affections. I like the idea of a man thinking about me, working hard so that he can give me money. I like him using his time for me…Nick wrote me again. Maybe I’ll write him something a little bit more encouraging this time, even if he doesn’t send me any money, at least he’s present.

Day 30

Nick is moving me to his home country! I can’t believe this! The reason he wasn’t sending me any money is because he was saving it up for us to move to the Philippines, or some place like that. I looked it up on a map, it looks exotic. I hope he likes me. He just said I had to send me money for a train ticket here then we’d go up to D.C. together and leave the port. I used some of the money Mr. M had sent me (the money I hadn’t already spent on find dinners and dresses – it’s hard to find a dress that fits me so I had to have them specially made by the seamstress in the next town). I feel like all of this, putting the ad in the magazine, writing to Mr. M, then writing to Nick, happened for a reason. All of the pieces seem to fit so well. I can’t wait for Nick to come. He’s only a few days late, but that happens with trains these days. They get migrant workers to build the tracks and sometimes there are unforeseeable delays. It’s okay, it gives me time to get one more dress made (I wasn’t sure how hot it was in Nick’s country so I had a few seasonal dresses made) and to get all of our travel arrangements in order. Nick said he trusts me to book our tickets, it was a bit much to spend but who cares when you’re in love and leaving the country together. I can’t wait for this adventure to begin, I think I might really be in love this time.

Works Cited

Carter, Lonnie. “The Romance of Magno Rubio.” Ma-Yi Theatre Company. Dir. Loy Arcenes. 2013. Print.