Yesterday new cousins turned up. From Chicago. We are related trough the brother of my grandfathers father who left for America from Kaštela about a century ago. One of the arrived cousins is doing the American fashionable thing, putting together his family roots, drawing a tree . His mother's side is native American/Irish/French, and his fathers side is simply Perišin. The begging of all Perišins coming from Kaštel Kambelovac and Kambelovac being point zero, the matrix, factory of PeriŠin production made it easy for him to start his investigation in the old country in person.
There we where, mother and I, at the air port waiting for these cousins to pop out of history, mother excitedly simmering on the banister of arrivals trying to piece together various mouths, eyes, noses, ears, cut outs from memories and black and white photographs to construct a collage of the veritable cousin. It started before even entering the air port, at the taxi stand, " Perišin" She pointed excitedly at some people who replied with a expulsion of cigarette smoke forming a "No". "They looked nice" Mother resigned" They could have been our cousins". " They where french" I ended the conversation.
Whilst mother ready to tear up bobbed up and down trying to figure out the Chicagoans I introduced my self to cousins who too where waiting for the same Chicago package. These in fact live locally, right next to our cherry orchard but i did not know them. They knew me though. I somehow scraped out a picture of a curly haired skinny girl who played on my grandparents balcony during the summers i spent here from England. Their daughter. "Ah how is she" I excitedly enquire happy to have some recollection of who they are in exchange for their knowing all the latest updates on myself." She has a two year old, and 200 kilos" Replies her mother cruelly, and than embarks on a romantic tale of a favourite child of hers who i don't remember existing.
Meanwhile squealing from mother announces the Chicago cousins. The man looks Irish. The lady well an American lady. Mother is kissing teary eyed and stroking her hair. I dish out my bouquet to the lady lumbering her with something additional to carry and we all set of towards the car park.
The Irish looking cousin is smoking profusely as if it where his oxygen in a new atmosphere. The wife and husband who live next to the orchard load all the baggage into their car, than started to reel of an itinerary of activities which would keep the arrivals busy and in their own company for the whole week, but before they could say other wise, mother swiftly claimed the lady cihchago and took her to our automobile.
"You came back so soon "mother says "after only two months"." Ah it was my bother and another sister who came. "They where hoping to meet all of the relatives". Than she went silent." Not wishing to elaborate at something clearly displeasing.
Yes a touchy theme was this previous visit of her brother. After almost half a century he visited kaštela whiteout saying hello to any one apart from the cousins by the orchard. In fact they had spent the whole trip with the orchard cousins, whiteout them having told anyone else in the family that these famous Chicagoans are here. No one else got to meet them and where offended .
It was lynching the orchard cousins about their selfish keeping of the Chicagoans's that mother found out about this second coming, and spread the news. We where at the airport not out of previous agreement but more acting as hijackers on the arrival of the Chicagoans that the orchards where yet again planing to steal from the rest of us. This I was not aware of until we appeared at the air port.
However there reminded a mystery of as to why did the orchard cousins, who mother informed, are descendants of that horrible old woman neighbour who grandad could not stand, why did they keep the arrival of the Chicagoans so secret, and not introduce them to the rest who so keenly wanted to meet them, especialy as they where not any closer related to them than the resto fo us.
You had such beautiful hair when you where a child. mother says. Do you remember anything from your trip here? That i was very sick.replies the newcommer scraping her memories. And your father who picked us from the air Port and took us on a boat ride. The Chicagoans had obviously been here half a century ago i summarise, stayed with my grandparents a whole family of 7 children and parents. It was that visit which had left such lasting impressions on a whole generation of relatives in Kaštela, sweetened by childhood and time,which explained their keenes to meet them once again.
Mother took the scenic and longer route towards the hotel where the Chicagoans resided. We had time to get to know the cousin a little better hear about her life in the states, her children and her work. She had studied in a ivy league university, where her daughter studies, where the orchard's cousins youngest daughter is planing to go. Did we not know that? How strange how little we know about one another here where we live so close, she must have tought.
We dropped her of towards the hotel and the orchards cousins re represented their itinerary for the internationals, having cut out the plans my mother had for inviting the guests to dinner the next day. This was in smiles re arranged before the orchards gruffly drove off and we made our good byes.
Well that solved the mystery. Mother explained. They are trying to get their daughter into the American university trough them some how. And so they don't want their wonder full generous impression to be diluted by others. Of course we would not have known that. I did not even know the orchard people until now. The transcontinental relatives may idealise this old family which seems to have stuck together so long, still living in the same town, generations on, when in fact most do not communicate unless necessary. Or when faced with outside influences such as this one when they are forced to organise things together and than for a short time which even gives them a warm feeling on the inside and makes them look like family. Yet it was the land on which thier houses and olives lie which has generaly been the reason for disputes that had split up the families and left them in unsolvable quarrels yet paradoxicaly bound them to live for ever more close to one another. Perhaps it is exactley the lack of inherited land which set free the new world cousings form forming gdruges over inheritance. Or perhaps we idealise them, becosue we dont know them as likley they had idealised us.
To celebrate the exited encouted mother immediately called up our favourite Perisin. He arrived with his nephew, the youngest in the family. And what do they look like? He asked. Mother immediately said how the youngest nephew and the irish looking cousing have exactly the same mouth. And when do i get to see them he asked? Ah you are not in the itinerary mother answered. Starting to reel of the list the orchards had prepared. Right. He was offended agian. We explained the reason why they may have hogged the Chicago cousins for them selfs. It makes sense. He replies. Orchard is the kind of man who did not give a job to his unemployed cousin whilst he was the manager of the shipyard which employed 40000 people. Oh, why did they have to get in contact with him first? Because both of you do not use the internet i replied ,and could not be contacted. Well he threw back candidley, we shall just have to kidnap the chichago cousins, from them.
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