Don-Riki And Rosalia

Don-Riki, as you might have guessed, was Spanish. In his later years he made his residence just south of the American border on the Gulf Coast. It was an enormous hacienda with an even bigger ranch to match. He lived there as a bachelor although there were always several women around who would have it another way.
Rosalia had one of the prettiest tails that had ever been put on a mongoose, if not the prettiest. Even Don-Riki had to pause and sigh when she walked by, and he had known her for years.
The first time he had seen her was singing in a nightclub in that place called Miami. He was there cutting a deal on some eggs from a very rare breed of duck. He was trading Cobra eggs for them. He had killed the Cobras himself and though the guy with the duck eggs thought the Cobra eggs of great value, Don-Riki figured there were plenty more Cobra eggs where those came from. But I digress.
Rosalia sang pretty well although Don-Riki had heard better, but that tail caught your eye first thing.
Next morning he was up early singing a little tune she had been singing the night before.
“You only wanted me for my tail,” she said pouting.
“You are mistaken,” He said. He was carefully packing the duck eggs. “Are you coming with me or not?”
She smiled and knew in that instant she would never tame him because she would never be his first love. “I can’t come now...”
He gave her the address, the phone and the times he would most likely be there.
“Come visit.”
It had been many years since she had first showed up on his doorstep with that radiant tail of hers. For months it would seem as though they were a couple, then he would be off for months, sometimes years at a time.
Now Don-Riki had that air about him again. He would be departing. Only this time something was different, or it was familiar but it hadn’t been like this for a long time. Something was up: this was going to be a really grand adventure.
“I have never said these words to you before, Don-Riki,” Rosalia smiled sadly over the rim of her coffee cup. “I love you.”
Don-Riki was in the middle of eating scrambled Rattlesnake eggs. He stopped chewing with his mouth full and looked her in the eye, chewed a couple more times paused and then swallowed hard.
“If I return I will marry you.”