A Closer Tomorrow
by
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Jaragua snorted another pinch before answering. He ran two fingers across the back of his left hand. “I want it right across here. I want it to say ‘Estrellita Luminosa’ in capital letters.”
“Okay. Got that. Estrellita, huh?” Manny bit his lower lip and moved his hips back and forth with the gusto of an amateur porn star.
“Relax, stud. That’s the girl I’m going to marry. She’s a singer, and that’s the name of her favourite song. Well, it’s her name too, just not the Luminosa part. It’s a nickname. … Never mind. Just do it.”
Manny ceased his comic gyrations. “Hey, no problema. Estrellita Luminosa. No problema. I’m just fooling around. She your woman?”
“Yeah. She’s coming to visit me in a couple a days. I want to surprise her, so make it nice. Right across there.” Jaragua held out his fist.
He closed his eyes as Manny began to work on his tattoo. In his memory, he could see Estrellita’s face, her opal black eyes looking up at him. For him, her eyes were the essence of her beauty. It wasn’t their glimmer or strength, nor their colour or depth. It was what he saw in them that had won his heart. He saw something that frightened him. He saw belief.
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About the Book
A beloved merengue song—a phantom from the fifties—connects a haunted cast of characters, each in search of redemption. Elderly merengue star Ignacio dos Santos wrote this popular song—“Estrellita Luminosa.” He once did the mambo with Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe and lived a fulfilling life. After enduring twenty years as an alcoholic in self-exile, he now dwells in a masochistic world of memories and regrets, as he searches for a reason not to self-destruct. He finds sanctuary in the brutal cockfighting pits he once turned his back on. Through the victories of Mr.Mestizo, a champion rooster, Ignacio chases his deliverance towards the grave.
Also in the Dominican Republic are young Maximo and his sister, Lourdes. Tragically, a crocodile severs Maximo’s leg and shatters his dream of one day pitching for the New York Mets. The incident sets his life on a collision course with a vicious human trafficker who is after his sister. In order to save her, Maximo must conquer his fears and battle against his own physical and emotional handicaps.
After Jaragua saves a man’s life in prison, a secret society welcomes him into a world of death matches and drug smuggling. Despite the madness in his life, he remains devoted to a beautiful merengue singer named Estrellita. He must now choose between the darkness within and the only woman he has ever loved. All of these damaged characters have decisions to make, but there’s no telling whether their choices will bring them happiness or damnation.
About the Author
Matt Caffrey lived in the Dominican Republic while researching this novel. He has traveled extensively, working as a professional sailor and diver for over ten years. Matt now lives in Alberta, Canada, with his wife, Yuliya, and their two children, Caden and Sonja.