| \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\truink\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
So who is she? (The Don) Maria, patriarch of the family. Patriarch? Sometimes the king is a woman. She controls the family, its business and its politics with an iron fist. Because she refuses to allow her number one grandson into the war the family is trying to create- when she dies, who takes over what- she has taken them out of Puerto Rico and into New York. In the following years crime in New York was such that she moved the family out again, this time to Pouncefield.
Her sphere of influence includes much of the old squirrel community in New York, the Refined Sugar Industry in Puerto Rico and a state senator in New York. She has a younger sister. She is a retired a military nurse from the last great war, and her medical knowledge though ancient to modern standards, it is more effective for what has to be done. She had nine children: Toni, Nora, Wilfred, Sam, Lisabeth, Albert, Francisco, Joanna and Luis-Miguel; most are flying squirrel or a hybrid thereof like herself. It is Toni who is the mother of Fernando and Jorge. Its not a family tree, but a weed that takes over other family trees...
Beware of her when you meet her, her style and personality is upfront and direct, not pulling punches and not caring about political correctness. She carries a brick in her purse and has used it accordingly- swinging the purse onto some would be criminal's head. In Pounefield, she has already used it on Rodriguez, smashing the red brick into powder. She also carries mace, and a small firearm hidden on her somewhere. She has already lived a useful and plentiful life, and is not willing to learn of new technologies like computers and the internet. Those things are for her grandkids to take on, learn and take over accordingly.
She adopted Rachel after learning about her mother's death from a hard life of drugs and prostitution, knowing that the girl has been though some rough times herself despite Fernando's willingness to help her out of her situation. Technically, in adopting the girl herself, it would make Rachel Fernando's aunt but in forging her daugher's name (Fernando's mother), it made Rachel his sister. She did this for two reasons - 1) not to add competition to her own children's inheritance and 2) though it happens, it would be difficult to explain why your aunt is younger than you. As Fernando's sister, they can be closer than in any other family relationship without needing to explain it to anyone. Knowing that Fernando has done things to help her out, Grandmother knew that the girl would help him in his times of needs. She now knows that they are having a sexual relationship of sorts and is fine with it, as long as the community does not find out about it. In the past, except for Toni, her children were in a sexual relationship themselves and she admits to would have if she had a brother herself.
In short, you want this woman as your friend for as a friend she would give you the world, anything else will cause you discomfort and pain...