“Luisa, there’s an emptiness inside of you. And you feel like you can fill it by having
a relationship with your mother. But trust me when I tell you that the only love that you
need is from the Lord. Trust in him, surrender to him and the pain and longing will go
away,” she said, reaching over and stroking my hand.
I shook my head. I got up and turned to walk away. She watched me as I started
toward the stairway. Her eyes were burning the back of my head as I took a detour and
headed straight for the front door.
“Luisa, don’t do this,” she said.
“Luisa, if you go out that door, don’t ever come back!” She yelled.
I rushed out the door and picked up the suitcases that I had packed earlier. I had
trusted in the Lord for thirteen years, now it was time to trust myself. I moved quickly
without looking back.
~ ~ ~
Chapter Sixteen
I arrived at the airport and it was packed with people. They all walked around,heading this way and that, pulling luggage, and carrying briefcases.
I heard someone calling my name.
“Luisa! Luisa!” I turned around in slow circles, trying to find the voice that matchedthe face.
I spotted a rather plump woman wearing an old wool pea coat. She was holding achild of about three in her arms. She tried to take off and run to meet me but ended upwobbling and panting halfway across the floor.
“Luisa, it is so good to see you,” she said coming towards me while trying to catchher breath.
I forced a smile. I couldn’t believe this was Maria. She looked so different! She hadput on at least a hundred pounds since the last time I saw her. Her once beautiful eyeswere shrunken; her delicate cheekbones were lost in a mangled and round face. She had abulbous nose. And a double chin that wobbled when she moved her neck. My armscircled around three-quarters of her body as I struggled to embrace her and the child shewas holding.
“Luisa, let me look at you,” she stepped back and whistled.
“Que Linda. Por la maseta,” she said.
I blushed and looked down at my feet. I was very modest. “Mommy you’re hot!” Shesaid, while walking around me with the baby in her arms.
“Bitch you’re on fire. Está que estilla. I am gonna have to work hard to keep all thesehot bloodied hombres off of your little ass,” she said laughing, a little too loudly.
There were people standing next to us. They gave us a look of abhorrence beforethey hurriedly walked away.
I blushed again, but this time I was embarrassed.
“Hay Luisa, Chica, we’re going to have to break you in, you can’t be shy aroundhere, mommy.”
She grabbed my arm and began to guide me to a huge red sign that read exit. Ourarms were intertwined. Her body gave off a musty smell. Her dress was faded and spottedwith old condiment stains. I covered my nose.
“Maria, you never introduced me to this little guy.” I asked, happy that I had foundan excuse to pull away. I was hoping that maybe she was babysitting him. Maria lookeddown at the child like he was a bag that she had forgotten.
“Oh, girl, this is one of my ejios, Julio”
“Julio?” I stood there and looked at her in silence. She had children?
“You’re gonna meet your brothers; I left em in the car” she said casually.
Brothers! What? I couldn’t believe it. She had left me with nothing and no one andyet she had given birth to other children. I shook my head and made a piteous attempt totry and mask my anger and disappointment before I asked her another question.
“How many children do you have? Maria,” I said.
“Girl, call me momma,” she said forcing a smile and caressing my arm. “And I havefour boys, and of course you, which makes five,” she said lightly.
Five kids! I couldn’t believe it. Julio seemed to be choking on the lollypop that waswedged in his mouth. “Are you okay?” I asked out of concern.
“Girl, ain’t no use doing that. The damn boy don’t talk; he just whines all fuckingday. The only way that I can get him to shut up is to stick candy in his mouth,” she saidpulling me toward the exit sign.
“Ain’t no pain, like a whining ass child. They really wear down your nerves,” shesaid.
I rolled my luggage behind me and jumped when Maria dashed out of the doubleglass doors.
“Shit,” she yelled as she ran over to a Ford Comet Station Wagon. She snatched off ayellow ticket that was tucked under the windshield wiper.
“Fucking cops, they don’t have shit else to do but to go around and give folkstickets”
I looked around, there were a crowd of people who were waiting outside for either ataxi, bus, or loved one. They looked very uncomfortable and pretended that they had notseen Maria’s odious display.
“Luisa,” Maria yelled as she opened the driver’s door.
“Let’s get the hell out of here before those damn pigs gives me another ticket”
A few people in the crowd turned to look at Maria and then over at me. All the bloodin my body rushed to my face as I hurriedly walked over to the car. I went to put my bagsin the trunk, when I opened the rear hatch and three human heads popped up.
“BOO!”
I screamed, startled to see that there were children in the trunk. “Kids, you knowbetter than that,” Maria said while looking into the rear view mirror and sending them alook of death.
“This is your sister, Luisa, and she is gonna to be staying with us for a while”
The little boys hovered in the trunk, tinkering from their prank and then monkeycrawled into the back seat.
“Luisa, this is Roberto, and the twins Jose and Juan.”
“Hey kids, help
