They just sat and stared.
“Ay bendito. Don’t let me have to tell you again. Get up off your ass and help herwith her shit!”
They didn’t budge. I could feel the tension rising, so I decided to keep the peace bystuffing my luggage in a small compartment in the corner of the trunk. I closed the hatchand ran over to the passenger door. When I opened it, I saw that little Julio was nestled inthe seat, asleep.
“Julio, Julio” Maria yelled at the top of her lungs. “Get your ass in the back seat”
Little Julio’s eyes fluttered open and he lazily crawled into the back seat. I got intothe car. Cotton stuffing was growing out of the torn leather seats. The radio was missingand sharpened wires hung from its gutted interior like hissing snakes. There was a silvergadget beneath the dashboard that was intended for lose coins. Instead, it wasoverflowing with cigarette ash and butts with blots of lipstick. Maria reached over intothe back seat and pulled out a plastic sixring that held two full cans of beer. She pulledone of them off and offered it to me. I shook my head.
I watched her pop open the tab and chug it down in one long gulp. She crushed thecan and then threw it in the back seat.
“Maria, what are you doing? You can’t drive like that”
She turned and looked at me like I was the one who was crazy. “The hell if I can’t.Shit. It was just one beer!”
I just sat there, aghast and in total and complete disbelief. I really did not know whatdo to. I closed my eyes and mumbled a prayer. Maria seemed to have forgotten to strapin. She turned the ignition, put the car in drive and sped off.
Nelly, my heart was pounding out of my chest. I was beginning to regret mydecision. I tried to make small talk with Maria, but her children were out of control. Theyshuffled from seat to seat. They cut me off when I spoke and continuously used foullanguage. Maria seemed to have reached her breaking point when little Julio stood up,pulled his pants down and urinated on the seat. I couldn’t believe it! Maria, with one handon the steering wheel reached into the back seat and began to beat Julio with her purse.The car swerved sharply to the left. Maria turned around and viciously swung the steeringwheel back to the right, the car realigned, avoiding a head-on collision with a Magnumtruck.
“Puñeta!” Maria yelled as she flipped off the driver.
She continued to curse to herself, mumbling under her breath about people needingto learn how to drive and how they thought they ruled the road. Maria looked over at me.My back was sucked to the seat; my feet were searching the floor, looking for animaginary brake pedal. My hand rested on the passenger door handle. I was terrified andmore than ready to throw myself out of a moving vehicle. Maria laughed.
“Hay Chica, you’re such a country pumpkin, people in this town are A lo loco;you’re going to have to get used to it mommy.”
I swallowed back my fear and sat up in the seat. The children seemed to have settleddown and there was a brief moment of silence. My stomach felt queasy. I closed my eyesand took a couple of deep breaths. When I opened them, I saw that Maria had taken anexit off the highway.
“We’re almost home.” She chimed.
She bared right, rushed through a yellow traffic light and pulled up to an old twostory ranch house. I got out of the car and began to walk to the back of the trunk when Iwas nearly tumbled over by one of the twins.
“Juan, slow down before I light a real fire under your ass.” Maria said whileclimbing out the car.
Juan ignored her as he ran full force into the house. I took another deep breath andcontinued to walk to the trunk. I opened the hatch and pulled out my two pieces ofluggage. I sluggishly dragged them behind me, and no one, not even Maria offered tohelp. I was wearing a strapless summer dress with a paper thin sweeter. I had lived all ofmy eighteen years on a tropical island that never fell below sixty-degrees. Night hadfallen and the winter’s chill was beginning to settle in. Little pins and needles began toprick my skin and the edges of my ears burned. Maria stole a look back at me. I thoughtthat she was going to run over and help me with my luggage but instead she placed herhand on her hip.
“Ah Mi Dios! Luisa? You didn’t bring a winter coat?”
I looked back at her dumbfounded. How could I explain to her that I had run wayfrom the home, against the will of Sister Abigail? I didn’t think to buy anything. And Iwasn’t sure if I wanted to stay, or swallow my pride and beg Sister Abigail to let mecome back home.
Instead, I answered her timidly.
“No, Maria, I don’t own a winter coat”
“Oh,” Maria said as she causally shook her head and went into the house whileclosing the door behind her.
It took me a full ten minutes to get my luggage and myself up the stairs and into thehouse. My muscle throbbed from fatigue, and I was sweating despite the fact that it wasthirty degrees out. Maria looked at me. Her living room was sparsely furnished. She wassitting on an old sofa that was covered with plastic. She had chosen a mix and matchdécor, with an aged loved seat and broken down recliner.
“Pase, toma asiento,” Maria said as she patted the empty space besides her.
She reached over and pulled out another six-pack of beer. She offered me one, andthis time I took it. After the day that I had, I needed it. I sat down next to her and took asip of my beer. It tasted funny
