Read Online Before We Were Free by Julia Álvarez - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Julia Álvarez
Ads: Link
percent doubt has to do with what happened on Valentine’s Day. I mean, what
didn’t
happen. I didn’t get a card from Sammy—but then, none of the girls got valentines from boys, that I know of.
Before Tío Toni leaves, he puts his arms around Lucinda and me. “I want my two butterflies to take care of each other,” he says in a soft voice, squeezing our shoulders.
“We will, Tío,” Lucinda promises, kissing my uncle. Then she leans over, brushes away my bangs, and kisses me!
On Lorena’s day off, two men come over from the consulate to check the whole house for bugs. And I don’t mean insects, either. The SIM like to hide little devices in houses so they can listen in on what you say. They might have planted some when they came for their raid . . . or someone could have planted some since then.
“Who?” I ask Lucinda. She spells out Lorena’s name in English!
That afternoon, I overhear Mami talking to the canasta group on the patio. “The place is clean, thank God!”
“What about the girl?” someone asks.
Mami hired the recent graduate without checking her references because we desperately needed another maid to help Chucha. “She showed me her diploma from the Domestic Academy.”
“Don’t you know?” Mrs. Mancini whispers, looking over her shoulder. I pull back just in time from the doorway. “That place is nothing but a front for the SIM. They train those poor girls to be spies in households!”
Suddenly, I hear footsteps behind me. I jump. But it’s only Chucha! She leans forward and whispers one of her favorite sayings:
“Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.”
The shrimp who falls asleep is carried off by the current.
I guess if I’m going to spy, I’d better watch out for other spies— like Chucha!
The night of the party, we hear cars going up and down the driveway. Voices drift over from the neighboring yard, punctuated every now and then by the report of firecrackers going off in different parts of the city in honor of Independence Day. The early guests are starting to arrive.
Lucinda has taken her dress to the Washburns’ so that she and Susie can get ready together. Mami is delayed in the kitchen, where she and Chucha and Lorena are frying extra batches of the Washburns’
pastelitos
for the party.
“When are we going over?” I keep asking. I know I’m nagging, but I’m dying to get all dressed up and have Sam see me.
“With patience and calm, even a burro can climb a palm,” Chucha reminds me.
“Take this over, please,” Mami asks Lorena when the first batch is done.
“Let me do it,” I volunteer.
But Mami shakes her head sharply. “That’s enough, Anita.”
As soon as Lorena disappears down the shortcut path through the hibiscus hedge, Mami calls out, “Coast is clear!” Papi and Mundín slip out and join some men who have crossed over from the party to talk to Tío Toni. Tonight, I’m too excited thinking about my first grown-up party to ask Mami what is going on.
Finally, the frying is done. Mami and I dress quickly—she in her long black gown with the slit up one side so she can walk. When Chucha first saw it, she told Mami to take the dress back to the seamstress and have that rip sewn up.
I get to wear Lucinda’s pale blue organdy she’s outgrown but won’t let me keep. Mami puts some lipstick on me, but I refuse the hairspray because Sam says that sprayed hair looks like an astronaut’s helmet. As for Lucinda’s old patent-leather heels I wore at Christmas, they no longer fit. But I’ve found some blue satin flats of Carla’s that match the dress perfectly and are honestly much easier to walk in.
We cross over, Lorena and Chucha bearing the platters of
pastelitos,
Mami carrying the tray of sugared almonds to put inside the swan baskets the canasta group has prepared as party favors. We’re headed the long way down the driveway, past the hibiscus hedge, Mami cautious in her spiked heels and tight dress that make walking
didn’t
happen. I didn’t get a card from Sammy—but then, none of the girls got valentines from boys, that I know of.
Before Tío Toni leaves, he puts his arms around Lucinda and me. “I want my two butterflies to take care of each other,” he says in a soft voice, squeezing our shoulders.
“We will, Tío,” Lucinda promises, kissing my uncle. Then she leans over, brushes away my bangs, and kisses me!
On Lorena’s day off, two men come over from the consulate to check the whole house for bugs. And I don’t mean insects, either. The SIM like to hide little devices in houses so they can listen in on what you say. They might have planted some when they came for their raid . . . or someone could have planted some since then.
“Who?” I ask Lucinda. She spells out Lorena’s name in English!
That afternoon, I overhear Mami talking to the canasta group on the patio. “The place is clean, thank God!”
“What about the girl?” someone asks.
Mami hired the recent graduate without checking her references because we desperately needed another maid to help Chucha. “She showed me her diploma from the Domestic Academy.”
“Don’t you know?” Mrs. Mancini whispers, looking over her shoulder. I pull back just in time from the doorway. “That place is nothing but a front for the SIM. They train those poor girls to be spies in households!”
Suddenly, I hear footsteps behind me. I jump. But it’s only Chucha! She leans forward and whispers one of her favorite sayings:
“Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.”
The shrimp who falls asleep is carried off by the current.
I guess if I’m going to spy, I’d better watch out for other spies— like Chucha!
The night of the party, we hear cars going up and down the driveway. Voices drift over from the neighboring yard, punctuated every now and then by the report of firecrackers going off in different parts of the city in honor of Independence Day. The early guests are starting to arrive.
Lucinda has taken her dress to the Washburns’ so that she and Susie can get ready together. Mami is delayed in the kitchen, where she and Chucha and Lorena are frying extra batches of the Washburns’
pastelitos
for the party.
“When are we going over?” I keep asking. I know I’m nagging, but I’m dying to get all dressed up and have Sam see me.
“With patience and calm, even a burro can climb a palm,” Chucha reminds me.
“Take this over, please,” Mami asks Lorena when the first batch is done.
“Let me do it,” I volunteer.
But Mami shakes her head sharply. “That’s enough, Anita.”
As soon as Lorena disappears down the shortcut path through the hibiscus hedge, Mami calls out, “Coast is clear!” Papi and Mundín slip out and join some men who have crossed over from the party to talk to Tío Toni. Tonight, I’m too excited thinking about my first grown-up party to ask Mami what is going on.
Finally, the frying is done. Mami and I dress quickly—she in her long black gown with the slit up one side so she can walk. When Chucha first saw it, she told Mami to take the dress back to the seamstress and have that rip sewn up.
I get to wear Lucinda’s pale blue organdy she’s outgrown but won’t let me keep. Mami puts some lipstick on me, but I refuse the hairspray because Sam says that sprayed hair looks like an astronaut’s helmet. As for Lucinda’s old patent-leather heels I wore at Christmas, they no longer fit. But I’ve found some blue satin flats of Carla’s that match the dress perfectly and are honestly much easier to walk in.
We cross over, Lorena and Chucha bearing the platters of
pastelitos,
Mami carrying the tray of sugared almonds to put inside the swan baskets the canasta group has prepared as party favors. We’re headed the long way down the driveway, past the hibiscus hedge, Mami cautious in her spiked heels and tight dress that make walking
Similar Books
