Read Online Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet - Free Book Online
Authors: Jennine Capó Crucet
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want you to worry. She doesnât want to mess up your awesome life.
âThings arenât awesome, I said, but Dante blasted over my words with a high scream, and instead of trying to explain, I reached down and grabbed the toy Roly had brought him. I held it in my lap and waited for Leidy to say What did you say as Dante punished it with smacks.
Leidy switched fast between the commercial on the Springer channel and the commercial on the news channel, flipping to see which came back to its program first. The news won, showing the weather, focusing on the swirl of snow hovering over New England before zooming down to Florida. I was twenty-four hours away from the plane ride back to New York: Iâd booked the return for Saturday afternoon because it was two hundred dollars cheaper than leaving Sunday morning. Dante kept slapping the toy, and I felt the sun through the window pressing on the back of my neck. Then a new feeling: the skin stinging a little, maybe starting to burn. I hadnât been sunburned in years. None of us ever really burned; on days weâd go to the beach, we never wore sunscreenâwe were dark enough that we didnât think we needed to. I touched my neck, felt how hot my skin had become in those few minutes on the couch, and couldnât believe how cold I would be again so soon. That heat made me feel brave, as if the sun were pushing me, gently on the back, to say what I knew would make Leidy turn off the television.
âSo Iâm having some â issues. Serious issues, I said. Up at school.
I moved the toy off my lap and Dante froze.
âHoly. Fucking. Shit, Leidy said. She slid Dante over to me and stood up. She pointed the remote at the TV. Look who that is!
I stared at the screen and blinked hard. But when I opened my eyes again, the camera was still on the same personâour mother.
âThatâs our freaking mom, Leidy shrieked. She snatched up Dante and bounced him toward the TV, saying, Es Abuela. ¡Abuela! ¡Abuela!
She grabbed his arm, made him point.
Our motherâs mouth moved, a microphone in front of her face. Leidy dropped Danteâs arm and turned up the volume, the green bar on the bottom of the screen creeping right.
âBut he is home. Thatâs the end of it. His mother made the ultimate sacrifice to get him here. That must be honored. That must be the end of it, Mami said.
Her eyes suddenly filled and she swiped at the bottoms of them with her middle fingers, like she was flipping off the cameraman.
âAh-Bee! Dante screamed. He clapped wildly.
âMomâs fucking famous! Leidy said. She spun around to face me. Letâs go down there. We can get on TV! Where are my earrings?
I couldnât find the words to say, Youâre wearing them . She tossed the remote on the couch and ran off to our room, whispering in baby talk, We gotta get your shoes!
Our mom kept talking. Her voice was too deepâit sounded like a strangerâs. I lowered the volume, lowered it all the way to nothing. The camera zoomed in on her now-silent faceâthe new, heavy lines framing her mouthâthen zoomed out to show her arms flailing down the street. I live right on this block , she was probably saying. Never mind that she didnât want to be here, that she was from Hialeah, not Little Havana. There was a pause in her talking, then a nod, then her mouth moved again as she held up a peace sign. Peace for what? And then I realized it was not peace , it was two . I have two daughters, she was telling the world. This is personal; we live right on this block; I have two little girls.
I stood up from the couch and shot at the TV with the remote, afraid of what sheâd do next. My motherâs wet face disappeared.
âLeidy! I yelled into the next room. Forget his shoes, we need to hurry.
Only when the ghost of my motherâs imageâher metallic outlineâfaded away into the now-dead screen did I let go of the
âThings arenât awesome, I said, but Dante blasted over my words with a high scream, and instead of trying to explain, I reached down and grabbed the toy Roly had brought him. I held it in my lap and waited for Leidy to say What did you say as Dante punished it with smacks.
Leidy switched fast between the commercial on the Springer channel and the commercial on the news channel, flipping to see which came back to its program first. The news won, showing the weather, focusing on the swirl of snow hovering over New England before zooming down to Florida. I was twenty-four hours away from the plane ride back to New York: Iâd booked the return for Saturday afternoon because it was two hundred dollars cheaper than leaving Sunday morning. Dante kept slapping the toy, and I felt the sun through the window pressing on the back of my neck. Then a new feeling: the skin stinging a little, maybe starting to burn. I hadnât been sunburned in years. None of us ever really burned; on days weâd go to the beach, we never wore sunscreenâwe were dark enough that we didnât think we needed to. I touched my neck, felt how hot my skin had become in those few minutes on the couch, and couldnât believe how cold I would be again so soon. That heat made me feel brave, as if the sun were pushing me, gently on the back, to say what I knew would make Leidy turn off the television.
âSo Iâm having some â issues. Serious issues, I said. Up at school.
I moved the toy off my lap and Dante froze.
âHoly. Fucking. Shit, Leidy said. She slid Dante over to me and stood up. She pointed the remote at the TV. Look who that is!
I stared at the screen and blinked hard. But when I opened my eyes again, the camera was still on the same personâour mother.
âThatâs our freaking mom, Leidy shrieked. She snatched up Dante and bounced him toward the TV, saying, Es Abuela. ¡Abuela! ¡Abuela!
She grabbed his arm, made him point.
Our motherâs mouth moved, a microphone in front of her face. Leidy dropped Danteâs arm and turned up the volume, the green bar on the bottom of the screen creeping right.
âBut he is home. Thatâs the end of it. His mother made the ultimate sacrifice to get him here. That must be honored. That must be the end of it, Mami said.
Her eyes suddenly filled and she swiped at the bottoms of them with her middle fingers, like she was flipping off the cameraman.
âAh-Bee! Dante screamed. He clapped wildly.
âMomâs fucking famous! Leidy said. She spun around to face me. Letâs go down there. We can get on TV! Where are my earrings?
I couldnât find the words to say, Youâre wearing them . She tossed the remote on the couch and ran off to our room, whispering in baby talk, We gotta get your shoes!
Our mom kept talking. Her voice was too deepâit sounded like a strangerâs. I lowered the volume, lowered it all the way to nothing. The camera zoomed in on her now-silent faceâthe new, heavy lines framing her mouthâthen zoomed out to show her arms flailing down the street. I live right on this block , she was probably saying. Never mind that she didnât want to be here, that she was from Hialeah, not Little Havana. There was a pause in her talking, then a nod, then her mouth moved again as she held up a peace sign. Peace for what? And then I realized it was not peace , it was two . I have two daughters, she was telling the world. This is personal; we live right on this block; I have two little girls.
I stood up from the couch and shot at the TV with the remote, afraid of what sheâd do next. My motherâs wet face disappeared.
âLeidy! I yelled into the next room. Forget his shoes, we need to hurry.
Only when the ghost of my motherâs imageâher metallic outlineâfaded away into the now-dead screen did I let go of the
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