GOT KIDS?
Do you have any kids? And do you have any money? ‘Cause you can’t have both! Chemo needed new glasses—again! (The cheap pair we got on sale broke already.) He needed a new phone. (The kid who stole it had spent the night; he grabbed the phone before Chemo woke up; we chased him in two moto-taxis all the way to Victoria, where the police had already been alerted, but he got away, so the six of us ate fried chicken at PolloLandia). He needed new shoes. (He’s harder on keds than a labrador puppy.) He needed new pants and a new shirt—for his FIRST COMMUNION! (Coming up this Sunday!) And, as if all that weren’t enough—he still EATS!
“Maria Bonita”—I thought it was a charming nickname (‘Pretty Mary’) when I first heard it years ago, till Dora sheepishly admitted it was a diss, because Maria was so ugly! At that point, I decided to be her Avedon, and take as Vogue-ish a portrait as possible. She was so poor, but so noble, she never shrank from the public eye, even if folks might have been laughing at her. Then, about a month ago, word spread that she was sick; at 94, she would not get well. But none of us counted on the long road she had to travel. Every day, we were sure it was her last. As she shrank to the size of a raisin, I kept trying to understand why she had to suffer so. But as weak as she was, she reached out to anyone who visited and pulled them close, her dimming eyes brightening. A group would gather every night at the house. I stopped by early on her last day; she was taking short, quick breaths, the sign the end was near. Indeed, she soon just stopped, and her daughter started to weep as she tested her pulse and pressed her ear to her chest. All quiet. I know I sound like someone with a tin-foil hat, but I finally decided that she lingered so long so that WE would get stronger. She was Catholic, but her family had evolved to a pentecostal sect that thinks you do not pray for the dead. So, in effect, she had her Novenario BEFORE her death. Her “real” name: Maria de Jesus. Pretty, after all.
Chemo and I went to Nangui’s final regular game, which the team managed to tie up 1-1 in the last minute with a penalty kick. Back at the house, we celebrated Nangui’s little sister Yulissa’s birthday with the usual menu from Pizza Hut and Nani’s Bakery. Chemo danced and danced. As a few of the family walked us back to the hotel about 1:00 in the morning, we heard others shouting after us, “Look out, there’s a guy on a bike going to rob you!” Wouldn’t that have been perfect! It will probably happen some day, but whoever it was may have been intimidated by the two big house dogs that follow the family wherever they go.
Meanwhile, in his team’s final game, Chemo scored a goal, against his own nephew Joel! Not that I would doubt Chemo’s skill, you know, but I was not totally ready with the camera and I got only a very impressionistic image of the event. Chemo was so excited, he turned an Ozzie Smith type somersault—I didn’t get that either!
Fermin and Maria didn’t seem that excited to see me, when I stopped by Morazan before returning to Las Vegas. Well, they were both exhausted from the end of the school year, final exams, final grades, final farewell parties. So I just lay low, till Fermin perked up after a couple days: “Miguel, when are we going to the Lake again?” By which he meant Lake Yojoa, the largest fresh-water lake in Central America, where a line of a hundred little restaurants all feature fried fish to die for. Maria grasped Fermin’s hand: “Tomorrow?” That was the “sign” I was waiting for! The next day, everybody managed to get out of school a little early; Fermin’s car was in pretty good shape for the hour-and-a-half ride; and by 1:00 p.m. we were all hunched over plates of fried fish at Gabriela’s, not a random choice at all, it turns out. “She never raises her prices,” said Fermin, which I appreciated since I had made it clear this was my treat. And Gabriela herself was there, a bit elderly now but so proud of her establishment.
Juan Carlos had a birthday. I long ago managed to quit him of the nickname “El Mudo” (Deaf-Mute), but some folks were still a little unsure who I was talking about when I invited them to the party, and virtually no one could guess his age—41. They always think of him as a child. And indeed, as one friend said on FACEBOOK, he’s an adult with a child’s heart.
Maricela celebrated the same birthday—41—a few days later. She not only has one child’s heart, she’s got seven! That is, Mariela, Milena, Juan Jose, Helen, Felipe, Miguel Angel, and Mariana Teresa, called Marite. It’s Marite, who just turned 6, who’s keeping Maricela busiest lately; the child has monthly appointments in Tegucigalpa for a kidney problem, and most recently needed plastic surgery, of all things, for some growth on the back of her head!
Chemo’s cousin Keyla turned 5, and we celebrated with toys donated by Wydown Junior High students. Even Grandma Natalia got a coloring book!
Quelin Archaga’s father Justo came to Las Vegas to deliver personally an invitation to her ninth-grade graduation in El Zapote. Back in 2004, when Christy Tharenos was visiting, she befriended Quelin and has kept in touch ever since. So I would be Christy’s representative! Quelin, everyone assumed, was Number One in her little class of 6, but another girl beat her by one-tenth of a point! Now, really, are teachers so sure of themselves that they can measure things that close? I always tried to round UP, on the assumption that my own evaluation was faulty. (Kids did seem to get better grades if the Cardinals were winning when I was reading essays at Busch Stadium!) But it was a sweet ceremony nevertheless, and Quelin wants to be a teacher—a math teacher—if the family can scrape up enough money to finance the next phase of her education.
Well, I’ve got to get my Christmas tree up, so let me just wish you all the happiest of holidays, and I’ll see you in 2016!
Love, Miguel
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