by Croft, Rose
Vicente couldn’t fathom why his tío and tía would want to leave and take one of his closest friends, and first cousin Adrian away from him. Vicente didn’t understand that his family lived in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. He never complained or noticed half the time they had no electricity, sanitary water, and the bathroom situation was dire at best. He never wondered why nine people were living together in a one-room broken-down shack with a tin roof which served as their kitchen, living room, and bedrooms.
Vicente didn’t care that they were all packed together. Besides, he was outside half the time anyway, playing in the streets with Adrian and Emilio. Sometimes his sister, Lilyana, and brother Yovani would join them along with his little cousin Eduardo who was three. He never knew crime and violence in the city were increasing and people were getting brutally murdered. All he knew was he loved being outside, seeing all the excitement happening in the streets.
“No, no, no… no puedo ir contigo.” Vicente’s mom, Teresa, shook her head at her younger sister, Esmeralda, one day. Teresa’s belly was big and round as she was on the verge of reaching the end of her pregnancy. She was bloated and tired and didn’t want to risk the trip to the United States. Besides, she told her sister she was somewhat fearful Esmeralda’s husband Hector had put their lives in the hands of the coyotes. She was worried about their safety.
Vicente overheard this and found it funny and somewhat exciting that Adrian’s family would be traveling with a pack of coyotes—not understanding they were actually paid smugglers who took people to the US for a ridiculous amount of money and could be dangerous and ruthless. Nothing was a guarantee they would make it to the States. Teresa knew it all too well. Esmeralda assured her they would be fine. Given the opportunity, she would take her chances with the coyotes if they could make a better life for themselves. In their minds, it was only up from here. They hugged. Vicente was out the door before he heard his tía tell his mother she needed to stop selling her body and come with them to find legitimate work.
A few days later Adrian’s family was gone, making their trek north. Vicente was somewhat down, and the house seemed too quiet. Mami had just returned from another day of work, but she was moving around very slowly. Vicente was now in charge of watching his siblings knowing their older neighbor Guadalupe was always keeping a watchful eye on them.
“¿Mami, estás bien?” Vicente asked her if she was okay and put his hand on her back in a protective manner. Vicente took his job of the man of the house seriously, with honor.
“Sí, mi amor.” She nodded, and her smile seemed twisted as she fought the pain that radiated through her whole body and weakly ruffled her son’s hair. “Quiero descansar.” Vicente took his mother’s hand and led her over to the one sofa they had so she could rest. It was so old and worn the stuffing was popping out in several places, but by far the most comfortable spot to be in their place.
As soon as she lay prone on her back, Teresa’s face contorted in pain and a piercing scream reverberated off the walls. “´¡Ya viene… ya viene… mi bebé!” she gasped and clutched her stomach. Her words sent a chill down Vicente’s spine and he saw wetness seeping through her clothes into the fabric of the couch. ¿Por qué Mami hizo pipí en el sofá? Vicente thought briefly, although he was quite panicked but would do his best not to show fear.
By now his siblings, Emilio, Lilyana, and Yovani were standing next to Vicente frightened and confused. Vicente stood frozen, not knowing what to do as Teresa bit her lip and moaned. Lilyana and Yovani started crying while Emilio stood helpless, his eyes shooting back and forth between Mami and Vicente.
When the pain waned, Teresa schooled her face as best as possible and told Emilio to take his sister and Yovani next door to Guadalupe’s and stay there. Emilio guided his sister and younger brother out the door. Mami ordered Vicente to grab a towel because the baby was coming. When he returned with a towel, his mother was once again moaning and screaming, but she had the wherewithal to tell her son he needed to help guide the baby out. Vicente was terrified almost sickened when he saw a tiny foot mixed with the blood and other fluids coming from his mother’s body. He thought she was dying.
“¿Ves la cabeza?” Again, Mami’s voice was strained, overcome with pain.
Vicente shook his head in shock and told her it was not the head but a foot. Teresa panicked and ordered him to reach inside and grab the other foot. Her voice was frantic as she started praying.
Vicente felt like he’d turned into a statue and couldn’t move. “¡Hazlo!” Teresa commanded him to do it, which seemed to get the scared little boy out of his stupor, and he exhaled a shaky breath and leaned in. However, he heard the door burst open as their portly, gray-haired neighbor, Guadalupe, quickly bustled her way to the couch. She spoke rapidly to Teresa, pushing Vicente out of the way with her pudgy hand. Vicente bowed up his chest in defense when, in reality, he was relieved that someone else was here to help.
“Dame la mano, mi amor.” Teresa reached out to her son, and he held out his hand allowing her to fold his fingers in hers, her voice was suddenly calmer. Vicente didn’t know what to make of his mother’s mood swings—one minute she was screaming in angst and the next she was serene, pleasant even. He glanced at the older woman, whose face was wrinkled, decorated with life’s hardships, concentrating as she gave orders for his mother to push. Guadalupe had no qualms about reaching in and pulling out the other foot.
Vicente gripped his mother’s hand tightly while he allowed her fingernails to dig into his skin. She then coaxed him between gasps to look at her and keep his eyes on hers probably sensing this was all too much for a six-year-old to witness because her sister Esmeralda had always been with her in the past to help deliver her babies. But, her sense of urgency overruled her conscience.
“Una vez más,” Guadalupe persuaded her to push one more time in her gravelly I’ve-been-through-a-lot-voice as she leaned over Teresa. Out of the corner of his eye, Vicente saw legs and knees covered in some slimy substance. He thought he might be sick but swallowed hard and focused his attention on Mami. However, his curiosity got the best of him and he kept darting his eyes back and forth between his mother and the baby.
“Está bien, está bien, todo está bien,” Teresa cooed to her son telling him everything was fine, although it was clear she was in pain. Even through her suffering, she tried to calm Vicente.
Vicente could see his mother’s hair was now wet and matted around her face; her voice was weak when she’d spoken to him. In his child’s brain, he knew this whole ordeal was taking a toll on her as she furrowed her brow and growled out pushing as hard as she could.
Guadalupe was cheering on Teresa as she pushed and screamed. The noises pierced the air until only heavy breaths could be heard for several moments. The baby was out. Teresa felt her stomach as if assuring herself that the baby was indeed out, but there were no cries, just the panicked gasp from Guadalupe who unwound the umbilical cord from the baby’s neck.
“¿Qué pasa? ¿Qué pasa?” Teresa struggled to sit up fighting through her exhaustion demanding to know what was happening. Guadalupe was swatting the very still baby on its back. The older woman even put her mouth to the infant’s like she was trying to bring it to life. Teresa struggled to grasp her baby, but some sixth sense told Vicente to try to restrain her. Something was wrong, he knew but wasn’t exactly certain what it was.
By now, Mami was sobbing, rezando like never before, praying to God for forgiveness de sus pecados. Vicente tried to comfort her, telling her she was perfect and Díos knew it. In his mind, his mother had never committed a sin.
Guadalupe raised her solemn, weary eyes to Teresa still clutching the lifeless babe in her arms and shook her head. Mami fought out of Vicente’s grasp to clutch her baby to her chest. Unbeknownst to Vicente, the baby was dead. But, he soon found out when his mother bent over the infant with a look of pain and wailed. She rambled on and on again about God punishing her because she was dirty. She called herself
a puta, prostituta, and said she deserved this for selling her body for sex. And, it was on this day Vicente learned angels didn’t deliver babies from heaven.
Available Now
Cabezón
Thank you to my family—my husband, my daughter, and my mom. You have been so patient with me throughout this journey and so supportive. Thanks for putting up with me. Okay, was it really that much of a hardship? JK, I love you all.
Maria Hernández—You are like my living storyboard. I can’t tell you how much you’ve helped me with this story. Every day you would look at me with child-like excitement wanting to know more about the book as I wrote it. Everyday, you would ask me about Emilio and Sofía. I always smile when I think about you saying, “Last night I had a dream about Emilio and Sofía…” Thank you for all your support and loving Emilio and Sofía so fiercely. You were Sofí’s advocate for sure.
Maria Ceren—Thank you for sharing your knowledge of your beautiful country El Salvador.
Sue—I can’t even begin to explain how much you mean to me. Not only are you an amazing person, but you’re also a mind-blowing beta reader. You make my story better and are always available to hash out plot issues. I couldn’t do this without you. I will always be humbled by your selfless support, and I’m so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for squeezing out the best of my characters.
Thank you to my all-star beta readers—Carmel Rhodes, Erica Marselas, Alexis Rae, Brit Conde, Geynar Perez and Sue Lager & Lefse. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you in my life, but I thank God every day.
A million thanks to Bex Harper Designs for designing my beautiful cover and teasers. As always, your work blows me away. Your patience and kindness are truly astounding.
I can’t thank Marla Esposito enough for editing and proofing my manuscript. Your work is impeccable. And thank you for being flexible with your schedule. You’re a lifesaver!
Thank you Tami at Integrity Formatting for your patience and awesome work.
Thank you so, so much Sarah Grim Sentz aka Musings of the Modern Belle for creating gorgeous teasers. You make me look good.
Thank you Ariadna Basulto for making beautiful teasers. Your work is awesome.
To my tribe—Alexis Rae, Carmel Rhodes, Danielle James, Erica Marselas, Gemini Jensen, Harlow Layne, Helen Wilder, Jeanette Emerson, Kelsey Cheyenne, Melissa Ryan, Q. B. Tyler. I’m so thankful I found you and have learned so much from all of you. I love you. You’re the real rock stars!
Thank you to all the ladies in my reader group Love N’ Roses. You gals are the bee’s knees and I can’t thank you enough for your support.
Thank you to all my author friends who have shown me love. I’m still in awe I even get to sit at the table with you because you’re all so talented.
A big Texas-sized thanks to the bloggers and readers who have read and loved my books. Without you, there is no me, and I’ll never forget that. You have my undying love and support. Always.
Besos/XOXO,
Rose
Rose Croft is a wannabe poet and a writer in her own mind. She’s a wife and mom to a beautiful daughter and lives her own happily ever after. For updates on her books or if you just want to visit and chat about anything and everything, visit her at:
Facebook
Love N’ Roses
Instagram
Goodreads
Amazon
Bookbub
Book and Main
Gmail
High School Lover
Baseball Lover
Cabezón
(The Mendoza Family, #1)
Coming Soon
Jugador
(The Mendoza Family, #3)