by Jayna King
"Little one, I think I'll go take a shower before dinner."
"Are you going to get dressed up for Moses?" Nadia asked, a naughty little smile on her face.
"I just might," I said as I left the kitchen. "And don't make a mess," I said heading for the bedroom.
A knock at the front door stopped me in my tracks. I paused, feeling panicked that I was probably a mess. I stopped in front of the mirror next to my little shrine with pictures of all of the young men and women I knew who had died -- far too many, far too young. I checked my reflection, tucked a stray curl behind my ear, and went to answer the door, my heart racing with anticipation.
I opened the door, expecting to see Moses, but I was very disappointed. I was also afraid.
"Luis," I said evenly, trying to conceal my anxiety.
"Encantada," he said slowly, drawing out the syllables as if each one carried some particular importance.
"Is there something you want?"
"Well, now, that's an interesting question, Encantada. As a matter of fact, there is."
"Mama?"
I heard Nadia call me from the kitchen. I said a quick prayer that she wouldn't mention Moses in front of Luis. If he knew that Moses had been in my home, he'd suspect me of trying to get money from Moses directly, money that should have gone to Luis.
"Yes?" I answered, strain evident in my voice.
"I have a question about the recipe." Nadia walked out of the kitchen toward the front door. "Oh," she said. "Didn't know there was anyone here."
"What a lovely young woman your daughter is growing to be," Luis said, eyeing Nadia in a way that made me sick to my stomach."
"Nadia," I said, more sharply than I'd intended. "Run over to Gabriela's and ask her if we can borrow a couple of eggs."
"But we got eggs at the market today, Mama."
I stared at her, willing her to obey. "Go now, please, Nadia. And take your time. I need to talk to Luis for a moment."
Nadia looked at me like I was crazy, but she shrugged her shoulders and did as I'd told her to. When she'd left the little courtyard for the street, I turned back to Luis.
"What is it that you want?"
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked.
"The place is a mess. Nadia and I were cooking dinner. Let's sit outside," I suggested, hoping he'd agree. I didn't want to be behind a closed door with Luis if I could help it.
"As you wish," he said, sitting down in exactly the spot that Moses had occupied that morning.
I just looked at him. I'd already asked him once what he wanted, and I knew he'd tell me when he was ready. Otherwise, I didn't have much to say to the man who controlled so much of my life.
"So, Encantada," he said, drawing my name out the same way he had before. "Can you explain to me how it came to be that one of my whores was supposed to be upstairs entertaining a very important man, but when I went to check on her -- see if she or the guest needed anything -- she was nowhere to be found? Can you explain to me where my whore was last night?"
The deceptively gentle tone of his voice terrified me. I'd been trying to think of how I'd explain my absence if Luis asked, but I hadn't come up with much. "The man said he was finished with me, so I left. I looked for you, but Manuel said you were busy."
Luis looked at me as if he was carefully considering my words. "So why, then, did Manuel not tell me that he'd seen you when I asked him last night?"
Holy Mother, I prayed silently. Help me. "I don't know. Maybe I talked to him after you'd asked?"
"Encantada, do not take me for a fool. Your life, your body, your daughter ... they all belong to me. I decide how you use your body. I decide who you fuck. It is only because I took pity on you all those years ago that you have a roof over your head, and the money to send your little whore of a daughter to a private school. Do not forget what you owe me."
Years of frustration threatened to spill from my lips, but I knew that the only chance I had depended on my ability to be civil, even if Luis didn't deserve it. "Luis, I know how much Nadia and I owe you. I took care of the man, and I left when he sent me away. Nothing else happened. I have no reason to lie to you."
"Something tells me that you're hiding something, Encantada. I will trust you for now, but know this: I am watching you. I will have my men watching you. If you are lying to me, you -- and your precious daughter -- will both regret it. I promise you that."
"I understand," I said, willing him to get up and leave, hoping that he wouldn't run into Moses as he did.
Luis stood up and looked down at me. "You've been a good whore, Encantada. I expect that your daughter will be an even better one."
I couldn't stand it. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but I simply couldn't let it go. "Nadia will not be a whore."
Luis laughed. "Oh, is that so?" He took two steps toward me and took my face in one of his hands, squeezing my cheeks until my eyes watered with the pain. "Well, Don Roberto and I think different. We think she'll make a wonderful whore, and an expensive one, at that. We think that men will stand in line to have her suck their cocks, and we plan to make a lot of money from her cunt. We own her, just as we own you, and we will sell her cunt to whomever we please."
"I would rather see her dead than working as your whore," I said, knowing that I didn't really mean it, but so furious that I had to say something.
"Be careful what you wish for, Encantada. I would stay and put your cunt to use, but I'm afraid that Don Roberto needs me this evening. Tell your daughter that I'm looking forward to seeing her again." He squeezed my face again and left.
As the gate swung shut, I dissolved into angry tears. He had never before said anything about planning for Nadia to follow in my footsteps. If he had, I'd have found some way to get free of Don Roberto's evil cartel. I felt so helpless and frustrated, and I realized that Moses was my only hope. I'd spent the entire day trying to talk myself out of trusting him, out of hoping that he really meant what he'd said about getting me and Nadia out of Juarez. Now, I realized that I had no choice but to trust him. I had to believe that he was a man of his word, but I knew that it was a risk. I didn't have any other options.
There was nothing else I could do, so I said a quick prayer and hoped that someone up there was listening. If anyone needed help, it was me. I went back inside and decided to go ahead and take the shower I'd been heading for when Luis interrupted me. Nadia had read me correctly. I did want to look nice when Moses arrived, whenever that would be.
As soon as I turned the water off after I'd finished rinsing my hair, I could hear voices outside the bedroom. Terrified that Luis had returned, I wrapped myself in a towel and rushed out of the bedroom.
"Mama, tell Moses that he has to wait for the flan. He wants to turn them over now, but they're not cool yet."
I stood there, wet hair dripping all over the floor, and I couldn't think of a single thing to say. Moses and Nadia were shoulder to shoulder at the counter, both grinning like fools, while Nadia defended her flan ramekins from the tall, tattooed biker. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Moses, you'd be smart to listen to the flan queen. She takes her dessert very seriously, and I suspect that you'd be very displeased with the results if you don't follow her instructions."
Moses pretended to sulk, crossing his muscled arms over his chest. "I don't want any flan, after all. I bet it's not even very good."
He and my daughter dissolved into giggles, and the sight of Moses giggling with Nadia warmed my heart like nothing I'd seen in quite a while.
He left the kitchen and walked over to me. "You're making a mess, Maria," he said, pointing down at the water pooling on the floor, before he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "But it's good to see you, anyway."
I blushed and stammered, feeling flustered by his closeness. "Well, I guess I better get dried off and dressed. Can you two keep from killing one another in the meantime?"
Both Moses and Nadia nodded solemnly, and I shook my head as I went into the bedroom a
nd closed the door. Who was this man? I was certain I'd never met anyone like him before, and I certainly had known enough men in my lifetime. I stood in front of my tiny closet and decided to go with something comfortable, but pretty. I pulled a long, white skirt out that fell in tiers, nearly to the floor. I pulled on a black peasant top and slipped it on without a bra, pulling it partway off my shoulders. I looked pretty, but not trashy ... different from how I'd looked at work the night before. I left my hair down, hoping that it would dry relatively quickly, and I headed back out to the kitchen.
"Wow," Moses said. "You look gorgeous."
Nadia nodded in agreement. "You do, Mama."
"Thank you both. Are you hungry?"
"I'm starving. Gabriela offered me dinner, but I told her that we were making chiles rellenos and they're my favorite. I think she knows that you're a better cook than she is."
"I'm hungry, too. It was a weird day, and I didn't really take the time to eat."
"Was your day okay?" I asked him, crossing to the kitchen to get the oil heating on the stove.
"No," he answered. "Not really. I'll fill you in on it later," he said, glancing over at Nadia.
I nodded, taking the chiles out of the refrigerator. I cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl, sprinkled some flour, salt, and pepper onto a plate, and got ready to fry the poblanos. "Ever had chiles rellenos?" I asked Moses.
"I have, but I bet yours will be better."
Moses, Nadia, and I talked while I finished up dinner, carrying plates of chiles rellenos, tomatillo sauce, refried beans, and salad to the table. We sat down, and I savored the moment, realizing that there were men and women who sat down to dinner every night together without the complications that my life had. While I cherished my time with Nadia, I realized, looking at a man that I thought I might actually like, that something had been missing from my life.
I had no time for regrets, though. I needed to figure out if Moses had meant what he'd said about getting me and Nadia out. I needed him to be the real thing.
Chapter 8
Moses
"I have never before tasted anything so delicious," I told Maria and Nadia after I took my first bite of the stuffed peppers. "They're rich and light, all at the same time. Maria, a dinner like this could make a man propose marriage."
Nadia looked a little surprised, and maybe even a little excited, but Maria just laughed it off. I don't know if she'd have been quite so casual if she'd have been able to read my mind. I wasn't sure if it was the awful meeting with Don Roberto -- and the protective instincts it had aroused -- or the sweetness I saw between mother and daughter, but I realized that maybe, just maybe, there could possibly be something worth giving up my single life for. I knew I hadn't known Maria long enough to fall in love, but I sure liked what I saw.
I was savoring every bite of dinner when the phone rang. Nadia jumped up to answer it.
"It will be for her, of course," Maria said, smiling. "It always is."
I knew that Nadia wouldn't hear what I was about to say. "You have an amazing daughter. I see a lot of you in her."
"I just hope she makes better decisions than I have," she said. "I know that she has had a better childhood." Maria looked at me intently, as if she were trying to decide whether she could trust me, or whether she could read my mind. "Luis came by just before you got here, and I have to get out of here. I have to get Nadia somewhere safe, or..." Maria looked at her daughter. "I just have to get her out," she said, clearly unwilling to say any more with the girl in the room.
Knowing what I did, I agreed with her. "I need to tell you about my meeting today, but I don't want Nadia to hear," I said, quietly. "Perhaps we can talk after she goes to bed?"
Maria nodded, not saying anything because Nadia had just covered the mouthpiece of the phone and asked her mother a question. "What, little one?"
"Rosa wants to know if I can spend the night. Can I?"
"It's a school night, little one. You always stay up too late when you and Rosa have sleepovers."
"Mama, I promise that I'll go to bed early."
Maria looked at her daughter, narrowing her eyes and thinking. "Okay. But if I hear that you were sleepy in school, or if you're the least bit grouchy when you get home tomorrow afternoon, then this will be the last time. Understand?"
"Si, Mama. Gracias." Nadia chattered into the phone in rapid Spanish for another couple of minutes before hanging up. "Thank you," she said, coming back to the table and starting to shovel her dinner in, rising to finish.
"Nadia," Maria said, tone sharp. "You do not eat like an animal, especially when we have a guest. Take your time. And you're not leaving until the dishes are done."
Nadia looked like she was thinking about arguing, but she reconsidered. "Yes, ma'am." She slowed her pace, and we finished dinner.
I offered to help Maria dry dishes, but she refused, insisting that I was a guest and wouldn't be allowed to help out. Nadia went into the bedroom to pack her bag, and I watched Maria in the kitchen -- graceful and exotic -- and I realized that the situation had just changed. We would be alone in the house very shortly, without a thirteen-year-old chaperone. I needed to talk to Maria, but I also realized that I'd be able to do much more than talk -- if she wanted to, of course.
"Bye, Moses," Nadia said cheerfully, as she went into the kitchen to give her mother a hug.
"Are you going to walk by yourself?" I asked, horrified by the thought of a young woman on the streets of Juarez alone.
"Sure. It's just a couple of blocks away," Nadia said, completely unconcerned.
"I'm going to walk you there." I stood up, having no intention of letting her go alone -- not with what I'd heard from Don Roberto.
"When you come back, I'll have some flan ready for you," Maria said, rewarding me with a smile.
Nadia and I walked the couple of blocks, and I was glad I had accompanied her. Young men stood idly at many of the street corners, looking like they were in the market for trouble. I knew that look. I'd been those guys before. The difference was that I'd never consider a thirteen-year-old as the kind of trouble I was looking for. Now, I felt like every man I saw was a child molester. It takes a lot to disillusion an outlaw biker, but Don Roberto -- and Joker -- had done it.
Just before we got to Rosa's house, Nadia stopped in the street. "Will you be good to Mama?" she asked.
I was taken aback by her question. "Of course I will."
"I'm serious," she said. "Mama thinks that I don't understand everything that's going on. She still looks at me like I'm a little girl. But I'm not. I know that Luis makes her do things that she doesn't want to. I know why she doesn't ever go on a date -- doesn't ever have a boyfriend. She is sad a lot of the time, but I think that she likes you. I think that you make her happy. I just want you to be nice to her. She deserves it."
I didn't know what to say. The fact that both mother and daughter were trying to protect one another was one of the sweetest and saddest things I'd ever encountered. I put my hand on Nadia's shoulder as I struggled to find words. "I'll be nice to your mother, Nadia. She's lucky to have you for a daughter." I watched as she went up to Rosa's front door, knocked, and disappeared inside. I had to do something to help these two.
When I got back to Maria's, I found her in the courtyard, the outdoor lights turned off and replaced by a few flickering candles. She sat on the bench, sipping a glass of red wine. The bottle and an empty glass sat on the table, awaiting my return.
"What a lovely sight," I said, pouring myself a glass of wine. "Wine, a beautiful evening, a gorgeous woman. What else could a man want?"
Maria didn't answer right away. "I don't know about a man, but I can tell you what a woman could want. I want to wake up and not be afraid for my safety or the safety of my daughter. I've spent my life trying to become independent, taking every chance I had to learn to speak good English, whether it was with clients or just by watching television. I even make Nadia speak English at home, hoping that some day she will be able
to use it to start fresh, but Luis has kept me under his thumb. I have to get out, Moses, and I need help to do it. Will you help me?"
She looked up at me, tears shining on her lashes, and I realized that I would do anything in my power to dry her tears and see that she never had another reason to cry.
"I will, Maria. I spent most of today trying to come up with a plan, and I think I have an idea." I wasn't sure that she was going to want to hear about my meeting with the Don, but I had a feeling that she needed to. I didn't want her to get cold feet about leaving Juarez, and I knew that having her daughter threatened would be all the motivation she needed to see the plan through. "I have to tell you what I learned today, though."
Maria looked confused, like she couldn't figure out what my meeting had to do with her and Nadia.
I decided not to sugarcoat it. "Don Roberto wants us to start using some of his girls as hookers in Colorado."
Maria sat up straighter and set her wine glass down. "What if I could convince Luis to send me? Then I could get out of this place and start a new life ... if you would help me," she said, hopefully.
"I thought the same thing at first," I told her, reaching out to take her hand. I didn't want to continue, but I had to. "But that's not all. Maria, the Don is going to start selling the services of the daughters of women like you, girls Nadia's age."
"But they can't. Nadia's just a girl." Maria looked panicked.
I needed her to understand just how serious Don Roberto had been. "They can, and they will. There's a lot of money to be made by selling a young girl's virginity. If they have you in their control, Nadia would do what she had to to keep you safe, just as you would for her."
"They wouldn't do that to a girl, though," Maria said, evidently unable to think clearly.
"They did it to you. You weren't much older when Luis and his men raped you, giving you a child that meant you were trapped here. They can, and they will," I said. "But I'm not going to let that happen to you."