“Great, Doris.” Gigi kissed her mother. “When is Daddy coming home?”
“Thursday of next week. He wrote that he’s bringing us something special.” Gigi’s father is a merchant seaman who is away for many weeks at a time. But when he comes home from a trip, it’s so much fun, almost like having a celebration. He brings all kinds of pretty things for their home and gifts for Gigi and Doris. Sometimes he gives me something too. Last time I got a bottle of toilet water that smelled like roses.
After we finished eating, Gigi and I went to her room. She has such a big room. It’s at least three times the size of my cubbyhole. They even have two bathrooms in their apartment. Would I love to have two bathrooms in my house! Everybody is always fighting to get to the toilet first, or waiting to get in. I can never sit down in peace without somebody banging on the door. In her room Gigi has her own portable color T.V., and last month her father got her a new cassette player.
“You are so lucky, Gigi. I wish I had some of the things you have. Especially my own T.V. Do you know what a pain it is to watch programs everybody else likes except you? When my brothers take over with their sports programs, it’s like nothing else matters.”
“But it must be so nice to have two older brothers. It gets lonely being an only child, you know. Nobody to talk to or play with.”
“Are you kidding? Who talks to my brothers? Or plays with them? All they do is boss me around and tell me what to do. Mostly we fight.” I looked around her room. “I wish I was an only child so I could have all these great things for my very own private use.”
“I don’t know, but sometimes I would trade in all of this for a brother or sister. When I was little, I always used to ask my parents for a baby sister or brother. First they used to tell me that in the future God would bring me one, but as I got older and kept on asking, they finally told me the truth. There was not gonna be any more kids in this family, they told me. Like I was it. They said that this way they could afford to give me the best of everything, and that they just couldn’t afford no more kids.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me. I could do without Tito, even Johnny sometimes, and in that order.”
“Well”—Gigi shook her head—“I still wish I had a sister.”
“But you and I are sisters. Don’t you remember the pact we made in first grade? We agreed then that we would always be sisters, and so we are.”
“True.” Gigi looked real sad. “I’m gonna miss you so much, Felita. I wish I could go with you.” Now we both became quiet and sad, thinking about being separated.
“Wait a minute. I’m only going for the summer and I’m not even leaving till July, and it’s only March. So why are we feeling so sad?”
“Right!” Gigi laughed, and we hugged.
Gigi walked me part of the way home. I had to get back before five. It still got dark out early and Mami always worried and became nervous if I wasn’t home on time. But I also don’t like walking home by myself, especially when it’s dark out. Sometimes a smelly bum all dirty and drunk comes over to ask for money or some tough kids try to start an argument.
Gigi and I said good-bye by the large boulevard, and I rushed across the street, putting on some speed.
“Felita! Mira, Felita, espera ... espera un momento!” I heard my name and someone calling out to me in Spanish to wait up. Turning around, I saw Vinny Davila. He was waving as he hurried over. “Hello, are you going home?” he asked me in Spanish. I nodded. “Can I walk along with you, please?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. I wasn’t expecting to see Vinny. It felt strange walking with Vinny because I hardly knew him or had ever really had a conversation with him. The rain had stopped and the sharp wind sent a chill right through my coat. Neither of us said anything. I kept waiting for him to say something, but he just walked silently alongside me. Finally I decided to break the ice by speaking first, in Spanish. “How do you like it in this country so far?”
“I like it.” He smiled. “I’m learning and seeing new things every day.” We continued to speak in Spanish.
“That’s very good. Do you like school here?”
“Yes, except for my English, which is pretty lousy. I wanna work on it so that I can speak it fluently just like all the other kids.”
“It must be hard to come here from another country and have to learn to speak a different language right away. You know, my grandmother lived here for something like forty years and she never learned to speak English fluently.”
“Well, I sure hope I do better than your grandmother!” We both burst out laughing. “How does she manage to get along without speaking English?”
“Oh, she passed away. She’s been dead for two years. She was very intelligent and could solve people’s problems. My grandmother was the most wonderful person I ever met. We spoke in Spanish all the time, just like you and me are doing right now. Abuelita used to even read to me in Spanish.”
“You speak Spanish very well, Felita.”
“Not as well as I used to. I know I make mistakes, but I like speaking it.”
“You are Puerto Rican, right?”
“Right, born here. My parents are from the Island. I guess you can tell from my accent in Spanish.” My accent in Spanish was different from his. Vinny spoke slowly and pronounced his words carefully, while us Puerto Ricans speak much faster.
“I noticed that most of the kids in school are Puerto Rican too, yet many don’t speak Spanish as well as you do. Did you ever live in Puerto Rico, Felita?”
“No, I’ve never been there. But it’s funny that you asked me that because guess what? I’m going to be spending the whole summer there. It will be my first visit. I can’t wait!”
“That’s wonderful! I wish I could speak English the way you speak Spanish, Felita. You know I really want to learn. And, frankly, that’s why I came looking for you, to see if you could help me out. Can you help me, Felita? To speak English I mean?”
“What?” I couldn’t believe he was asking me to help him.
“Look,” he went on, “I’ll be honest with you. I’ve been watching you and I see the way you work. You are a good student. You’re always in the library, studying. And the way you draw is terrific. Those pictures that you have on display are great. See, I’ve been trying to talk to somebody, like one of the other students, but I just didn’t know who to ask. Then I noticed you and watched you and thought, all right, she’s the one! Felita is really smart and speaks Spanish, so I can talk to her.”
Vinny stopped and looked at me with a hurt expression. “Some of the other students make fun of me and call me names. I want to speak correctly. I don’t want to stay speaking English the way I do now. Will you help me, Felita?”
“Me—but how?” I couldn’t imagine what I could do to help.
“Teach me to speak English just like you and the other kids do.”
“You know, Vinny, they got extra classes in school where foreign people learn English. I know because some of my parents’ friends from Puerto Rico went there. Let me ask for you. Maybe they might even give you special instructions because you are a kid. Tomorrow I’ll ask Mr. Richards—”
“No”—he cut me off—“I’m not interested in learning any more grammar or English out of books. I can do that myself. What I need is to talk like any other kid. Not out of books, but just regular conversation. Will you help me, please?”
“I still don’t know what I can do.” I was getting pretty confused.
“It’s very simple. We can meet after school, not each day, but perhaps two times a week. We can just talk about anything. This way I can begin to sound like everybody else.”
“I really don’t know about that.” Vinny stopped and stood before me, his pale green eyes staring sadly at me.
“Please. Look, Felita, you say that you are going to Puerto Rico this summer. And that your Spanish isn’t all that good, right? Well, what if I help you out with Spanish? Wouldn’t you like to speak it better and learn to read and write it?
In this way we can help each other out.”
I thought about his offer and felt a rush of excitement going right through me. Imagine, out of all the kids in our school, it was going to be me teaching English to Vinny Davila, who all my girlfriends like and act silly around and drool over. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed almost too good to be true. And then I remembered my parents, especially Mami. How could I ever convince her I should have lessons with a boy? And worse yet, a stranger she’d never even met!
“Don’t you think it’s a good idea, Felita?”
“Sure I do. In fact I miss not being able to speak to my grandmother in Spanish, and I am going to Puerto Rico, so I would like to speak it as good as possible.”
“So, do we have a deal?” I didn’t know how to answer Vinny. I mean tackling Mami was a heavy order, and yet I didn’t want to say no to this opportunity of having lessons with Vinny Davila.
“Let me talk to my mother and see what I can do.” I could hardly believe what I’d just heard myself say.
“Wonderful! Thank you so much!” Vinny got so excited he spun around and clapped a few times.
“Hey, wait a minute, Vinny. I’m telling you right now I can’t make any promises. I still have to figure out a few things and get permission.”
“All right, but you will let me know soon?”
“I’ll let you know when I know what’s happening. We can talk in school in a free period or you can come to the library when I’m there, okay?”
“That’s really great. Thank you so much.” He paused and glanced at me, looking a little embarrassed. “There’s just one more thing. I don’t want the other kids in school to know about our lessons—at least not in the beginning. I’d like to wait until I’m speaking better in English. Can we keep this to ourselves?”
“Sure,” I said. This was even better than I thought. The fact that Vinny Davila and me shared a secret made me feel special.
“I have to run or I’ll be late.” I turned and ran up the steps. “See you!” I called out to him in English.
“See you!” I heard his voice echoing me in English.
Chapter 3
Boy, what just happened, anyway? Here I had just agreed to have lessons with Vinny Davila. I couldn’t believe it and inside my stomach it felt like butterflies were doing flip-flops. I couldn’t get over the fact that he needed my help. At home I looked at myself in the mirror. I know he thinks I’m smart, but maybe he thinks I’m pretty too. I wished my eyes were bigger like Vivian’s and that my nose was nice and straight like Consuela’s instead of looking like a button on my face. Oh, well, I was glad Vinny liked my drawings. I had done two big drawings to celebrate Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays. I had copied the scenes from a magazine, but naturally I had added my own special touches so that they wouldn’t be plain old copies. When I thought of the girls at school, especially Vivian, I got a case of the giggles. Wait till she hears that Vinny Davila, who she moans and groans over, has asked me to help him! Too much!
The more I thought about this whole business, the more anxious I got wondering how to work it out with Mami. I had to think very carefully now and plan things so that they would turn out just right. I had one lucky break—Papi was home. With him here I could at least argue my case. Getting my parents to listen without my brothers hearing us was next to impossible. In our small apartment there was always somebody in the living room or kitchen and everyone could hear what you said. I decided to bring it out in the open, and the best time would be tonight when everybody would be in a good mood because Papi was home.
At supper Mami and Papi were talking about the trip. I listened, waiting for the right moment.
“I already wrote to my sister Julia,” Mami said, “and to my father. God, to think we have three children growing up without knowing their own family. Julia’s boys are almost Tito and Johnny’s ages, and my brother Tomás’s boy and girl are a little younger than Felita. Imagine how happy my father is going to be. He keeps on saying in his letters that all he wants before he dies is to see his grandchildren.”
“Rosa, that man is as healthy as an ox,” said Papi. “Not many men outlive two wives and then get married for a third time at age seventy. He’ll live a long time yet.”
“I know. My father is something else all right! But it’s going to be so good for all of us. This family reunion has been long overdue.”
“I can’t wait to meet my cousins,” I said, thinking it was a good time to start, “but I wonder if they know how to speak English?”
“Felita”—Mami looked surprised—“you know that in Puerto Rico people speak Spanish. That’s the language there.”
“Well, Felita has a point,” said Papi, “because they teach English in school. And anyway, what with all the traveling back and forth from the Island to here, I’m sure by now most people know some English.”
“I sure hope so.” I sighed.
“Felita, but you understand Spanish,” said Tio Jorge, “and you also speak it pretty good. All them years talking to your grandmother must have taught you something.”
“Yeah, but Abuelita’s been dead for two years and I don’t hardly speak it anymore.”
“Your brothers are in the same situation, and they don’t look worried to me. Do you, boys?” Papi looked at Johnny and Tito.
“I haven’t even thought about it, Papi,” said Johnny. “Besides, I understand almost everything, and I’m taking it in school. Remember?”
“I’m doing real good in Spanish. It’s one of my best subjects,” Tito said. “I’ll make myself understood in P.R. No sweat.”
“Felita, are you really worried?” Tio asked. I nodded. “Well, then we can speak in Spanish from now on. That should help you.”
It’s now or never, I thought. Go for it! “Something even better came up.” Everybody stopped eating and looked at me. “You see, there’s this new kid in our school. He just registered last month. He comes from Colombia in South America, you know.” I told them about Vinny and his problem with learning English and how the kids make fun of him. “He got this idea that I could help him with his English and in exchange he could help me with my Spanish. Sort of a trade-off, you know.” I paused and waited, but no one said anything. “I really think it’s a great idea, especially since I’m going to Puerto Rico and it will help me when I have to talk Spanish there.” My mother was speechless, then she looked at my father, who smiled and shrugged.
“Is that the boy that lives right here on our block?” Johnny asked me.
“Yeah, that’s him. His name is Vinny Davila. He lives down the block, near the other corner from us, but across the street.”
“Do you know him?” Papi asked Johnny.
“I’ve just seen him around, that’s all. But he seems like a good kid. He always says hello when he sees me.”
“I seen him too,” said Tito. “You remember, Ma. We both seen the whole family. That time when we came from shopping last week, and you said they seem like nice people?”
“Oh, that’s right.” My mother nodded. “I remember now. But why can’t this boy get extra help in English from the schools where there are teachers trained for that? Why do you have to give him lessons, Felita? Since when have you become an English teacher!”
“Because, Mami, he wants to learn conversation—how to talk regular English like the rest of us kids. He doesn’t want an English teacher. That’s the whole point! Teachers ain’t going to be able to teach him like another kid can. Right, Johnny?”
“Maybe so.” Johnny looked like he almost agreed.
“Well, I think Felita is right. There are certain things you ain’t gonna get in school.” When I heard Tito say this, I was almost shocked out of my chair. My jaw just about dropped to the floor. Man, I don’t remember the last time Tito had been on my side for anything!
“Sure you would say that”—Papi shook his head —“our number-one student here! Since when, Tito, are you an expert on school?”
“Aw, ma
n, Papi,” Tito spoke up, “come on, admit she’s got a point. The kid wants to be accepted, to be like one of us. That’s all. All the other kids will keep right on teasing him until he learns our ways. That’s just the way it is, and he ain’t gonna learn regular expressions and how to fit in with other kids from a teacher.”
“Papi, Tito is right,” I said. “And it wouldn’t be no trouble, honest. We could meet like twice a week after school and spend an hour or so working on conversations. Me teaching him English and him teaching me Spanish.”
“But why can’t he learn from another boy?” I knew Mami would ask something like that. “There are plenty of boys in that school, chica. Why you?”
“Mami, first of all most of the boys make mean fun of him, real nasty fun, and second he asked me because I do speak Spanish. This way we can communicate. Plus here’s the best part. He can really help me with my Spanish, which is pretty rusty by now. He even said he’ll teach me to read and write in Spanish. It would really help me when I get to P.R. Remember, I’m going to have to be there for the whole summer with people who probably don’t speak English.” I waited and no one said anything. I stared at Papi, silently pleading my case.
“It can’t do no harm, Rosa,” said Papi.
“Where are these lessons going to take place, then, young lady?” asked Mami.
“We can meet here if you like, or in his house. Anywhere you say, Mami.”
“I don’t know, let me think about it.” I knew I couldn’t let her think about it even for one second. She had to agree before we all left the table.
“Aw, come on, Mami, it’ll all be for a good cause. He can learn English and I can learn Spanish.” I turned to my father. “Please, Papi! Come on, what’s wrong with such a great idea?” Papi smiled, and I knew right then I had to get his okay.
“Look,” I said, “we can try it and if you see anything wrong, anything at all, or if you don’t like Vinny, we’ll stop. Honest, I swear. What’s bad about that?”
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