to say the least.
Once inside, we walked through a small living room
furnished with a jumble of frayed castoff furniture that looked like it had
come from a thrift store, past a spacious kitchen and then followed her down a
long narrow hallway surfaced with brownish-red Saltillo tile. The sound of our
footsteps was drowned out by the continuous squeal from the evaporative cooler
on the roof as it puffed gusts of moist air through rusty overhead vents. The
place was much larger than it appeared from outside, the rambling hallway
opening into a series of small rooms that gave me the impression of a rabbit
warren.
When we reached the last door, she put a finger to her
lips and edged it open to reveal a tiny cubicle hardly bigger than a walk-in
closet. The bed, a cot actually, filled most of the room and the sloping
concrete floor suggested that it might have been an outside storage area at one
time. A blanket hanging from a narrow window blocked out all but a hint of the
late afternoon sunlight and it took a minute or so for my eyes to adjust to the
murky twilight.
“You stay here,” she whispered hoarsely, pointing to
the spot where I now stood. “Too many visitors at once might scare him.”
She switched on a dim floor lamp and motioned for Lupe
to accompany her. To keep the peace, I did as she asked, but I was more than a
little irked by her brusque behavior. This woman could definitely use a
personality transplant.
“Let me talk to him first,” Sister Goldenrod said,
pulling a door to my right open. She bent down and said softly, “It’s just me,
Javier. I’ve brought a pretty lady for you to talk to.”
One pretty lady, not two. She cast a backward glance
to make sure I’d caught her little dig and then switched to Spanish. I heard
the sound of a muffled voice, high and tense. She continued to converse with
him in soothing tones before turning to face us. “He says he’s hungry, so I’m
going to get his dinner. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She waddled past and
then turned to glare at me. “Make sure you don’t do or say anything to upset
him.”
A hot flash of anger warmed my face. I had half a
mind to tell this infuriating woman exactly what I thought of her, but I
squeezed out a strained smile instead. After she left, I whispered to Lupe, “What’s
her problem anyway? Are you sure she’s really a minister? She’s got a
mouth like a cowhand and has a gigantic cob up her butt!”
Her wan smile was apologetic. “She just needs some
time to learn to trust you. She’s really very sweet when you get to know her
better.”
I grimaced. “Are we talking about the same person?”
She waved away my remark and edged the closet door
open further. I moved the floor lamp closer and peeked in. Illuminated by the
soft halo of light sat little Javier, huddled in the closet beside a stack of
boxes. A thatch of shiny black hair framed his perfect oval face and I thought
he had the biggest, most beautiful cocoa-brown eyes I’d ever seen. But they
were frightened eyes. Haunted eyes. What on earth had happened to create such
an expression of abject terror? The stuffy closet smelled like a combination
of food, sweat and old shoes. I bent down, smiling. “Hi, Javier, my name is
Kendall,” I said, pointing to my own chest, “and this is my friend, my amiga ,
Lupe.” I knew he didn’t understand me, but was hopeful that he’d respond to a
friendly face.
He pulled what looked like a ragged stuffed bunny
closer and stared at me with suspicion. Sensing his unease, I pulled back,
motioning for Lupe to take my place. She was cracking her knuckles and
appeared anxious as she sank to her knees without pretense and began to
question him. I could tell by the taut set of her shoulders and jaw that she
was fearful of the little boy’s answers. I heard her mention her brother,
Gilberto, and, obviously frightened by the subject matter, Javier began
Once inside, we walked through a small living room
furnished with a jumble of frayed castoff furniture that looked like it had
come from a thrift store, past a spacious kitchen and then followed her down a
long narrow hallway surfaced with brownish-red Saltillo tile. The sound of our
footsteps was drowned out by the continuous squeal from the evaporative cooler
on the roof as it puffed gusts of moist air through rusty overhead vents. The
place was much larger than it appeared from outside, the rambling hallway
opening into a series of small rooms that gave me the impression of a rabbit
warren.
When we reached the last door, she put a finger to her
lips and edged it open to reveal a tiny cubicle hardly bigger than a walk-in
closet. The bed, a cot actually, filled most of the room and the sloping
concrete floor suggested that it might have been an outside storage area at one
time. A blanket hanging from a narrow window blocked out all but a hint of the
late afternoon sunlight and it took a minute or so for my eyes to adjust to the
murky twilight.
“You stay here,” she whispered hoarsely, pointing to
the spot where I now stood. “Too many visitors at once might scare him.”
She switched on a dim floor lamp and motioned for Lupe
to accompany her. To keep the peace, I did as she asked, but I was more than a
little irked by her brusque behavior. This woman could definitely use a
personality transplant.
“Let me talk to him first,” Sister Goldenrod said,
pulling a door to my right open. She bent down and said softly, “It’s just me,
Javier. I’ve brought a pretty lady for you to talk to.”
One pretty lady, not two. She cast a backward glance
to make sure I’d caught her little dig and then switched to Spanish. I heard
the sound of a muffled voice, high and tense. She continued to converse with
him in soothing tones before turning to face us. “He says he’s hungry, so I’m
going to get his dinner. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She waddled past and
then turned to glare at me. “Make sure you don’t do or say anything to upset
him.”
A hot flash of anger warmed my face. I had half a
mind to tell this infuriating woman exactly what I thought of her, but I
squeezed out a strained smile instead. After she left, I whispered to Lupe, “What’s
her problem anyway? Are you sure she’s really a minister? She’s got a
mouth like a cowhand and has a gigantic cob up her butt!”
Her wan smile was apologetic. “She just needs some
time to learn to trust you. She’s really very sweet when you get to know her
better.”
I grimaced. “Are we talking about the same person?”
She waved away my remark and edged the closet door
open further. I moved the floor lamp closer and peeked in. Illuminated by the
soft halo of light sat little Javier, huddled in the closet beside a stack of
boxes. A thatch of shiny black hair framed his perfect oval face and I thought
he had the biggest, most beautiful cocoa-brown eyes I’d ever seen. But they
were frightened eyes. Haunted eyes. What on earth had happened to create such
an expression of abject terror? The stuffy closet smelled like a combination
of food, sweat and old shoes. I bent down, smiling. “Hi, Javier, my name is
Kendall,” I said, pointing to my own chest, “and this is my friend, my amiga ,
Lupe.” I knew he didn’t understand me, but was hopeful that he’d respond to a
friendly face.
He pulled what looked like a ragged stuffed bunny
closer and stared at me with suspicion. Sensing his unease, I pulled back,
motioning for Lupe to take my place. She was cracking her knuckles and
appeared anxious as she sank to her knees without pretense and began to
question him. I could tell by the taut set of her shoulders and jaw that she
was fearful of the little boy’s answers. I heard her mention her brother,
Gilberto, and, obviously frightened by the subject matter, Javier began
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