She Had No Choice by Debra Burroughs Page A

strongly insisting, reminding her that he was the head of the house. She got up from the table and tried to walk away. She couldn’t listen to any more of this.
    “ Listen to me, you worthless woman,” he growled at her, as he grabbed her hard by her arm.  “You will do as I say, you hear? We just can’t afford to keep all these kids!”
    Yanking her arm free, she looked at all her children. The babies couldn’t comprehend what their parents were saying, but Eva was old enough to understand. She sat at the table, very still, afraid of her angry father. She had heard him say he wanted to give away one of her brothers. When will he want to give me away? she thought.
    Sofía looked at little Eva and felt badly that she had to witness this argument. She could see her daughter was frightened. Why did Carlos have to bring this up in front of the children? she wondered to herself. She dared not say it out loud.
    Yes, she knew that finances were extremely tight, and she also knew Carlos would not relent. What she didn’t understand, though, was how he could be so cruel to make her give away one of her children – one of their children. They obviously didn’t mean as much to him as they did to her, she told herself. She could see she was not going to win this fight, because she never did.
    She reluctantly gave in, tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt backed into a corner with no way out except to give in. So, she finally agreed to let Imelda raise Alfredo. They would keep Arturo. They didn’t choose to keep Arturo over Alfredo for any particular reason, just a flip of a coin.
    The next morning, while Alfredo was asleep in her arms, she walked alone to Imelda and David’s home, about a half a mile away in another migrant camp. Carlos stayed home with the other children. He had already told David that Sofía would be coming over with the baby.
    Sofía knocked on the door and the couple opened it.
    “ I’m Sofía. Carlos told me you want to have children very badly but you’re not able to.”
    “ Yes, that’s right,” Imelda said. “Come in.”
    “ No, I can’t.” Sofía needed to leave quickly before she would begin to cry.
    She kissed the baby on the forehead and handed him over to Imelda. “This is Alfredo.” Sofía’s chest was tight as she fought back her tears. “I hope you’ll be a good mother and love him and care for him like I would.”
    “ Yes, Sofía, we will,” David replied.
    Sofía turned and walked away. She cried all the way home.
    There was a profound sadness that settled over Sofía because of the loss of her son. She found herself crying several times throughout the day as she thought of Arturo’s soft dark hair, his inquisitive brown eyes, his little crooked smile. Little Eva would ask her what was wrong, but Sofía would change the subject and get Eva’s attention on something else. Each night she would cry herself to sleep thinking about her lost son.
    Carlos saw Sofía’s tears every day, and it filled him with guilt. She hardly spoke to him anymore unless she had to. His pride would not let him admit that he had made a mistake. And now Alfredo was gone. He had given his son away, and he couldn’t take him back without being humiliated.
    A couple of months later, Sofía decided to go and check on Alfredo and see how he was doing. She got a neighbor to come and watch the children while she went for her visit.
    She hadn’t told Imelda she was coming, she just showed up at her door unannounced. Imelda sheepishly let her in, and Sofía looked around the sparsely-furnished place. It was tidy, but she didn’t see a crib or a cradle anywhere.
    “ Where is Alfredo?” Sofía asked, suspiciously.
    “ I’ll get him,” Imelda said. She looked a little embarrassed and quickly left the room. So, Sofía, close on Imelda’s heels, followed her to the bedroom. She saw Imelda pull a box out from under the bed and her sweet little baby boy was lying in the box with a blanket under him,