Free She Had No Choice by Debra Burroughs Page A
Authors: Debra Burroughs
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“ Tell me more about Enrique.”
“ We dated for a few weeks, and we had fun together. We were falling in love, or least that’s what I thought.”
“ Guys like that don’t fall in love, mi amiga. They make you think they love you, but really, they only want one thing. Telling a girl they love her is just a trick to get them into bed. When it isn’t fun anymore, they move on to another girl. I know, I’ve had my share of that kind of man.”
“ But he told me he loved me.”
“ I’m sure he tells all the girls he loves them. That’s how he gets them to do what he wants.”
“ I was so sure he was the one, you know, the one I would spend the rest of my life with. Like Olivia and Alejandro – soul mates. But when I told him I was pregnant and he was the father, he denied it and walked out on me.”
“ He’s just a pendejo. You’re better off without him, Sofía.”
“ You’re probably right, but look where I am now – pregnant and alone.” She lightly rubbed her protruding belly and a few tears trickled down her cheek. “And he’s off to the next girl, probably that girl he brought to the restaurant the last time I saw him.”
“ What are you going to do when the baby comes?”
“ I don’t know. I worry about it every day. Olivia is getting married in a few months, so I’m quickly running out of time.”
Rosa noticed an older couple coming into the restaurant for dinner, so she handed her damp cloth to Sofía and hurried over to greet them.
“ Hello, Señor, Señora,” as she nodded to each of them. “Would you like a table for two?”
Sofía got up from the chair and headed to the kitchen to dispose of the cleaning cloth. She was grateful that Rosa was willing to listen to her, but she had no more idea what she was going to do than she did before their chat.
She only had a few more months before the baby would arrive and then a month or two before Olivia’s wedding. Sofía could not go on working much longer. Her situation weighed heavily on her mind every day.
The week before Sofía quit her job at the restaurant, she met Rosa’s brother, Carlos, and some of his friends. They had come by the restaurant one afternoon, just making a quick stop to say hello to Rosa and hoping to get some free food. Figuring the lunch crowd would have thinned out, they thought maybe Rosa would be able to give them some beans and rice with tortillas that might be left over from lunch.
“ Sofía, Sofía! Come over here,” Rosa called out to Sofía, who had just come out of the kitchen. “I want you to meet my brother, Carlos Gonzalez.”
Sofía padded across the room and said hello. Carlos was polite and returned the greeting.
“ Carlos and his friends are on their way to Florida to pick oranges. He’s always traveling to one place or another. I’m just happy to have a chance to see my big brother whenever he can stop by.”
Sofía thought Carlos seemed nice, even ruggedly handsome. He was not much of a conversationalist, but nice enough. However, in her present condition, she was in no position to think about him any more than that. She thought his work sounded interesting, maybe even a little exciting. He traveled all over the country and saw different places, having the freedom to just pick up and go to some new place.
Hearing him talk about his farm work made her remember back to when she was much younger, when her family first came to the United States. She recalled the time that her family was working as migrant farm laborers and even the children worked in the fields. She remembered they moved a few times from place to place, but when Mama died Papa sent her here to the Phoenix area. That was almost ten years ago. The memories of how hard it really was, moving around to work the fields and orchards, had faded considerably. Now, the nomadic life almost sounded a little romantic.
She and Rosa saw Carlos and his friends off the next morning from Rosa’s little house, where she
“ Tell me more about Enrique.”
“ We dated for a few weeks, and we had fun together. We were falling in love, or least that’s what I thought.”
“ Guys like that don’t fall in love, mi amiga. They make you think they love you, but really, they only want one thing. Telling a girl they love her is just a trick to get them into bed. When it isn’t fun anymore, they move on to another girl. I know, I’ve had my share of that kind of man.”
“ But he told me he loved me.”
“ I’m sure he tells all the girls he loves them. That’s how he gets them to do what he wants.”
“ I was so sure he was the one, you know, the one I would spend the rest of my life with. Like Olivia and Alejandro – soul mates. But when I told him I was pregnant and he was the father, he denied it and walked out on me.”
“ He’s just a pendejo. You’re better off without him, Sofía.”
“ You’re probably right, but look where I am now – pregnant and alone.” She lightly rubbed her protruding belly and a few tears trickled down her cheek. “And he’s off to the next girl, probably that girl he brought to the restaurant the last time I saw him.”
“ What are you going to do when the baby comes?”
“ I don’t know. I worry about it every day. Olivia is getting married in a few months, so I’m quickly running out of time.”
Rosa noticed an older couple coming into the restaurant for dinner, so she handed her damp cloth to Sofía and hurried over to greet them.
“ Hello, Señor, Señora,” as she nodded to each of them. “Would you like a table for two?”
Sofía got up from the chair and headed to the kitchen to dispose of the cleaning cloth. She was grateful that Rosa was willing to listen to her, but she had no more idea what she was going to do than she did before their chat.
She only had a few more months before the baby would arrive and then a month or two before Olivia’s wedding. Sofía could not go on working much longer. Her situation weighed heavily on her mind every day.
The week before Sofía quit her job at the restaurant, she met Rosa’s brother, Carlos, and some of his friends. They had come by the restaurant one afternoon, just making a quick stop to say hello to Rosa and hoping to get some free food. Figuring the lunch crowd would have thinned out, they thought maybe Rosa would be able to give them some beans and rice with tortillas that might be left over from lunch.
“ Sofía, Sofía! Come over here,” Rosa called out to Sofía, who had just come out of the kitchen. “I want you to meet my brother, Carlos Gonzalez.”
Sofía padded across the room and said hello. Carlos was polite and returned the greeting.
“ Carlos and his friends are on their way to Florida to pick oranges. He’s always traveling to one place or another. I’m just happy to have a chance to see my big brother whenever he can stop by.”
Sofía thought Carlos seemed nice, even ruggedly handsome. He was not much of a conversationalist, but nice enough. However, in her present condition, she was in no position to think about him any more than that. She thought his work sounded interesting, maybe even a little exciting. He traveled all over the country and saw different places, having the freedom to just pick up and go to some new place.
Hearing him talk about his farm work made her remember back to when she was much younger, when her family first came to the United States. She recalled the time that her family was working as migrant farm laborers and even the children worked in the fields. She remembered they moved a few times from place to place, but when Mama died Papa sent her here to the Phoenix area. That was almost ten years ago. The memories of how hard it really was, moving around to work the fields and orchards, had faded considerably. Now, the nomadic life almost sounded a little romantic.
She and Rosa saw Carlos and his friends off the next morning from Rosa’s little house, where she