How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water (25)

But I know I don’t want to sleep in someone’s house. How am I going to take care of La Vieja Caridad? And ángela’s children? What will Lulú do in the mornings if I sleep in this lady’s house?

Yes, Lulú. I told you, she needs me. Last night she came to my apartment with the bottle of wine.

What am I going to do about Adonis? she asked and passed me a glass.

Apparently things are even worse with Adonis than we had imagined. He knew he was going to be laid off last year. Last year! And he didn’t plan for it. He took that fancy cruise with the children anyway. His poor wife, Patricia, didn’t have any idea of their problems. When he lost his job, he pretended to go to work for months.

Lulú is in a real crisis. You’re not going to believe this. Or maybe you will because Lulú can be a little dramática. She took off her faja and threw it out of the window. This from a woman that puts on the faja from the moment she gets out of the bed. Always a size too small. She can’t even bend to pick up something from the floor. Breasts high up on her chest, like missiles.

So imagine, poor Lulú at the window, wearing only her bata. When did she start wearing batas outside the house? I could see everything under there. I had never seen her stomach before, her tetas pointing to the floor.

I’ll get it for you, I said, and rushed to the window to make sure the faja was down there. But it was gone. Disappeared. Who would take a faja from the street? Only in Washington Heights.

I could see the gray roots in her hair, half an inch of canas in the border of her forehead. I had no sense of how gray she was.

Lulú looks ten years older, maybe twenty years, with the fall of Adonis. For sure she hasn’t eaten all week because she’s emptied of life. How could mothers be happy when their children suffer? Impossible.

Maybe I don’t always know what to say, but when I see her destroyed, I know living close to each other is important. On the phone, I could never see the new canas. Or her eyes, each one is like the mouth of a cave.

Why you can’t find me a job where I can work in my apartment?

I still have five years before I can collect the Social Security. Lulú has seven years! It’s impossible to live with only that money. Lulú and I had planned to work until seventy years old—the extra bonus in retirement was going to be for apartments in Miami. Or two small houses in Tampa. Or some other place, hot with beaches. One day, we thought, we could have more space, not on top of the other, to not hear everything through a heating tube. We would own houses across from each other so that we could wave hello from our front patios.

That dream is now far away. Now she’s throwing fajas out windows.

?Ay, Dios mío! We’re gonna lose our apartments! Finish up on the streets! On that bench, in the park, feeding old bread to the pigeons!

We looked out of the window, seeing the night invade the streets, full of people going into the restaurants that sell un café for $4. A hamburger for $16. Pfft!

How am I going to help Adonis if I don’t have any money? she asked.

I said, Let’s drink the wine. I cooked dinner for us. Plátanos the color of the sun.

But like I told you, Mercury is in retrograde. That’s what Alicia the Psychic said. So forget the next four weeks. Right now, Lulú doesn’t want to hear that things will get better. She wants to cry, but she can’t cry. So what does she do? She drinks more wine. She doesn’t get the relief of crying. Ay, Lulú. Be strong, is all I can say.… You’ll see, our next jobs will pay us double.





GENTRIFIED


RENT-STABILIZED BUILDING, INC.


BILLING INVOICE # 452906

Little Dominican Republic

New York, NY 10032


To: Cara Romero

INVOICE

MONTH RENT (MARCH 2009)

$888.00



OPEN BALANCE

$1,678.00



PAYMENT RECEIVED (03/10/2009)

–$250.00



LATE FEE:

$40.00





Remaining Balance:

$2,356.00




Rent is due on the 1st of the month. Please pay rent on time to avoid late charges.





QUISQUEYA DENTAL


Washington Heights, NY

Service and Cost Breakdown

Patient:

Cara Romero

Patient:

654321

Acct. Number:

123456



Date:

04/18/2008

Periodontal Scaling and Root Planing per Quandrant

$182.00



Date:

07/30/2008

Periodontal Scaling and Root Planing per Quandrant

$182.00



Date:

11/18/2008

Periodontal Maint. Proc. (following active therapy)



Amount Due: $474.00

Down Payment (30%): $142.20

Payment Plan Available:

5.9%–12% interest

12–24 month options available upon request.

$110.00





JOB DETAILS


Full-time





Full Job Description:


Position: Security Guard, Middle School Grades 6–9

Location: The New York City Charter Middle School, Inwood, NY