How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water (31)

No pela.

No sleeping on the stomach.

No salsa, merengue, bachata. No radio. Punto final.

Only música clásica. Patricia gave Lulú CDs to stimulate the brain of the babies. And only organic fruits—unless the skin is thick, like aguacate or pi?a or toronja. And you know it’s impossible to find organic fruits in Washington Heights. It’s expensive. But even in the crisis, she says: only organic food.

No TV. Never. Adonis covered the TV in Lulú’s apartment with a sheet. It’s true that the eighteen-month-old is very intelligent and knows to talk with his hands. He can tell us if he wants leche or water, if something tastes good, if he wants more.

Lulú doesn’t complain about the children or Patricia directly. Patricia is working six days a week in the lawyer’s office so Adonis and the children have something to eat. She is the only one making money. And Lulú raised Adonis to be too nariz pará; he would never be like that lawyer that went to work in Wendy’s. But that is exactly what Adonis should do. But I don’t make opinions.

The point is that I read this application to start the day care, and I am confident I can lift and carry the babies. I can prepare food. I can maintain a clean place for the children to sleep, play, and eat. You already know I am very good for the emergency. I can maybe even learn how to drive, but in New York I don’t think it’s necessary. And I don’t know what is desk work? But, OK. I am sure I can do it. But the Behavior Management Plan, no. Not with children that are not my blood. No way.



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Let me explain. I am good with babies. When Yadiresela was born, ángela was not ready to have children. But Hernán wanted the children. Many children. If it was his decision, they would have a baseball team. He had ten years more than ángela and he was ready to start a family. She wanted to study and to be a professional. She wanted to make money for her house. She did not want to go pa’trás como el cangrejo like many married women. She wanted to progress. She would talk about how the scientists make proof that the people who make benefit from marriage are the men. The wife die early and get sick, she said. The husband, the opposite.

If it wasn’t for Hernán being so good and persistent, ángela would have not married. It’s like he said to ángela, Let me be your wife.

So of course, even though he sweats la gota gorda working in the hospital, when Yadiresela was born Hernán gave her food, changed the diaper, and put her to sleep almost every day. This, even when ángela took some months off from work to dique take care of the baby. And ángela knows how to cook, but she says, Ay, Hernán, I like it better how you do it. Then she plays with his ear and rubs his back and, just like La Vieja Caridad ’s dog, Fidel, he turns over, shows his belly, and that’s it, he gives in to her.

But Yadiresela was not an easy baby. And Hernán was good, but not a mother. She cried constantly. Every day from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Yadiresela cried. A good time too, because it was exactly when I finished doing work in the factory. The van left me home at 3:50 p.m. I had ten minutes to change my clothes and, like a clock, Yadiresla would cry—but cry!

She was born soon after Fernando left. So when she cried I felt the crying inside of me. So I carried Yadiresela like I carried Fernando. The crying was too much for ángela. The minute I arrived ángela gave me the baby and go into her room to sleep. If it was her decision, she would go back to work in the office immediately, but Hernán didn’t want the baby to be with strange people all day. Not when she was so little. In the night, ángela wanted to continue to go to the school.

So, for Hernán, it’s good I was in the building to help them. It’s good that we live like we have one house together, in two different apartments. When I stayed with Yadiresela, I turned on the public TV to the documentaries because they are relaxing. I learn a lot. One of them was about babies in Brazil that were abandoned by their mothers. You know this one? No? Ah. To make the baby more calm, the women take off their shirt and put the baby touching their skin. So when Yadiresela cried, I made her naked and put her inside my blusa. It made her stop crying every time. This is why Hernán has a soft spot for me. Because for many, many months I bring the silence to the house. I needed the silence too.

The skin on the skin method worked.

Write that down: Cara Romero is good with the children.

Even with difficult babies like Yadiresela. But I controlled her behavior so good that now when she finish eating, she wash her plate. She is so intelligent, the teacher moved her from fifth grade to sixth grade in the middle of the year. All these good things I did without ángela’s books.

Yes, ángela has a mountain of books from the library. Dique to be a better mother, but what she means is a better mother than me. She thinks I give pelas to her children. But I never give pelas to her children. Only pao-pao on their hand when they don’t listen. And sometimes a little slap in the leg with my hand. Never a pela.

When Fernando left and didn’t come back, ángela became nervous that maybe her children will abandon her too. She said, We can’t make the same mistake of our mother. But we are not like Mamá, who was very cold. She never hugged us or told us that she loved us. We tell our children we love them and hug them all the time.

You have to understand: ángela, even if she wanted to, can’t hire a babysitter because it’s too much money. So we try to resolver. Since I lost my job in the factory, I have more responsibilities with the children. I help to make food for them, pick up Yadiresela in the bus stop, pick up Milagros in the day care. Before I lost my job, they had to pay $10 an hour to la vecina to do many of these things. But la vecina did not also cook the children dinner, wash their clothes, and clean the apartment.