https://amzn.to/3AcDLOy
https://isabelelias.com
https://bit.ly/3CNjWhS PayPal Me

Chapter 5 Letters from Herman

Carla is completely devastated by Herman’s departure. To a large degree, her happiness depends on her relationship to Herman. Without him, true happiness has no existence for her. As much as she tries to imagine his return, she doesn’t feel it in her heart. Even the smile is gone, and her bubbly personality went with it. As a child, she believed that when people leave, they never return. Like a bad dream, she has a memory of her parents leaving, and never seeing them again.  Maybe she has transferred that pain of loss to the thought of losing Herman. It doesn’t make much sense, but so much of life is a mystery to Carla, and just when she thinks she has it all figured out, life takes a new course. 

With Herman gone, Carla’s life is not the same. She’s not in touch with her school friends, and dancing buddies – except for her best friend, Maria. But as much as Maria tries to cheer her up, Carla remains lonely and depressed. Carla spends most of her days with Mama. 

Now that Mamá is up in age, and can’t do as much, Carla does most of the cleaning, cooking, and marketing. Mamá has been doing heavy housekeeping for some of the Anglo people on the other side of the tracks. But lately, she doesn’t have the energy for such work. The walk alone is too much for her. Therefore, Carla has taken on some of the jobs – the furthest ones. 

Carla takes on those jobs to help Mamá, but she does not enjoy it one bit. She especially hates cleaning other people’s toilets – particularly those up-tight white people who speak down to her with an extra loud tone – as if she’s deaf. It reminds her of her kindergarten teacher…the one with the red hair and freckles that would raise her voice at the Spanish speaking kids – as if the loudness would help them understand English.

Here she is years later experiencing the same stupidity.  Do these people think that if you clean houses for a living you must not know English and you must be poor and hard of hearing? Carla works hard and fast to get the hell out of those homes, and back to her own home where there is love and comfort.

https://bit.ly/3CNjWhS Buy your host a latte