She Had No Choice (23 page)

“
It’s getting late, sweetie. Let me go make up a place for the babies to sleep, okay? Okay.” Gertie handed baby Angie back to Eva, then wandered off down the hallway.

She went in the spare bedroom and made up a sleeping area for both the babies on one of the beds by rolling blankets and towels around the area so they wouldn’t roll off. Then she came out with a pillow and blanket for Eva to use while she waited for Richard on the sofa.

“
Unless there’s somethin’ else you need, honey, I’m goin’ to bed. Okay? Okay.”

“
Well, there is one thing. I need to warm some milk in a bottle for the baby. She’ll be waking up soon. Do you mind if I use your kitchen?” Eva asked.

“
Oh, you betcha. Go on ahead and use anything you like.” Aunt Gertie shuffled off to bed.

Eva warmed a bottle and held her baby while she drank. She paced the room with her little daughter in her arms until she fell back asleep. Then she put her down to sleep on the bed with Rory.

Finally, about one-thirty in the morning, Richard stumbled into the house. Eva had been asleep on the sofa and woke to the noise. He smelled like a brewery and cigarettes. There was no doubt where he had been. She was furious. She had two questions – “where did you get money to buy beer and who were you drinking with?”

After fighting and arguing and crying for quite awhile, Eva decided to forgive him for not keeping in touch with her, for not being there for Angie’s birth, for going out drinking with what little money he had. She reluctantly agreed to stay in LaCrosse for the foreseeable future. With two babies and no money, she knew she didn’t have much choice.

Richard told her hadn’t been able to find steady work and was too embarrassed to let her know. The truth was, according to Aunt Gertie, he had secured two different jobs but had been fired from both. Eva suspected as much.

So, the next day she asked Aunt Gertie if she would watch the babies for a few hours so she could go into town and look for work. Gertie happily agreed and wished her luck.

Within a couple of hours Eva was able to find jobs for both of them at a poultry processing plant. Aunt Gertie consented to watching the babies while they worked so they could save up enough money to move out on their own. Richard didn’t last two weeks at the poultry plant before he got fired. So, Eva demanded he re-enlist in the army, which he did.

This was not a story Eva wanted to share with her mother. So, leaving out all the messy particulars, she continued on with telling Sofía about their move to an army base in Newport News, Virginia. Eva gave only the surface details of her many moves over the past six years and how she was kept busy setting up her houses and having babies.

“
But now, Mama, we live in Seaside where Richard is stationed at Fort Ord again. That’s where I met Richard at a USO dance, remember?” Eva was happy she was close enough now to see her family again.

“
I hope that means I’ll be able to see you and the niños again.” Sofía knew Carlos would not like having Eva at the house, but maybe she could sneak by, like today, or they could meet somewhere in town.

“
Yes, at least for awhile.”

Sofía’s countenance fell and she looked sad. “What do you mean ‘for awhile’?”

“
Well, Richard’s been reassigned to a base in Germany, and he’ll be leaving soon. The kids and I are going to follow him a few months after he ships out,” Eva told her. “We’re really excited to go to Europe. But don’t worry, Mama, the kids and I will be here for a few more months.”

Eva wanted her mother to believe she was happy. The truth was that she found out, over the years, that her husband had a wandering eye. From time to time, he would be attracted to other women, and she would have to rein him in. But she didn’t want to burden her mother with that, so she kept those details to herself and only spoke positively about her life with Richard. Eva knew Mama had enough to deal with in her own life.

Sofía filled her daughter in on what was happening with the younger children who were still at home. Hector had just started high school, and Miguel and Christina were in elementary school. They weren’t home from school yet, but the bus, Mama said, would be bringing them home in another half hour or so.

They continued to visit for a little while, but Eva couldn’t help but notice that Sofía kept looking at the clock and keeping close track of the time. She seemed agitated and fearful. After they had visited for a few more minutes, Sofía told Eva that she should go because the niños would be home from school soon and then Carlos would be coming home from work.

Sofía walked over to the window and peeked out to make sure Carlos was not out there. Fortunately he wasn’t there, but Eva could see real fear starting to rise up in her mama. Sofía’s eyes were darting around like a scared rabbit, her shoulders tensed. It broke Eva’s heart to see her mother this way, what the years of abuse had done to her.

“
Mama? Are you all right?”

“
I didn’t want to tell you this, but I’m more afraid of Carlos than I’ve ever been.” Eva saw the terror on her mother’s face.

“
Why?”

“
A few nights ago, he came home very drunk. I heard him staggering around the house, slamming cupboard doors, looking for more liquor. But he couldn’t find it.” Sofía put her hand on her chest. “I tried to lie very still so he’d think I was asleep. But he came into the bedroom and put a knife to my throat, accusing me of hiding his whiskey.” Her hand moved from her chest to her neck, and a tear trickled down her cheek. “I’ve never been so frightened.”

“
Oh, Mama,” was all Eva could say, as she put her arm around her mother’s shoulders.

“
I’m afraid he’s going to kill me.” Sofía’s voice was shaking. She looked out the window one more time. “I didn’t want to tell you, mi’ja, but I’m so scared.”

“
I’m going to get you out of this horrible place, Mama,” Eva promised her. But she knew that right now she had to leave before the school bus dropped her brothers and sister off.

“
Don’t worry, Mama, I’ll be back,” Eva said in a low voice, not wanting her children to overhear. She stepped in close to Mama and whispered to her. “I hate to see you still having to live this way. You deserve better than this, you deserve to be happy. That man is no good, Mama, no good. He’ll never change. I got away from here – you can, too.”

“
No, I can’t leave, mi’ja. I want to, but where would I go? How would I live? No, at least here I have a place to live and food to eat. And what about the your brothers and sister?”

“
I’ll figure it out. You deserve better, Mama –
you do
. Hector, Miguel and Christina, they deserve a better life, too. I don’t know what to do yet, but I’m going to do something to get you out of here, and them, too.”

“
Come on, Rory, Angie – time to go. We’ll see Grandma again soon.” She tried to keep an upbeat tone to her voice and a smile on her face so she didn’t upset her children. Eva quickly gathered up the snacks and toys and put them in the bag and led the kids to the door. She turned and gave her mother a long hug.

Eva felt compassion mixed with anger stirring up inside her. She was determined to find a way to rescue her mama, to rescue them all. After all the years of cruelty, Sofía did not have the strength left to break away, but Eva definitely did.

“
I’ll be back, Mama. Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

Sofía’s eyes brightened a little at the possibility there might be a way out for her. After all these years of torment and abuse, she smiled at the thought that it was her daughter who gave her hope. Sofía thought back to the day she gave birth to Eva and how she knew her young daughter would do great things. She never dreamed Eva would be her savior.

The thought of escaping was both exciting and scary at the same time. Sofía wasn’t sure if she should dare to hope, if she should allow herself to dream of being free, of leaving this wretched life behind. Disappointment would be crushing.

Sofía knew she couldn’t risk telling her children about Eva. They might accidentally let it slip and Carlos would find out. He would never let them leave. More than likely he would explode with anger and kill her in a fit of rage.

But, Eva had escaped, she reminded herself. Maybe Eva could save them, too…maybe.

Chapter 19:
The Escape Plan

The next person Eva wanted to see was her sister, Lydia. The following morning she got Rory and Angie up early, and they drove out to her sister’s house in San Juan Bautista, a rural mission town just outside of Hollister. Lydia was eighteen and recently married. She had married Manuel Montoya about six months before she graduated from high school. Manuel worked on a local farm for several years and was moved up to supervising the laborers.

Eva had sent Lydia a letter a few weeks before, telling her that she and the children were coming for a visit. As they drove up, Lydia came rushing out of her old mission-style house, excited to see them. They had not seen each other in almost eight years. As soon as Eva stepped out of the car, Lydia’s arms were around her sister’s neck with a tight, warm squeeze.

“
Oh, I have missed you!” Lydia said.

“
Look who I brought to see their Tía Lydia!” Eva opened the door to the back seat, and Rory and Angie climbed out of the car.

“
These must be your children! Oh, qué bonito!”

“
Yes, this is Rory and Angie.”

“
Well, I’m so glad you’re here. I got your letters, but I’m glad you’re finally here in person. Come, come, let’s go in the house.” Lydia spread her arms out and corralled them all like a mother hen gathering her chicks. They all stepped into the weathered white stucco house.

Everyone made themselves comfortable around the kitchen table. Lydia brought out some cookies and milk for the children and coffee for Eva and herself. The sisters chatted for awhile about Eva’s drive from Seaside, Lydia’s job, and what Manuel was up to.

The children quickly finished their snacks and were getting restless. Eva set their big canvas bag on the floor in the living room so they could occupy themselves with the books and small toys while she and her sister continued to talk.

“
I went to see Mama yesterday,” Eva told Lydia, as she stirred sugar into her coffee. She looked over at the children to make sure they were out of earshot. Keeping her voice low, she continued.  “Looks like nothing has changed. She had a black eye. The old man is still beating her, isn’t he?”

“
Yeah,” Lydia replied flatly, confirming what Eva already knew.

“
It tears me up inside, knowing what he’s doing to her. She looked like a scared little rabbit.”

“
I know,” Lydia agreed. “But I don’t know what we can do about it. Papa gets so angry, especially when he’s drinking. You should’ve seen him last Thanksgiving.”

“
What happened?”

“
It was terrible,” Lydia said, thinking back to that day.

“
Tell me.”

“
It was Thanksgiving Day and Mama told all of us we would be eating about three o’clock. She was cooking a big turkey. Papa told her he was going out for awhile and he’d be back for dinner.”

“
Was he?”

“
No. We were all ready to eat, but he was still gone, so we waited. Mama tried to keep the turkey and everything warm, but it was almost five o’clock and he still wasn’t back. The turkey was drying out and everyone was getting really hungry, so Mama said we should go ahead and eat.”

“
I bet the old man didn’t like that,” Eva said.

“
Oh, he was furious. He came back about seven-thirty, and of course, we already ate. He was drunk, stumbling around and shouting at Mama that we should’ve waited for him. He took what was left of the turkey and threw it out in the dirt. Then he started cursing and beating Mama. Ygnacio and Mateo tried to stop him, especially Mateo.”

“
I hate that man!” Eva said, shaking her head. The kids turned and looked at her with big eyes, wondering what was happening. “Don’t worry, kids,” she said to them in a calmer voice, “it was nothing. Go back to your toys.”

Eva realized she needed to watch the tone of her voice with the children nearby.

“
Then what happened?” she asked Lydia quietly.

“
Papa kicked Mateo out of the house, said he wasn’t going to have him getting in the middle of his business. He was only sixteen, and he had nowhere to go. So, Eduardo and Belia let him stay with them.”

“
Who’s there to protect her now?” Eva asked.

“
Nobody, really. The others are too young.”

Lydia was not the black sheep of the family, like Eva was, so she had regular contact with Mama and checked in on her as often as she could. They both lived outside of Hollister, with Tres Pinos being about fifteen miles to the east and San Juan Bautista about ten miles to the west. With her job, a husband to take care of and the twenty-five-mile distance between them, it was hard to see Sofía very often. But, she did whenever she could.