Delia’s Crossing (30 page)

“I want the truth,” he said. “
La verdad.
”

F
or a moment, I simply stood there looking at him. What truth did he want?

“Sophia is my sister, and when it comes down to it, I will love her as I should love a sister, but I know she has never been the one to accept blame for anything she does. Do you understand what I’m saying, Delia? Sophia always lies and lies until it’s no longer possible, until she is forced to tell the truth, and even then, you have to check and be sure.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about, Delia. You know enough English to understand what I want,” he added, and waited.

I was still unsure about what I should and shouldn’t say. I could see that my continual silence was annoying him. He stepped toward me.

“My mother told me what Sophia told her about this entire incident. She said you admitted to stirring up the trouble, and she’s busy trying to protect you. You know what that means, stirring up the trouble?” he asked, gesturing to imitate someone stirring a soup or a stew.

Why had she told him that? Why must everyone lie to everyone in this house?

“I did not do this,” I said. “This stirring.”

He nodded. “Okay. I’m listening. Tell me what you did do, then. How did this all happen?”

“I went to the birthday fiesta with Ignacio, his sister’s birthday.”

“I know that. I know that,” he said, impatient. “What happened, damn it? Talk!”

His anger frightened me. I stumbled for the words. “Sophia…her friends came
luego
…later.”

“And they riled up the Mexican boys, didn’t they? Sophia’s friends are just like her. Well?”

“
Sí.
Sophia told Ignacio what Bradley did.”

“And she told him where Bradley was, right? She would be the only one who would know where he was at that moment. Well? Did she tell him?”

“Yes, Edward.”

“I thought so. She hasn’t been innocent since the moment she was born, and even that is questionable,” he said.

“I don’t understand.”

“Forget it. I just wanted to know what really happened.”

“
Sí,
this happened, but
su madre,
your mother, does not want this to be said this way. She told the lawyer different, and I must do and say as she says.”

He nodded and felt his way to a chair, lowering himself carefully.

“Tell me what really happened after that, Delia.
Qué sucedió
? After the Mexican boys left the fiesta?”

“Sophia and her friends wanted to…how do you say, follow, go behind Ignacio and his friends.”

“And she told my mother you lost them because they were going so fast. My mother should have known that was a lie. Since Sophia knew where Bradley was, it wouldn’t matter if they had gone so fast ahead of them, right? Which means you were all there when they attacked Bradley? You saw what happened to him, didn’t you?”

“
No adentro…no en la casa.
”

“You didn’t go inside the house, but you saw what happened to Bradley?”

“
Sí,
yes. The window…he came out. Fell…”

“And then what?”

“Sophia’s friend drove away quickly. I didn’t know…
no sabía
…”

“You didn’t know how badly Bradley was hurt?”

“Sí.”

“Why did you go with them?” he asked angrily, and then shook his head. “That’s a stupid question. What else could you do?”

He put his elbows on his knees and lowered his head to his hands.

“I don’t know what to believe about anyone anymore,” he said. He raised his head slowly. “Why did you come to my room nearly naked?” He pointed his finger in my direction. “You are not as innocent as you pretend to be, right? Well?” he demanded. “
La verdad.
You’ve been with other boys in Mexico, right? You knew what you were doing when you came into my room. You weren’t so innocent in my room. Does that mean you weren’t so innocent with Bradley? Well?”

I was shaking my head, but he couldn’t see, of course.

“I did not want to be in your room. I…”

“Then why did you do it?
Por qué
? Huh? Why? I liked you, Delia. I thought very highly of you, and I felt sorry for you when Mr. Baker took you away and treated you that way. Why would you come into my room and do something like that? Is that how you got boys to like you back in Mexico? Is it?” he practically shouted. He looked as if the effort gave him pain.

“No.”

“You grew up fast, huh? You might as well tell me the truth. It doesn’t matter now. C’mon,” he said, taunting me. “Tell me some of your Mexican stories about you and your boyfriends. Go on, tell me.”

“No, Edward. There are no such stories.”

“Right. You just decided to come into my room and offer yourself to me.”

“No, I did not want to do this.”

“So, how did you come to do it?”

“
Su madre,
” I began.

“My mother?” He stopped smiling. “What about my mother?”

My lips fell shut, but I realized I had already opened the door. The truth was like a balloon I was trying to flatten; it just kept popping up here and there. His face seemed to brighten as he thought.

“Are you saying my mother sent you into my room like that?” He grimaced. “But why would she do that?”

“
Para ver
…to see.”

“To see? You’re saying she was there at the time?
Mi madre estaba
…in the room? Tell me!” he nearly shouted, now standing again.

He was angrier than before. I thought I would burst into sobs and not be able to speak. My throat was tight, but I said, “
Sí.
”

He was quiet. He nodded softly. “
Por qué,
Delia? Tell me why she was there.”

“To see if you would like…”

“Like what? What?” he demanded, stepping toward me.

“
Chicas,
” I said.

“
Chicas
…girls?”

“
Sí,
girls.”

He paused. And then he did something I did not expect. He smiled.

“What? She watched to see if I liked girls? She was testing me with you? Is that what she said? Is that what you’re telling me? She sent you into my room like that as a kind of test…like an exam?”

“
Sí,
” I said, nodding, even though he couldn’t see me nodding. “A test, yes.”

He was silent. Then he shook his head.

“That doesn’t make sense. Why would my mother…she’s always known who I am,” he muttered, thinking aloud. Once again, he thought I was lying. I had gone too far to stop now.

“With Jesse, she worries,” I said, trying to explain more. “She told me this. She asked me to help her.”

“Help her? How?”

“To tell her what I see, what I hear.”

“To spy on me? No,” he said, shaking his head. “My mother and I have had that conversation. We talked about it. Nothing should have surprised her. My mother did not need to watch a test.”

I started to cry. “I do not lie, Edward.”

He was silent, thinking again. “Maybe not,” he said, and smiled as another thought came to him. “Yes, maybe not. I believe she would do that, send you into my room almost naked. But not to run a test.”

“I do not understand, Edward. I’m sorry.”

“It’s simple,” he said. “My mother and my sister are the same…you know, same, similar? What’s a good Spanish word for sneaky, deceitful, sly like foxes…what?
Cómo se dice
sly
en español
?”

“
Furtivo,
” I said. But I was still very confused. “But
por qué
?”

“
Furtivo,
” he said, nodding. “My mother did not want me to trust you, Delia. My mother did not want me to be your…to be
su primo
or
su amigo.
I took your side too strongly against Mr. Baker and her, matter of fact. I was the one who insisted she let you stay in this room, be a member of the family, stop being a servant. I told her I would tell what happened if she didn’t do what I said. She did it, but she doesn’t like being told what to do.”

He paused to think again.

“However, she’s never been this ruthless,” he said. “There’s something else, something I don’t know, some reason she feels the way she does about you and wants me to feel the same way. Neither Sophia nor I know much, if anything, about our family. You know that. I didn’t even know about you.

“What is it? What happened years ago in Mexico? Do you know why my mother does not want to remember her family, why she does not like her own family?
Por qué mi madre no le gusta su familia
?
Sabe
?”

“
Sí,
” I said.

“Why?”

“
Mi abuelo,
my grandfather, was angry when she married
su padre.
He said she was
muerta
…dead to him.”

“Yeah, I kinda knew about that, but there must be more. Why wasn’t she closer to your mother, to her own sister, after their father died?”

“She wanted
mi padre
to be her
marido.
”

“Huh?
Marido
?”

“Her husband.”

“Oh.” He smiled. “I see. He fell in love with her sister instead, and she blames your mother?”

“Sí.”

“So she hated her sister and, by proxy, you.”

“I do not understand this word
proxy.
”

“She couldn’t take revenge on your mother. Your mother was already dead. She’s taking her revenge on you. That’s good old Mom. Now this makes sense to me.”

He laughed. His laugh actually frightened me.

“Why do you laugh?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he continued, now moving toward the door. “I’ll take care of it.”

He paused at the door, fumbling for the knob. I started toward him to help him, but he found it and turned back to me. He reached out.

“Delia.”

“
Sí,
” I said, and I took his hand. He held it firmly and smiled.

“I am happy I did not make a mistake fighting for you, Delia. Thank you for having the courage to tell me the truth.”

He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it, and then he opened the door and left me standing there, not sure if I should be happy or even more terrified. It would not be much longer before I would learn which one I should be.

In the morning, Sophia went off eagerly to school. Before she left, she caught me in the hallway and told me how exciting it was going to be for her. I thought I was making a mistake with the English.

“Exciting?” I shook my head.

“Yes,
stupido
. Everyone is going to want to know what happened. All of a sudden, everyone is going to want to be my best friend. Alisha and I have already discussed how we are going to behave and what we will say and won’t say. Too bad you don’t go to my school. You’d be
número uno.
”

I didn’t know what to say. Why would I be
número uno
? I just looked at her in confusion, and she laughed and went sauntering off. A little while later, I saw Tía Isabela taking Edward to see the doctor and have his bandages removed. She didn’t look angry, and she didn’t speak to me at all. I went about my work. I could see Señora Rosario and Inez were still upset about me. They were not as friendly and kept their distance all morning. When the mail was brought into the house, I hurried to see if I had received another letter from Abuela Anabela, but there was none. I had hoped for one. Even a short note in her handwriting would have brought me some comfort.

Later in the afternoon, Edward and Tía Isabela returned. I was dusting in the library. Señora Rosario told me to take out every single book, to dust it and dust around it. There were so many books I would be there for hours, I thought, but I did not complain. I heard Señora Rosario greet Tía Isabela and Edward at the front door. They spoke too softly for me to hear any words. My heart was pounding because I was worrying about Edward’s eyes. What if they were both too damaged? No matter how much he believed in me or cared about me, he wouldn’t be able to help hating me. If I hadn’t come…

The sound of Tía Isabela’s footsteps on the travertine tile stopped my thoughts and brought a trembling to my fingers. I dropped the book I was dusting. When I looked up, she was standing there looking in on me. She turned and closed the library doors. For a moment, she just stood there gazing at me with the oddest smile on her face. It was not one of her cold, sharp smiles that sent shivers down my spine. She looked as if I had done something that pleased her. It reminded me of the rare smile Señora Cuevas would flash on me or any other student who had done something that delighted her. I waited, my own smile of confusion rising into my face.