Afterlife - Julia Alvarez Page 0,27
day that she predicted, a burglar in wait for her to come home, and Sam not alive for her to tell him I told you so. But more likely it’s an animal, a raccoon or maybe a skunk, that got in somehow and couldn’t get out. Antonia turns cautiously to gaze into the dark corner, the garage door already having descended behind her. A human shape emerges from a nest made of patio-furniture cushions stacked on the floor, a big birdseed bag for a pillow. A girl or maybe a woman, hard to tell. The eyes are luminous pockets in her brown face, the black hair with strands escaping from the long braid. She seems to have been napping, and Antonia’s unexpected arrival has startled her awake.
Not a threatening burglar but a frightened girl, the smell of her now apparent, a body that hasn’t bathed in days. She stands up ready to bolt, and that’s when Antonia notices the large belly, so very pregnant that she might have come into the garage the way a wild animal seeks out a lair to give birth to its young.
?Qué te pasa? Antonia asks, some trigger in her brain telling her to speak in Spanish. The girl has to be Estela. And that’s right. Antonia counts back. Roger gave her a week’s reprieve, so this must mean her welcome next door ran out. And that belly couldn’t have made things any easier with Roger. Sly young fox, Mario, not to mention his girlfriend was pregnant.
?Estela? she queries the frightened girl.
When the girl doesn’t answer, Antonia tries again in a softer voice she might use on a frightened child. The girl hides her face in her hands, a silent weeping, not the dramatic wails of Tilly and Mona. ?Eres Estela?
The girl offers the slightest nod, her voice muffled, so it’s difficult to make out what she is saying. Something about having no one, no place to go. Es que estoy sola.
How can she be all alone in the world, when the boyfriend just moved heaven and earth to bring her all the way from Colorado to Vermont?
Tienes a Mario, Antonia reminds her. But the mention of her boyfriend brings on a new round of weeping, this time louder.
Antonia approaches slowly, concerned that the frightened girl might bolt. Nothing to be afraid of. It’s not a crime to be lonely. Ya, ya, she soothes, reaching out her hand.
five
Dar a luz
Once indoors, Antonia can see that Estela is still a girl on the cusp of womanhood. In fact, if hers had been a family of means back home, she’d probably be having her quincea?era, instead of getting herself in trouble with a boyfriend headed out of the country. Her face has a sweet, girlish roundness; her eyes, an astonishment that gives a child’s tug to the heart. She’s actually quite pretty, her brown skin so smooth and unblemished it looks polished. Antonia catches herself doing one of those Third-to-First-World makeovers she deplores in others: put on a little makeup, give her a nice haircut, dress her up in some trendy clothes, and Estela could be a model in one of those diversity-touting brands—the only problem again being the deplorable condition of her teeth, a few missing, one incisor that looks eaten away by what appears to be decay.
?Quieres algo de comer? Antonia offers. Not that there’s much in the house, as she had emptied the fridge and pantry of perishables when she left. Salsa and parmesan on crackers, for the main course; for dessert, the same crackers with Nutella—which she used to stock up on, as it was a favorite of Sam’s, all but the opened jar having gone to the local food pantry.
Just water, Estela says, downing a first glass, then a refill. After the desert crossing, she probably can’t get enough of it.
Antonia is aching to know what happened next door. Did Roger throw the girl off the farm when her week of grace was up? If so, what are Mario’s plans? But an ingrained sense of courtesy kicks in. When she taught The Odyssey, Antonia would point out to her students how being a host involved certain protocols: before all else, there was the greeting, the foot washing, the feeding. Only after the guest had been properly attended to came the payback: tell me your story.
One urgent question she does allow herself to ask Estela now. ?Cuándo vas a dar a luz?
The girl looks at her blankly. Dar a luz, Antonia repeats. Do