Love, Amalia by Alma Flor Ada

Author:Alma Flor Ada
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

10. Abuelita’s Kitchen

Whenever Amalia was alone, thoughts of Abuelita filled her mind.

She would find herself wishing she could ask her grandmother, What will we bake today? Or, Did you get any new letters from Mexico?

She could almost hear her abuelita’s reply: Let’s see, what would you like to bake? Or, Shall I tell you what your tía Amalia just wrote? Remembering her distinct voice so clearly lifted her spirits for a moment. But then she would realize her grandmother was gone, and she would feel her heart sink.

During the day, she would keep busy, and her parents continued to be very supportive.

“Are you okay?” her mother asked.

“Yes, Mom, I’m okay,” was always her reply.

“Do you need anything? Shall I drive you someplace?” her father offered.

“I’m good, thanks,” she’d say.

But she knew she did not feel okay. The problem was that there was no way to tell anyone what she needed, because what she needed was her grandmother, and no one could give her that.

Every night her parents tucked her in and lingered in her room until she fell asleep, exhausted. In the mornings she would wake up very early and would stay in bed pretending to be asleep, with the memories of her grandmother swirling in her head, like scenes from a movie. Playing those moments over and over in her mind was the only thing she truly wanted to do.

The more she replayed those scenes in her head, the more Amalia realized that time shared with her abuelita was more than a nice time creating wonderful treats or sharing family stories; Abuelita had provided her with a sense of belonging. There was a time in particular that Amalia remembered now, a time when she had been very troubled and felt trapped in a problem. She had thought and thought about how to undo something she had done and had finally decided to talk to her grandmother about it.

Two years ago, before Martha began accompanying her to her abuelita’s home, Amalia arrived one Friday feeling very confused and did not know how to approach her grandmother. She spent longer than usual working on her homework, but finally she gathered enough courage and said, “Abuelita, I want to talk to you about something.”

Without making any comments, Abuelita disregarded the ingredients she had been setting out in the kitchen to make chocolate cake and instead filled one of her cut-crystal glasses with mango juice. Amalia was surprised, because her abuelita used those glasses only on special occasions. Then Abuelita placed the glass along with a cup of coffee and some cookies on a serving tray lined with one of her embroidered napkins, and in a very adult tone invited Amalia to go sit with her on the sofa.

After placing the juice on the coffee table in front of Amalia, her abuelita said softly, “Would you like to tell me what is bothering you so much?”

At first Amalia could not find her voice. She felt both ashamed and unhappy about what she was holding inside.

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