Sisterchicks in Sombreros by Robin Jones Gunn

Author:Robin Jones Gunn [Gunn, Robin Jones]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-56376-7
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 2011-08-17T04:00:00+00:00

Morning came as luminous as a searchlight, wearing unveiled sunlight and slipping in through a large crevice in the adobe wall. I watched the brightness of the new day reveal the startling surroundings without making any apologies. The beauty was in the light. Simple splendor rode on those sunbeams.

I was surprised to find that I was the only one in the bed. Joanne’s soft voice floated from the other room. I could smell the wood burning in the stove. A moment later I heard the sizzle of the melting lard followed by the rhythmic pat-pat of Rosa Lupe’s skilled hands shaping the morning tortillas.

At home I’m always the first one up. I make the day come. I am the rooster, awakening everyone else. Ethan says I’m a regular “Miss Merry Sunshine.” He’s sarcastic, of course, because usually there’s nothing “merry” or “sunshiny” about me in the morning. I’m all business. The list of daily tasks always is long, and daylight always is short.

Here, on the flipside of the great western hemisphere, I woke with a stiff neck, a flattened arm, a cramp in my calf, and a smile in the sunlight. The contentment made no sense. I should have lain awake all night fretting that if I fell asleep and opened my mouth, a cockroach the size of a baby dill pickle would fall in, and I’d choke to death.

Instead of moaning and dreading the untold adventures that awaited us in the new day, I lay quietly in the solitude of that uneven bed. I thought about Joanne, my only sister. I thought about her sterling heart, a heart that had through the night beat right beside me for the first time in many years. I knew that it had been in the rapturous celebration of sisterhood and the gracious hospitality of these humble people that I had slept well.

“Good morning.” I stepped into the other room and smiled at Joanne and Rosa Lupe.

“Buenas dias,” Rosa Lupe greeted me. “¿Tienes hambre?”

“That means, hungry, right? Yes, I would love one of your fabulous tortillas.”

“Did you see how fast she makes these?” Joanne asked.

“I know. She’s amazing.”

“How are you doing?” Joanne asked.

“Good, actually.”

“Did you get any sleep?”

“Yes, I did. How about you?”

“Off and on.”

“You had a nightmare. Do you remember that?”

Joanne nodded with her lips solemnly pressed together. She lowered her eyes to the journal in front of her, and I told myself this was a topic I definitely should bring up later.

“I was just reading the señora some verses I copied several months ago. After we saw the stars last night, I was trying to remember where I’d read about God’s making the stars, and here it is in my journal.”

“Does Rosa Lupe even understand what you’re reading?”

“I told her it was from the Bible.”

“La Biblia, sí.” Rosa Lupe nodded and indicated that Joanne should keep reading as Rosa Lupe flap-flapped her hands, creating an abundance of tortillas.

“Here it is,” Joanne said.

“The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created.

He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.

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