Knitting the Fog by Claudia D. Hernández

Author:Claudia D. Hernández
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY
Published: 2019-08-01T16:00:00+00:00

Getting to Know Javi

The next day, early in the morning, our group gathered in front of the flophouse. Javi brought everyone scrambled eggs and tortillas. He called them burritos. I immediately pictured eating a donkey wrapped in a tortilla. While we devoured our burritos, Javi gave the adults instructions on what to do next. I stayed behind with the girls, trying to eat their leftovers.

“He’s kind of cute, isn’t he?” said Sindy.

“Not really.” Consuelo giggled.

“Who?” I asked.

Both ignored me, making it seem as if I was too young to understand their girly conversation about boys.

Then Mamá came up to us and said, “We’re going—get your stuff.”

“Where are we going now?” I wanted to know.

Again, they ignored me. Javi was walking behind us and overheard.

“We’re going back to the bus station where we plan to board another bus that will take us to Oaxaca,” he said, winking at me this time.

Mamá didn’t notice. I looked back and smiled at him. Mamá noticed that and squeezed my hand. I was beginning to like Javi. He wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

When we got on the bus, there were no more seats available. Javi stood up and offered his seat to Mamá.

“Sindy, sit here and let Claudia sit on your lap,” said Mamá.

Sindy’s face turned all sorts of colors. It went from pink to red to purple. No matter what color her face turned, she did not look in Javi’s direction—at least not in front of Mamá.

Sindy took a seat and I sat on her lap. Mamá stood in the aisle, holding Consuelo’s hand, keeping Javi away from Sindy and me.

Sindy hugged me and buried her face in the back of my neck. I could sense her giggling and feeling important. Sindy had a crush on Javi. She didn’t mind that my hair was sticky and smelly; I hadn’t showered in two days.

“I love you, abispita,” she whispered through my short, tangled hair. I’d never felt so special.

When a few people got off the bus, Mamá and Consuelo found a seat in the back. A few minutes later, the lady sitting next to us across the aisle got off. Javi didn’t waste any time. He immediately snatched her seat. He didn’t care that the pretty Salvadoran girl was still standing in the back of the bus aisle, holding on to the luggage rails.

I was starting to feel sleepy, but I didn’t want to miss this for anything in the world. Sindy’s hands got clammy and began to tremble. She could sense Mamá glaring at them. But there was nothing Mamá could do from back there.

Javi was desperate to talk to Sindy, but Sindy wouldn’t look at him. I kept smiling and winking at him, playfully. He smiled back at me and said, “Why do Guatemalans laugh three times when they hear a joke?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. Sindy kept quietly looking out the window. She pretended to be distracted by the sky and its clouds.

Javi continued with his joke, “Once when it’s told, once when it’s explained to them, and once when they understand it.

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