water in a stick

water in a stick
survival

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Part five - Pietro and Valencia

Valencia held her head in her hands, tears falling from her eyes.  Her Mother moved close and put her arms around her daughter.  "Don't worry, I will help you my daughter.  We will make Pietro do the right thing and we will make your Father accept Pietro."
Valencia stopped crying and looked up at her Mother, moving out of her Mother's embrace.  "No, Mother, we will not 'make' Pietro or my Father do anything.  If......if I am pregnant with Pietro's child, he will not need to be made to do the right thing.  He loves me.  And Mother?  I will speak to my Father with Pietro, if it is necessary.  I do not want you to do it.  This is my doing and I will handle it in my own way.  Promise me you will honor my wishes?"
Valencia's Mother looked deeply into her young daughters eyes.  She saw a maturity that she had not noticed before.  It tugged at her heart that her child was pulling away from her, but she knew it was right.  She nodded her head yes.  "I will do what you ask, Valencia.  I am proud of you, you have grown up to be a good woman."
"Thank you, Mother.  Who I am is who you taught me to be.  Now, I must go and try to find Pietro and tell him what 'may' be happening.  We will work it out together."  Valencia turned and left the room.  Her Mother stayed for a moment and looked around the room her daughter had lived in most of her life.  It had a few remnants of childhood, but mostly it looked like a woman's room, few frills, but very feminine.  Finally, she left the room and returned to the kitchen, her days work just beginning.
Valencia walked across the village to Pietros small rooms.  She had stayed away from them because she didn't feel it would look right, but now, that didn't seem to matter.  The closer she got the more her heart beat quickened.  Tiny beads of sweat formed between her breasts and her thighs.  The thought of being in Pietros rooms alone with him began to stir longings in her body.  Her nipples stood out against the fabric of her dress,  rubbing as she walked made them tingle.  Her belly tightened and she knew she would be wet, down below, down where her secret place was.  She laughed.  It was no longer a secret she guessed.  Pietro certainly knew about it.  These thoughts made her feel even more eager to see her lover.  She blushed knowing what would happen if Pietro was home.  A few minutes later she knocked on his door.  No one answered. She knocked again.  The excitement she had been feeling was slipping away.  Where could he be?  One last time she knocked, this time very loudly.  She heard Pietro calling, "just a minute."  She waited feeling relaxed and anxious at the same time.
Finally, Pietro opened the door.  "Valencia?"  He asked.  "Why are you here?"
Valencia pushed past him into the small room.  "I need to talk to you Pietro, it's important and you haven't been at the restaurant the last two nights.  Where were you?"
Pietro ran his hand through his wet hair, he had been in the shower.  Valencia looked beautiful.  He didn't want to talk to her, he wanted to hold her and kiss her and touch the parts of her that made her moan.  "I need to talk to you too."  He said, ignoring her question about his whereabouts.  He took Valencia's hand and led her to his bed-couch,  he sat down pulling Valencia with him.
He leaned toward her and took her chin in his hand.  He looked into her eyes and smiled.  He was filled with desire.   He took a deep breath and tried to stop his feelings, he did really need to talk to her.
Valencia looked at Pietro.  Her heart welled with love for the handsome young man.   She could smell the soapy cleanness of his freshly washed skin and hair.  All the tingling and tightness in her body begged to be answered with his touch, but Valencia was determined to talk.  At least....talk first.
"Pietro, I",  Valencia hesitated.  She knew Pietro loved her, but how would he react to her news.
"Valencia,"  Pietro began.  "I....have talked to the coyote."  There, it was out.  He waited for her reaction.
"Oh, madre dios."  She moaned.  "Why Pietro?  Why would you want to leave me?  You said you loved me, we.....we made love.  I don't understand."
"I do love you.  I love you so much that I need to go to the U.S. so I can earn enough money that your Father will have respect for me and we can get married.  Valencia, I do not want to live my life without you, I want you by my side as we grow old."  Pietro stopped talking.
"I am happy you say you love me.  Oh, Pietro, I love you so much my heart aches every minute I am without you.  But, for you to go away, no Pietro that cannot be the answer.  Besides......I.........a.....I'm late.   My.....flow has not come as it should have.  It is possible your baby is growing inside me right now.  You can't leave me.  Please tell me that you will be with me through this.  I need you."  Valencia stopped and stared into Pietro's eyes.  Her heart beat heavy in her chest, her throat dry, yet her hands felt slick with perspiration.
"Valencia, I love you.  If.....if  you are carrying our child we will handle it together.  I would never leave you to face such a thing alone, besides,  a baby, our baby............    When will you know for sure?"
Many thoughts were swirling around in Pietro's head.  What would he do now?  How could he make enough money to support Valencia AND a baby?
"Soon, Pietro.  If my flow does not come soon...... I will go to the doctor in the city, I couldn't go to the doctor here...."
Valencia leaned into Pietro's arms, he held her tightly.  She felt safe there.  She would stay in his arms forever if she could.  She put her cheek on Pietro's chest.  She could feel his heart beating.  Gently,  slowly, Pietro pulled Valencia down until they were laying on the bed.  His arms tightened and every part of her became alive with need.  His lips kissed hers, then moved to her neck.  He pushed her dress off one shoulder and kissed the soft skin.  She felt his need pressing against her.  Soon, they would join.  All thoughts of a baby were pushed from her mind, pushed by the desire, the need for more touches.
Pietro could hardly stand to wait, he wanted her so, but he held back, touching, rubbing, coaxing her body to the place where her eyes went wild and her moans grew loud.  Where she strained against him asking for more.
Later, as they held each other, their breathing calming and Valencia's eyes shutting with sleep,  Pietro thought about how their life would change if Valencia was pregnant.  He was afraid.  He would go to the church and pray for an answer,  for a sign that would tell him what he should do.  He wasn't sure he believed in the church, too many bad things had happened in his life, but he would try.  He would try anything.  A frown grew on his forehead.  He wondered if the coyote would be mad, if he would find Pietro and demand at least a partial payment.  Pietro put the thought out of his head.  He could control nothing in his life right now.  That would have to change.  Many things would have to change.  He hoped the answers would come soon.  He held Valencia tighter.  No matter what happened, his love for this beautiful girl would not change.  Maybe,  maybe, he thought, both he and Valencia should see the coyote.  Maybe both of them should head north.  Too many questions.  His eyes grew heavy and sleep captured Pietro.  At least for a little while, his problems would go away.
Click to go to part six.

Part Four-Meeting with Coyote

“Help? Si, Hombre, I can help even a dog like you, if you have the money.”

Then he corrected himself, after all this dog is a customer and with the downturn in the Norte there are fewer wetbacks to collect his fee from; he will sweet talk the stinking beaner.”

“Are you ready to go amigo?”

Pietro said quietly, “Yes, I am ready to go, it is my future.”

“And you have the money?”

“How much?” asked Pietro.

The coyote shrugged. “For these days, with the increased boarder patrol, two thousand dollars and I will get you across to the land of milk and honey and opportunity. Can you pay?”

Pietro was silent, two thousand dollars was more than he had.

“Si, Senor, I can pay you two thousand dollars. When can I go?”

The coyote’s patience went only far. He saw the hesitation in the wetback’s face, he knew the man did not have the money. He slammed his palm on the table and half rising from his chair he yelled into Pietro’s face, “Look Wetback, you bring me two thousand dollars cash and then we’ll talk about ‘when’.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds and then the sat back down.

“Never mind amigo, I can do it for you, just get your money first”. He looked at his half empty glass of cervesa and he took a deep breath.

“Look amigo, it is tough to get to the US now, but I can do it for you, just get your money, OK?”

Pietro answered, “No problemo, senior, I will come back to you soon.” This was more than his head was happy with, but he had to say it, his heart forced him…he’d find the money somehow.”

Pietro turned and strode out of the bar wondering how much his pickup was worth.

Valencia looked at the calendar on her wall with the picture of the virgin. It was marked with red for five days 25 days ago. The virgin seemed to look with disapproval. Her flow had not come.

Well, she was no virgin and that was it. Now she had to face the music.

Valencia decided she must talk to Pietro; maybe she was just late, but maybe not, maybe Pietro’s baby was inside of her. They would marry. She would explain to her father that Pietro was a good man and that he would… She stopped. Pietro would what?

Valencia had no idea what Pietro would do or say, not just if she told him she might be pregnant but what could he do to provide for them. Would he even agree to marry her?

Valencia knew that together she and Pietro could make it but she did not know if Pietro knew this. She would discuss it with him but he had not been at the bar the last two nights. She had to find Pietro; where was he?

Valencia slipped the cotton dress over her slender shoulders and she resolved to find Pietro this day.

As Valencia turned to go she came face to face with her mother. How long had she been standing there?

They stood there looking into each other’s eyes. Finally Valencia’s mother spoke.

“We must speak to the padre my daughter, and then your father.”

Valencia felt like her world was collapsing around her, she was rapidly losing control of what was happening; she sank back on the bed and put her face into her two hands and sobbed, “Mother, what can I do?”

Part five

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Pietro and Valencia Part three

     Pietro agonized all day as he practiced his music, did his few household chores, and talked quietly to a few people about contacting the coyote.  He was nervous.  He had heard the horror stories; people who paid the man to get them across the border into the U.S., but never reached their goal.  He knew of people who were found dead, he had attended funerals and seen the pain on the faces of the families left behind.
     Pietros mind was set.  If he wanted a life better than he had growing up he would have to do more than play his pan flute at the local restaurants.  He would need to go to the U.S. and make money, real money.  Only  then would he be able to go to Valencia's Father and have a chance that he would not turn Pietro away.  Yes, his mind was set, but that did not mean he wasn't scared.  Not only of the coyote, and the journey, but of what Valencia would say.  What if she would not wait for him?  She was a beautiful and very desirable girl, other men would try to woo her into their arms.  Would she be able to resist?  Peitro decided that he would see the coyote first and find out how much it would cost him to get to the U.S.  He knew if would be a lot.  He had some savings, but he would have to work very hard to get the rest of the money.  He would have find more work.  He knew it would be difficult, jobs were scarce, but Pietro had a good reputation for being a hard worker, he would find employment somewhere.  It would mean seeing much less of Valencia and he would be unable to spend his days writing songs and practicing his music.  Sacrifices he would make for a better future.
     Pietro went back to his casa.  He counted the money he had hidden away under a board in the floor.  It was a little over seven hundred dollars.  Money he had planned on using to get a better place to live once he and Valencia were husband and wife.   He realized that had been a dream.  Without money, real money, his dream of a life with Valencia was just that; a dream.
     Pietro sat on his bed thinking of Valencia.  When he shut his eyes, he could feel the softness of her skin.  The smell of her hair, and how it felt to touch the tender spot just behind her ear with his lips.  He wished she was here now.  She had never been to his casa, she said it was to dangerous, too many people could see her and tell her Father.  Besides, she said, her going to Pietros home would make her feel like one of the bad girls with the bad reputations, the ones the men smiled at then laughed at behind their backs.  No, she was a good girl.  Well, maybe not pure like her Father thought, but better than most of the girls in the village.  Besides, Pietro knew Valencia loved him.
     Pietro did not take any money with him to the meeting with the coyote.  He tried hard to bolster his courage to face the man who could change his future.  He did not want the man to see his fear, it would make him seem weak and the coyote might try to take advantage of Pietro's fear and his youth.  Once again, Pietro shut his eyes.  This time he did not think of Valencia, he pictured himself as a strong young man, confident and sure of his actions.  He breathed deeply until he felt a calmness come over him.  Now he felt ready for the meeting.  He entered the small cafe where he had been told that he could find the coyote.  The cafe was small and dark.  Pietro had to wait to let his eyes adjust to the lack of light.  When they did, Pietro saw the man sitting at a table.  The man looked at Pietro like he was a piece of meat.  Pietro guessed that was probably close to the truth.  Pietro took another deep breath and sat down at the table across from the man.  He wished that he knew the man, knew whether he could really do what he promised; to get people safely into the U.S.. Pietro could only have faith.  "My name is Pietro."  He said.  "I want to go to the United States and find work.  I need to earn a lot of money.  I have heard you can help me."

Click to go to part four.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Pietro and Valencia Part two.

Pietro wakes up early; he is still thinking about Valenica; about the smell of her hair, her softness, and her eagerness. He also thinks about how a life with her would be, about how it should be but cannot be. He heats yesterday’s coffee in the tin pot and pours a cup. It is too hot to drink. He goes outside with the cup. With one hand he shakes a cigarette out of the pack and places it to his lips. He reaches in his pocket for his father’s Zippo. He looks at the USMC emblem on the old lighter.

The Zippo clinks open and Pietro lights the cigarette. He thinks of his father Noe, whom he knew briefly and misses terribly, and his mother, Maria, whom he never knew, and he is sad about the tragedy of their lives. It is too easy to imagine that this type of life could happen to himself and Valencia if they joined. He does not want this life. He does not want Valencia to have that life.

Pietro takes the cup and cigarette and walks along the quiet lane on which he lives. He can hear dishes clattering in Josephine’s house across from his casa. A dog is scratching fleas in the packed dirt lane. He thinks of his own family, such as it was.

Pietro’s mother died giving birth to him and this left only a stricken 20 year old Noe and the newborn Pietro. Noe fled with his grief and left the newborn Pietro with a sister. In a week he came back and began to raise Pietro with the help of the sister but the tiny boy’s eyes always reminded him of Maria. Noe blamed Pietro for Maria’s death but in reality it was their poverty that caused the young woman to die. Money for a clinic might have saved her but Noe had no money.

When Pietro was four Noe could face the child with Maria’s eyes no longer. He fled again, this time for good, to El Norte it turned out. Later money came, and once a photograph: a man in a green soldier’s uniform who looked somewhat like Noe, but to Pietro it was a stranger and he had to force himself to think of this man in the green uniform as his father. But Pietro loved his father and wanted him to come back and even if he didn’t exactly recognize the man in the picture he looked at it often and waited.

Pietro was raised with his seven cousins and the money from his father helped the family but one day the thin envelopes with only a check and a slip of paper with maybe a word or two no longer came. After five years they heard no more from Noe.

When Pietro was 12 a gringo came to his village and the padre brought him to see Pietro. The gringo’s said his name was Gary and he was Noe’s friend. He told of Noe’s bravery fighting for an adopted country and how he died by a bullet meant for the Lieutenant, fired by another soldier; a bad soldier. Noe was a hero but the circumstances of his death were never acknowledged. Gary gave Pietro the Zippo and at 12 Pietro was alone. He no longer waited for his father to return.

Pietro’s thoughts turn to Valencia and he knows what he must do. He turns and walks back to his casa; today he will see the coyote.

Go to Part Three