Mission Libertad (6 page)

The first was a bathroom, then a laundry room with two big machines and several brooms and mops. Then he saw Tommy on the other side of the hallway.

“
Oye
, I thought you would never wake up!” Tommy said.

“Am I late for breakfast?” Luisito said.

“Breakfast! It's lunchtime,” Tommy said, smiling. “Come on, my mom is grilling hamburgers outside.”

Luisito followed Tommy out to the patio. The grownups were sitting on the patio furniture and Sonia was now turning the hamburgers on the grill. Tommy had told Luisito that she was seventeen years old. She was wearing a t-shirt that didn't quite reach her waist, jogging pants, and flip-flops. Luisito remembered that in Cuba, many girls had flip-flops because they couldn't buy shoes and their t-shirts were too small. If they only knew that in the United States it was fashion.

“
¡Oye, dormilón!
” Miguel called to his son.

“Sleepyhead! That's what my dad calls me, too,” said Tommy.

“How does it feel to wake up in America?” José said, smiling.

“Great!” Luisito beamed.

“Before you know it he is going to be speaking English fluently and he will be a little
Americanito
,” Rosie joked.

Sonia handed Luisito a glass of milk and a hamburger, and he watched as his cousins poured some tomato sauce called
ketchup
all over their hamburgers. Luisito copied them. It occurred to Luisito that if he had to ask for food in this country he wouldn't even know what to call it. In Cuba, he had mostly eaten rice, beans, and eggs.

“We are going to take you today to visit the Baltimore waterfront,” Rosie said. “Would you like that?”

“I don't really want to see any more water,” Luisito said.

“I understand,” Rosie smiled. “How about if you go to the movies with Sonia and Tommy while I take your mom to the store to buy some clothes for you all?”

“You can sit close to me and I will translate,” Sonia said. “We can go see an action movie—that way I don't have to translate too much!”

They all laughed. Luisito didn't really care what movie they went to see because everything was a new adventure. He took another bite of his hamburger and realized that he wasn't too fond of this ketchup invention. He leaned back on his chair underneath the blue-and-white patio umbrella. For the second time in his life, his stomach was full and he was content.

“Eat, Elenita,” Rosie said gesturing toward the hamburgers. “You hardly ate.”

“I can't eat,” Elena said.

“We were just talking about that last night,” Miguel explained. “It is hard to eat so much knowing Abuela and our friends in Cuba have so little.”

“I understand,” José said.

“Well, let's talk about Luisito's new school,” Rosie said, changing the subject. “I took a week off so I can help you get the paperwork for working permits and get Luisito settled in school. We could combine the things we need to do with some sightseeing. There are many historical places here we could show you.”

“Let's take him to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington!” Tommy said.

“We'll think about it,” Rosie said, smiling. “Now, off to the movies with you! Oh, and Sonia, stop at the grocery
store on your way, please. We've run out of shredded coconut for our famous flan.”

Sonia was all smiles as the three drove off in her small candy red car. She spoke Spanish with a heavy American accent and used many hand gestures to explain things to Luisito.

When they arrived at the supermarket, Luisito was stunned. It was like a fairy tale! As by magic, the door opened by itself! He walked into a large warehouse full of food—more than he had ever seen—and people were taking loads of it in little carts to their cars.

Were they looting? Were they allowed to take all this food home? There were no lines outside the store, and inside there were aisles and aisles of all sorts of foods to buy. He picked up a banana and was about to peel it when Sonia warned him.

“Oh, no, we must pay first,” she explained.

“Oh,” Luisito said feeling a little embarrassed as he carried the banana with him to the register. Bananas and oranges were the only fruits he recognized from the piles of many-colored fruits displayed in the produce section.

Sonia picked a large can of shredded coconut. Luisito could not believe anyone could just pick one item from this huge supermarket. He would spend hours buying all sorts of things here.

He only wished he had more time to look at all the items in the store, especially all the candy by the register, but the line moved so quickly he didn't have a chance. He was so happy he couldn't stop smiling. He noticed no one else seemed to smile as they waited in line. He would
ask his relatives to bring him back to this grocery some other day.

While they waited in line, Sonia picked up a chocolate candy bar and a glossy magazine. Luisito flipped through the pages filled with pictures of boys and some pretty girls who were all unknown to him. Sonia smiled and said something to the boy who was putting the items in the bag. Then she waved back at him with her free hand. He had his hair parted in the middle and layered to the side. Luisito looked at the magazine and back at the boy at the cash register. He looked just like some of the guys in the magazine! As Sonia walked out, the boy at the register glanced at her shoes and made some comment. She laughed and moved her shoe back and forth so he could see them better. The bottoms of her shoes were
see-through
plastic. The boy flashed a peace sign with two fingers in a V, and she did the same back to him. What a strange greeting, Luisito thought.

Sonia took the candy bar she had just purchased from the grocery bag and handed it to Luisito.

“You don't need to show the booklet?” Luisito asked Sonia. He was referring to the ration booklet all Cubans have to show back on the island. The booklet gives families permission to buy certain items monthly or yearly.

“What booklet?” laughed Sonia.

“Nothing,” he said, smiling.

Luisito wished he could call Abuela right now and tell her what he had seen and how right she had been. What seemed to be fairy tales were now becoming believable to Luisito. He had a feeling he was going to like this country very much!

When Sonia, Tommy, and Luisito arrived at the movie theater, Sonia groaned.

“What's wrong?” Luisito said.

“Look at the line!” she said.

Luisito saw a few people in line to buy tickets, and he could not understand what the fuss was all about. In Cuba, the lines to get bread went down the block.

“Oh, come on, that is nothing,” Luisito laughed. “Let's get in line.
Perro
que
no
anda
no
encuentra
hueso.
”

“A dog that does not go out does not find the bone. What in the world does that mean?” Tommy asked.

“It means you can't succeed if you don't try,” Luisito said, laughing. “I am going to have to write these down for you.”

“You bet,” Tommy teased. “I am going to have to carry them in my pocket like a tourist with a dictionary.”

As his cousins bought tickets, Luisito looked at the marquee and the upcoming movie posters.
How
could
anyone
choose?
he thought.

“Nothing really good,” Sonia said, as she eyed the signs. Luisito laughed.

“What?” Sonia said, grinning.

They bought popcorn, chocolate candy, and some water. They walked into a cool, dark movie theater and sat eating until the movie began.

There was not much need for translating. The hero in the movie didn't talk very much. He did a lot of shooting and rescued some prisoners at the end, which caused the audience to cheer.

As they walked out Luisito kept inhaling the wonderful popcorn smell.

“Popcorn actually smells better than it tastes,” Luisito declared with a deep breath.

“I've never thought about it,” Tommy said, taking a long sniff. “But I think you're right.”

“Come on, you two,” Sonia said. “People are watching. They are going to think you are
locos
en
la
cabeza
.”

They laughed as they looked for the car in the vast parking lot.

“Let's go back home and team up with Mom,” Sonia said. “Maybe they already returned from their shopping and are planning something else.”

Early the next morning, Rosie had planned another outing. Luisito helped José pack the car with some coolers.

“Are we going to a grocery store today?” Luisito asked eagerly.

“Nooo . . . ,” Tommy said, glancing at his father and rolling his eyes. “What is it with you and grocery stores?”

“We are taking you to Emmitsburg to the shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,” José said.

“Since the first time I visited Emmitsburg, I prayed constantly to this saint so that you could safely get out of Cuba some day,” Rosie said, smiling as she sat in the car. “She is the first American-born saint.”

“Really? Well, let's go!” Luisito said, thinking that visiting a church would remind him of his dear Abuela.

When they arrived an hour and a half later, Rosie pulled a cooler out of the trunk. She passed out drinks and
pan
con
timba.

“Oh, my!” Elena said, putting her hands over her mouth. “I haven't had
pan
con
timba
since I was a little girl!”

“What is it?” Luisito wanted to know.

“It's a sandwich of Cuban bread with sweet guava and cream cheese,” said Miguel, taking a bite from his sandwich and closing his eyes while enjoying the taste.

“This bread is delicious!” Luisito said as he tried it. “Remember back home how hard our bread was? Is this Cuban bread?”

“I couldn't find Cuban bread here in Maryland, but I improvised with this other bread,” Rosie said.

“Look, up in the air!” Sonia pointed.

“It's beautiful,” Luisito said. In the midst of the perfect blue sky, in between the Catoctin Mountains, appeared a gold statue of the Blessed Mother as the Immaculate Conception.

“There's a seminary there and the loveliest replica of the grotto of Lourdes in France,” José said.

“What gardens they have!” said Rosie. “We will show you on another visit.”

“Oh, my . . .” Elena said. “My mother was so fond of the Blessed Mother, especially
la
Caridad
del
Cobre
.”

If there is anything about religion that Luisito knew, it was
la
Virgen
de
la
Caridad
del
Cobre
, Our Lady of Charity. In 1612, three young men were caught in a storm in the Bay of Nipe in Cuba. They turned to prayer, and they felt
their prayers answered when they saw a beautiful doll-like statue appear floating in the water. The image appeared on a wooden tablet that read,
“Yo Soy La Virgen de la Caridad,”
meaning: “I am the Virgin of Charity.” The farmers were amazed that the image was not wet or spoiled by the rough seas. They brought the statue to shore and built a beautiful shrine for Mary in the city of El Cobre in the province of Oriente, Cuba. In 1916, Pope Benedict XV declared her the patroness of Cuba. The original image remains at the shrine of El Cobre.

Anyone and everyone knew
La
Virgencita
, another of the many names for the Blessed Mother. She was a cultural icon on the island. Even those who didn't know much about being Catholic knew exactly who she was and how she had appeared in Cuban waters. She was an important part of the mission Abuela had entrusted to Luisito.

Luisito wanted to ask more questions, but everyone had finished eating and seemed eager to visit the Basilica of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.

When Luisito entered the museum, he was mesmerized to see the belongings of an actual saint in glass-covered exhibits just like the museums of patriots in Cuba. He looked at the saint's wedding ring displayed along with her father's medicine bag. It looked as old as his father's medicine bag back on the island.

“Look, Papi, like your bag,” Luisito said, pointing at the glass case.

He asked Sonia and Tommy to translate many of the explanations under the glass coverings.

“She had five kids before she was widowed,” Rosie said.

“She definitely was a saint!” Elena said, laughing.

The family had fun reading about and seeing the things that had belonged to Saint Elizabeth. Luisito's attention was drawn to a large framed picture of Jesus crucified that had hung in Mother Seton's bedroom. It was her favorite picture. Luisito remembered something Abuela had said years ago. She had pointed to a crucifix and said that the Lord had been crucified for teaching things which had angered some of the leaders of his time. Since then the picture of Jesus reminded him of Cubans. It reminded him of people like his grandfather, beaten and tortured to death without ever committing a crime.

Then they walked toward the basilica. Luisito saw a man take his picture. He looked around and saw another man walking behind him; he must have been the one the man was photographing. The men walked away quickly, which Luisito found strange. He had to remind himself he was not in Cuba and he had no reason to feel frightened.

Saint Elizabeth's remains were buried under a side marble altar in a large, impressive church. The church reminded Luisito of the times he had accompanied Abuela to Mass. He couldn't remember the actual Mass, but he remembered the beautiful statues, the smell of the smoldering candles, and the music. His grandmother went to Mass every Sunday regardless of the possible consequences.

Luisito had accompanied her until he was about six years old. Then one Monday morning in school his teacher asked the class how many of them had attended Mass. Luisito and two other girls raised their hands. The teacher made them stand in front of the class.