Authors: Debra Burroughs
“
You’re disgraceful, Sheriff.” Nurse Walker blushed with embarrassment by his obvious prejudice.
“
Eva, come out here with me,” she said as she led Eva out into the hallway, closing the door after them.
“
I’m going to give you my telephone number. You call me next time you have a problem at home. Maybe I can come up with something.” She took a piece of paper out of her purse, wrote her number on it and handed it to Eva. Miss Walker didn’t know how she could help, but she couldn’t walk away from this girl without giving her some kind of hope.
Rather than being defeated by the sheriff and his unwillingness to help, just knowing Nurse Walker was on her side made Eva all the more resolved to find a way out. What she didn’t know was how soon she would need to take Miss Walker up on her offer.
Late in December, just a few days before Christmas, when she was still seventeen, something happened that Eva would never forget. It was a moment that altered the course of her life.
Because of the family’s bleak financial situation, none of the children expected anything in the way of gifts. But they did hope they could at least get a Christmas tree they could decorate with some homemade ornaments and strings of popcorn. Last Christmas, Carlos took them up into the hills to chop one down and hauled it home, strapped to the top of his truck. That way they could have a tree for free.
This December, Carlos had gone with a few other men to do some work in southern California. Since there was no harvesting in the winter, Carlos’s cousin had asked him to come down and help him on a commercial construction site as a laborer for a few weeks. There was plenty of work, he said, and told him to bring some of the other farm workers if they wanted work, too. This would bring in a little more money to help them make it through the winter. He told Sofía he would be back by Christmas.
By December 24
th
, Carlos had not come home. It was Christmas Eve, and they had not gotten a tree yet. Eva didn’t want to disappoint her brothers and sister, so she decided she would get the family a tree. She found Carlos’s axe and took a few of the older brothers with her. She drove Carlos’s truck into the hills where they had gone the year before to get a Christmas tree.
They hiked in the woods and looked at quite a few trees until they finally decided on the best one. She and the boys took turns hacking at the tree until it eventually fell. They loaded it in the truck and drove back home.
Carlos and the other men returned while Eva and the boys were out getting the tree. Carlos was waiting for them. They excitedly came into the house, the boys dragging the tree in behind them, Eva carrying the axe, all wanting Mama to see the beautiful tree they brought. They froze in their tracks when they saw Carlos standing there next to Mama, a gnarled scowl on his face.
How could they know Carlos would be furious that they took his axe and his truck without his permission? His breath and slurred speech told them he had been drinking with the other workers before coming home, as usual. This always made him angry and irrational.
“
Who told you it was okay to take my axe and my truck? Huh? Who told you?!”
“
Carlos, it’s Christmas Eve…” Sofía started to say. Her words were cut short by the back of his hand hard across her mouth.
“
Shut up, woman!” Carlos screamed.
The children’s eyes darted over to Mama. Her lip was bleeding and a few tears started to fall. She mustered what courage she could and tried once again to stand up to Carlos.
“
No, Carlos. It’s Christmas Eve and the children deserve a tree,” Sofía said in a quiet, even tone.
“
I told you to shut up!” Carlos balled up his fist and struck Sofía in the face, knocking her to the floor.
The boys were shocked by what their father was doing, but Eva was filled with raged. She had had enough. The next few moments seemed like she was moving in slow motion in her mind. She still held the sharp axe in her hands. Driven by the instinct to protect her mother, she swung the axe over her head and started to lunge at Carlos. She was going to kill that devil once and for all.
But the oldest son, Eduardo, saw Eva out of the corner of his eye and quickly grabbed her arms to stop her. If it hadn’t been for Eduardo’s quick action, Eva surely would have killed Carlos that day.
Carlos never saw the axe coming and did not realize Eduardo had just saved his life. The other boys ran to Mama’s aid as Carlos went in the bedroom to sleep off his drunkenness.
That was a defining moment. Eva knew in that instant that she had to leave home or the next time she certainly would kill him.
She waited until after Christmas to tell her mother that she needed to move out soon, and that she would start looking for another place to live. Sofía was sad to think of her daughter leaving, her first child, her oldest daughter. She hugged Eva for a long time, remembering the first day she was placed in her arms as a tiny baby.
“
I remember, mi’ja, when you were just a baby. You were so little, so sweet.” Sofía’s eyes were tearing up.
“
Mama, don’t cry.”
“
I would hold you and rock you. I had such great hopes and dreams for you, Eva. I’m sorry things turned out the way they did. I’m sorry I ever met your father, Enrique.”
“
Mama, don’t say that.”
“
I’m even more sorry I ever met Carlos.” Sofía’s tears were streaming down her face. “You should have a better life than this, mi’ja.”
“
I love you, Mama.” Eva put her arms around her mother and let her cry.
Sofía hated the idea of Eva’s leaving, but she knew it was probably for the best. She could go out on her own and find her own way in the world.
She began pondering how she would be able to make it on her own. Where would she go? How would she support herself? Where could she find a part-time job? Who could help her? She had to finish high school. Then she thought of Nurse Walker and her offer to help.
The first day of school after Christmas vacation, Eva went to see Miss Walker at the county social services office as soon as school was out for the day. Eva told her what had happened on Christmas Eve and that she really needed to move out of there. Miss Walker had been thinking about Eva since she ran into her at the Sheriff’s office and had already decided she would be willing to take her in if it came to that.
So when Eva came to her that day, she quickly agreed that Eva she could come to live with her, if it was okay with her mother. Eva went home and talked it over with Mama. Because they had already talked earlier about Eva moving out, she easily got her mother’s permission. Eva could see that it hurt her mother deeply, but Mama gathered the courage to accept her leaving, agreeing it was likely the best thing for her. It came as no surprise that Carlos was happy to see her go.
Eva moved her things to Miss Walker’s home and quickly settled in. She felt as free as a bird. This was a new feeling for her and she relished it.
What she didn’t know at the time was that Sofía was pregnant again. Eva felt terrible when she found out, as if she was abandoning her mother when she really needed her. If she had known Mama was expecting another baby, she probably wouldn’t have left home until after she graduated from high school, as difficult as that would have been.
But she didn’t know until the baby was about to be born. Eva had been gone for several months and Carlos forbade Sofía to have contact with her. As her due date approached, Sofía convinced Carlos that she needed Eva’s help at the house with the other children while she was gone to the hospital for the birth.
Sofía asked her daughter if she would come and stay with the younger children while she was in the hospital having the baby. With some trepidation, Eva agreed to go back to her old home. She knew she would have to keep her distance from Carlos, but Mama needed her help. So, she went back home to care for the kids for almost a week, cooking, changing diapers and doing laundry. During the entire time she was at the house, Carlos never looked at her or spoke to her once.
Eva lived with Nurse Walker until after she graduated from high school. She was a good friend to her, almost like a second mother. Naomi Walker had never married and never had any children, so she treated Eva like the daughter she always wanted. This hard-working teenager talked about becoming a nurse, too, and she knew Eva was bright enough to accomplish that, if she set her mind to it.
Having lived alone for many years, Naomi was happy for the company and for someone to help her fill the emptiness in her house and in her life. She hoped that rescuing Eva from her abusive home life would help to give her a better future. Only time would tell.
Chapter 15:
A New Life for Eva
It was 1950. Eva began her senior year at Hollister High School and worked hard on her studies. Living with Miss Walker was such a dramatic improvement over her old life. She had her own bedroom for the first time in her life and considerably more freedom. She became more outgoing and began making more friends. Naomi taught her to appreciate music and art and encouraged her to do her best in school. She also helped Eva find part-time jobs babysitting and cleaning her friends’ houses. School was challenging and work was hard, but she was determined to do well at both.
Eva blossomed into a pretty, petite young lady, barely five feet tall. She had matured early and had the curvy figure of a woman. She was often taunted by the teenage boys at school because she was a full-figured Latina with ample breasts. Walking home from school one day, she was accosted by a couple of white boys teasing her about her bosom.
“
Nice bag of groceries you have there,” said a tall, gangly boy with dirty blond hair, referring to her holding her books across her full chest as she walked.
“
Mind if I squeeze your melons?” His scruffy brown-haired friend hollered, grabbing at her.
Eva was mortified. The two boys were talking loud enough that other students leaving school could hear them. All she wanted to do was get away from them, but they wouldn’t get out of her way. She would step one way, they would be there. She would step another, they would be there, their barbs and insults becoming increasingly explicit. They had her cornered.
The last thing she wanted was for them to witness her embarrassment, her weakness. She could feel tears bubbling to the surface, but she would not give them the satisfaction. Eva was strong that way. She stood still for a few seconds as they circled her with insults and tried grabbing at her.
Reaching her boiling point, she planted her feet, slammed her books to the ground and the next one that stepped in front of her felt the full fury of her small but strong fist in their face. Standing only five feet tall did not stop her from what she had to do. She had years of contending with her brothers, years of wringing out laundry and years of doing field work that brought strength to her when she needed it.
The nasty blond bully was the unlucky hooligan to step in front of her first. She punched him so hard in the face that she broke his nose and bright red blood began gushing out.
“
My nose! My nose! You broke my nose!” He cried like a little girl, holding his hand up to his nose, trying to stop the flow.
By that time, other students had gathered around and saw what had happened. They burst out laughing and cheering at what this diminutive girl had done to defend herself from these bullies.
“
You’re in big trouble, girl! I’m gonna tell the principal,” he warned. “Oh, man, you broke my nose!”
“
Go ahead,” Eva shot back, “I
want
you to go get him and bring him out here. I have something to tell him myself. I’ll wait right here for you.” Eva had found her courage and wasn’t going to let them bully her again.
“
He won’t believe you. You’re just a ‘spic’!” the boy yelled.
“
I’ve been called worse,” she replied, as if it meant nothing to her, but still those words stung.
A parent had seen the crowd gathering, and he rushed over and stepped in.
“
Anyone see what happened?” he asked, looking from face to face in the crowd.
Five or six students called out that they saw what happened and would be happy to tell the principal. These two boys were known bullies, often picking on other students and getting away with it. Eva’s courage inspired them to speak up for her. The two troublemakers knew they were beaten and turned and slinked away.
Eva picked her books up off the ground and started to walk away. One of the girls in the crowd, a pretty redhead with sparkling blue eyes, walked up alongside of her. This girl was also a senior and had seen Eva in one of her classes.
“
Hi. My name’s Margaret. You were really brave today,” she said. “I don’t think I could’ve done what you did.”
Eva stopped and turned toward her, a little surprised. She had seen this girl around school, but Margaret had never spoken to her.
“
Thanks. I don’t know where that came from,” Eva responded. “They just wouldn’t let me leave, and I couldn’t take it anymore. Something just came over me. I guess fighting with my brothers all these years really came in handy.”