Vomit Juice and Pot Bellies

Maria Antonia has brought her sister, Reyna, home for the next two weeks.  So, now we have an extra barefooted, pot-bellied little body around.  She doesn’t say much.  Truthfully, she mostly has a scared look on her face, but eventually breaks it with a smile and usually a whisper when she speaks. 

Reyna

On the other hand, Maria Antonia plays the big sister to the hilt.  She constantly harasses the little sibling.  Continually monitoring what she eats, she will happily broadcast just how much and of what her little sister has eaten at any given time.  I suppose they are not unlike two brothers in some ways.  They exchange hits and slaps, maybe even a tug of hair. Speaking of hair, Maria Antonia happily tells how she cut off her sister’s hair before they arrived back home.  Reynita had loooong black hair, dangling down below her butt.  Now, it sits a short way below her shoulders.  Maria Antonia shakes her head with pride when asked if she cut her sister’s hair.  Why?  “Because she’s lazy and she does nothing with it.  It was a mess.  She didn’t wash it…” is her justification to taking matters in her own hands.

It is not all bad though.  There are many times that they are hugging and laughing.  When they leave the house, they usually leave hand in hand.  They make a sweet coupling of sisters.  It is easy to sense their closeness and love for one another.  There are times when this is such a welcome sight, it naturally brings a smile to your face.

One day we had no idea where they had gone.  I was standing outside in the backyard talking to Tonya while she was having a cigarette.  I decided just to peep into Maria’s room to see if they were actually at home.  They were.  Both of them were wrapped arm in arm on a single bed.  The big sister hugging the little one, sharing the same pillow, watching the tiny TV she has in her room.  I smiled as I looked in, “Yep, they are here…” I told Tonya.  She immediately told me to back away in case they thought I was some freak, spying on them.  I felt odd because it was an innocent moment and sweet to see.  True, I don’t want to be the lanky cranky guy who stares at them through the back window. 

Bonding with Sunny

Kitchen time is something to be heard...  The wit and wisdom exchanged between the two is a constant source of entertainment.  Maria Antonio scolding Reynita with words of the wise, “No Reynita!  If you press your tortillas while heating them your husband will not love you as much…”   Some other thing will go wrong in your love life if you cook your eggs the wrong way.  Oh the wisdom of small villages and superstition.

When a traveling fair set up not too far away, the two sisters were obviously going to make it a 'must do'.  One the day they decide to go, Maria pulls her little sister into the living room to meet approval.  It is going to be a big night, so they are both dressed to the nines.  Maria makes little Reynita turn in a circle so that all her glowing beauty is revealed.  On a night like this, it must be perfect, even the make-up Reyna will sport to the big event.  After the thumbs up, the two head of in a breath of excitement and Tonya smiling, 'Aren't they so cute?"

 It was not uncommon that Maria Antonia would force her sister to stay in the room and study.  She would often complain that Reynita would end up watching tv or sleeping, rather than staying up on school work.  Maria Antonia thinks Reynita needs to brush up.  Both of them came into the room and Reyna stood back silently with a notebook in hand when Maria asked if I would check her math homework.  She had done well.  Maria then asked for me to make up some division problems and have Reynita solve them on the spot.  I smiled as I watched her ponder the pair of simple problems.  She takes some time, then hands me her notebook.  before I can get it, she pulls it back and motions 'no' and waves her hands.  She realized she had made a mistake and spends a few more minutes correcting it before handing it back.

Big sis checking homework.

The unexpected guest brings some bumps in home life too.  Their giant tortillas take up so much counter space.  They are huge and crispy.  You are supposed to wet them and warm them up, and then rip them into shreds to have with your meal. However, these monstrosities can take a while to get through. The giant pizza sized tortillas hogged counter space for days. 

They were also thrilled about some fruit they brought home.  I have no idea what it was called, but they looked like little berries.  I could hear the blender going and when I walked into the kitchen there was a blender full of…stuff.  Maria Antonia offered me some juice form these berries, I politely declined.  They pointed to a glass and said “That is the senora’s”.  I asked Tonya how it was.  She looked to see if the girls were around and made a face, ‘Tastes like vomit” she said. At this very moment I was so glad I had not opted for a big fresh glass of vomit juice. 

The berries that make the vomit juice

So what happens when two weeks turn into three?  Three into four?  Three into who knows when?  A bit of fear sets in, that’s what!  Things started to go get a bit out of sorts when one day Maria Antonia announced that she was going to be away for the weekend, and would leave her sister here. “What is your sister going to do all weekend?” was a very simple question Tonya asked. “She will stay in the room and only come out to eat…” was the simple reply from Maria Antonia.  Obviously, this was not a wise move.  I have no idea what really transpired between Tonya and Maria Antonia, except neither party was very happy.  Tonya was aghast at the thought of leaving a 12 year old alone; especially she has no contact number, info, or anything if something were to happen.  This was a real concern to Tonya, but not too much to Maria.  From this point on, there is no turning back.

Call it coincidence or a sharpening of vision, but for the next few days a strange phenomenon occurred.  Food started to disappear.  No one is pointing fingers, but the little pot-bellied guest does have to eat.  A whole box of cereal almost vanishes overnight.  Two consecutive meals are forced into improvisation when the meat and chicken suddenly disappear.

Was all the laughing and cavorting going upstairs during bath time so much fun, or were they really laughing at the fact that they were using up all of the brand new shampoo?

Yes, it came into very sharp focus that bits and pieces of things were vanishing.  The more things disappeared, the more withdrawn Maria and her sister were becoming.  Tonya had to say something. 

It was no surprise that any missing food and beauty products were denied knowledge of, at least by Maria.  She did say that maybe her little sis had snuck things out behind her back.  No need to accuse.  Tonya just said that they were welcome to anything, as long as they ask.  The counter offensive was harsh.  Big pots of rice pudding hogging the stove.  Rice and beans take a second place. Perhaps intentional, the crusty dishes stay in place, further maddening Tonya when came time to cook. When the two made it out for shopping, they would parade straight into Maria’s room with bags full of food to be stored in her closet and on the mantle.  Too much.  The little guest was more than welcomed, but now the two sisters are inviting in roaches and mice.  Time for a serious clean up, both in room and attitude.

Our new house guest was now past her initial stay time.  When asked for an update, Maria Antonia says she will stay here until school starts again in mid August.  This is big news to the both of us, especially since Tonya has her niece and nephew due to arrive in a week.  It’s not nice, but a decision is made that Reyna must move on.  Her brother lives in town, and if she will stay until school starts, she can do it from her brother’s house.  It all comes to a head when Maria Antonia says she must work away all weekend again.  This time there is no excuse, before she left to be away for the weekend, she would have to make sure her sister was on her way to her brothers.  It would happen much faster than I thought.

In the morning as we are putting the leashes on the dogs for their regular walk, Tonya informs me that Reyna is leaving and I should say good bye.  No sooner do the words come out then Reyna and Maria Antonia step out side.  They meet up with us as I am unlocking the gate.  I try my best to express a nice greeting to Reyna, but it ends up all in English, “Reynita, it was nice to meet you.  I hope you have a great time at your brother’s…” and she smiles, having no idea what I am saying. “Do good in school, ok?”

How fitting.  We go right, and they go left.  As we are going our separate ways I hear them giggling.  I look back to see the two sisters pulling down branches of an overhanging fig tree, pulling figs off as they stand on the sidewalk.  Things may have gone somewhat sour, but I was happy to see them both laughing and carrying on as we were literally going our separate ways.