Finding Miracles by Julia Álvarez Read Free Book Online Page A

They were feeling hopeful.
    Mrs. Bolívar’s eyes had filled with tears again. She made a sign of the cross.
“Gracias a Dios,”
she whispered.
    Mom gave her a hopeful smile. “Things will improve, Mrs. Bolívar.”
    “Angelita, por favor,”
Mrs. Bolívar insisted.
    During the discussion of the political situation, Pablo had joined in. But he grew quiet whenever his brothers’ names came up.
    “By summer, things might be settled enough to go for a
visita,
” Mr. Bolívar was saying in Spanish. I could tell he was trying to brighten the mood around the table.
    “I sure hope it is just a
visita,
” Dad said, looking a little worried. “I don’t know what I’d do without my master
carpintero
.”
    Mr. Bolívar bowed his head at the compliment.
“Muy
agradecido.”
He was most grateful to his
excelente patrón.
In truth, his plan was to stay in the States until Pablo finished his schooling. To give their son
una oportunidad
.
    Pablo frowned, like he didn’t want the opportunity. Was he that unhappy in this country? At school? Maybe if people like me were nicer, he’d want to stay. Suddenly, I had to catch myself. Two months ago, I was hoping this guy would disappear! My emotions were like what they say about driving through small towns in Vermont, don’t blink, you’ll miss them.
    “¿No le gusta Ralston?”
Kate must have noticed him frowning, too.
    Pablo’s face broke into a disarming smile. “I like Ralston very much. Everyone is very nice.” I sunk down further in my seat. “But I am sick for home.”
    “Homesick,” Kate offered, eyeing Nate, who often found other people’s mistakes very funny.
    But Nate had his own question for Pablo. “Do you like video games?”
    Pablo made the mistake of saying yes.
    “Let’s go play.” Nate pulled at Pablo’s arm, but he stopped midtug. Mom was giving him that mind-your-manners look. “May we be excused?” he pleaded.
“¿Por
favor?”
Nate added, flashing his winning grin.
    “¡Ay, qué niño tan simpático!”
Mrs. Bolívar exclaimed. What a darling boy! Nate didn’t know much Spanish, but he knew this lady was doting on him.
“Muchas gracias,”
he threw in, snowing her totally.
    Before Nate could haul him away, Pablo turned to me. “Will you play?” He lifted his gaze to include Kate.
    “They don’t really know how!” Nate protested. “Come on, Pablo.”
    But Pablo was pulling back our chairs, as if our nods were all the knowledge we needed.
    As we headed out, I heard Mrs. Bolívar complimenting Mom in Spanish. “What beautiful children you have!”
    I felt a pang. Little did Mrs. Bolívar know that only two of the beautiful children were really Mom’s.
    From that night on, we started to see a lot of the Bolívars. Mom got Mrs. Bolívar a job next door, taking care of our neighbor, Miss Billings, who was crippled with arthritis but didn’t want to move into a nursing home. Mrs. Bolívar turned out to be Miss Billings’s salvation, even though neither woman understood the other’s language. Days his mother worked late, Pablo was invited to come over after school. On his way driving Mr. Bolívar home, Dad would swing by and pick up Mrs. Bolívar and Pablo at our house.
    I think it was especially good for Dad having the Bolívars join our family just as Happy seemed to have disowned us. Dad had told Happy that he wanted no part of her disinheriting one of his children. He could do nothing about her will, but he would no longer accept her checks. Grandma was in shock. No one had ever refused to take her money before. She responded as if
we
had disowned
her
! She had not been in touch.
    Occasionally Dad would remind Nate to call his grandma. Dad would hang around, like he was half hoping that Happy would ask to talk to him. But she never did. Nate would hang up, and Dad would get real quiet and head down to his basement workshop, where he’d spend hours—doing what, I don’t know. For weeks, we heard lots of hammering, but no stool or