The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez Read Free Book Online

dropped the little bottle. It shattered against the sidewalk, leaving a pool of red next to my shoes.
    I didn’t know what to do. My heart beat so loudly I couldn’t think. I wanted to fall down, but my legs wouldn’t bend.
    A police car drove by slowly … watching.
    The next thing I knew, I was running. I didn’t know where I was headed until I saw Papá’s bank in front of me. I wanted to run inside and have him hold me in his arms, but something made me pause. I inched toward the large front window and peered inside. Papá sat at his desk, calmly talking with a few soldiers. I turned and leaned against the glass. A group of young
brigadistas
walked by, laughing. There seemed to be soldiers, or kids pretending to be soldiers, everywhere. I took a deep breath, got my bearings, and took off running again. This time, I didn’t stop until I was home.

Chapter 7
    T HREE I NVADERS F ACE C ASTRO F IRING S QUAD
    — T HE S ALINA J OURNAL , M AY 25, 1961
    “Lucía? I’m upstairs. Do you have the medicine?” Mamá called out as the front door slammed behind me.
    I ran to my parents’ room, dropped the brown paper bag on the bed, and plowed my head into Mamá’s chest, nearly knocking her over.
    “What’s wrong? Why are you out of breath?” Mamá asked.
    I started to cry.
    “Tell me, Lucía.”
    The words didn’t seem to want to come out of my mouth. I shook my head.
    Mamá stroked my hair and let me sob in her arms. After a few minutes, she pushed me back and stared into my eyes.
“Mi hija
, talk. You’re scaring me.” She scanned me from head to toe. “Wait, I think I seewhat this is about.” She lifted my chin so I’d have to face her.
    I waited, praying that she already knew what had happened.
    “Is this about the nail polish?”
    My heart sank. She had no idea. I looked down as my eyes welled up. The image of Doc Machado with his hands hanging lifeless by his side haunted me.
    Mamá smiled and kissed my forehead.
“Mi hija
, look at your shoes. They’re splattered with bright red dots. You dropped the bottle on your way home, didn’t you?”
    I nodded.
    She got up from her bed and smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt. “It’ll be fine. I have a little extra money in my purse. You can go back and—”
    “NO!”
    “Lucía, what’s gotten into you? Did something else happen?”
    “Mamá, Doc Machado, he’s …” I couldn’t continue.
    “¿Qué?”
She drew closer.
    I gulped for air. My hands trembled. “He’s … dead. The soldiers, they killed him.”
    Mamá stumbled back.
“¡Ay Dios mío!”
She quickly made the sign of the cross.
    Then, like a floodgate opening up, words spilled out of me. “Oh, Mamá, he was hung from a tree.
I saw him
. They left him there, in the park, for everyone to see. It was horrible!”
    Mamá rushed over to sit next to me. “But the soldiers didn’t do anything to you, right?”
    I shook my head and buried my face in her chest.
    Mamá wrapped her arms around me as my body collapsed. All the adrenaline that had rushed through me evaporated. Suddenly I was exhausted. I closed my eyes and breathed in Mamá’s warmth. “I’m never leaving this house again,” I sobbed.
    *  *  *  *  *
    “Are you sick, too?” Frankie asked, walking into my room.
    “Go away.” I rolled over and pulled the covers up to my neck, trying to go back to sleep.
    “Did you get my cold? You want to play something together?”
    “Get out!”
    Mamá promptly appeared in the doorway and guided Frankie back to his room.
    “But, Mamá, I didn’t say anything wrong. She’s been in there all day!” Frankie argued.
    “You, sir, get back in bed. You’ve got a high fever and you need your rest.” She gave him a slight push into his room and then came back to me. “Lucy, how are you doing? You want to eat something? I can bring your dinner upstairs along with Frankie’s.”
    I shook my head.
    “Lucy, I called your father and told him what happened. He’ll be here soon. He