I have thought about writing about Susie D. She is my good friend I taught her my buisness. We have traveled together and know each other very well...I talked to her a few weeks ago and usually we stay in touch via email. She is a gorgeous Mexican woman that turns heads and people never forget her. She used to come to my house at 5 AM and force me to walk around the neighborhood to stay in shape. Dogs barked I tripped along the sidewalk and Susie power walked around like she didn't have a houseful of kids and grandkids at home. Once Susies son locked my oldest daughter in the trunk of a car. He really liked to tie people up. I wonder if he ever outgrew that.
No one ever forgot Susie. When I called to tell her my oldest daughter was pregnant at 14....Susie said..."Oh no she pulled a Susie". It was Susie that introduced me to Maria.
Maria is on my mind right now. I was traveling for work a lot. Sometimes my kids stayed with Susie. Sometimes with my Mom and sometimes with my friend Lori. Both Susie and Lori were neighbors with kids the same age as mine. Susie had owned a clleaning business and Maria was one of her employees. One day we were joking around and I said what I needed was a wife. "I know just the woman" was Susie's response.
When I met Maria I wasn't sure it would work. She was a small woman. She had short curly hair. Maria was dark and earthy and intense ane worried. She seemed like maybe someone had hit her before and she was always waiting for the next blow to fall. She moved quick and when she spoke she spoke fast. She was also very shy. I found out later she was afraid of thunder storms and big dogs and cooking. She had no children of her own, but she loved children a lot. Maria was about 25 when I met her. She seemed younger. After she was living with us for about a year she told me in halting English, that I made her feel safe.
At first, Susie was our translator. Maria did not speak any English. I only knew a few Spanish cuss words. But I could tell she liked the kids and that sealed the deal. The thing I still remember most about Maria is how her face lit up when she looked at my children. While the kids were at school Maria spent a lot of time with her sister. She was a caregiver to an older lady a block away. I really didn't set any house rules, except to say no men, no drugs, and be there when the children get out of school.
I put the kids in bunk beds in one room and fixed up a room for Maria. We hooked up a TV with cable so she could get Mexican channels. Before she moved in she asked Susie to translate a final question to me..."What would be the best result of this situation?" I answered that I thought it would only work out if we could be like a family. Maria liked the answer so she appeared Monday morning with her bags.
Maria came to live with us for 2 years...She was there during the week and went to an apartment with her brother and sister during the weekends...My kid's were both in school so Maria's hours were not to bad. Our deal was as long as she took care of the kids when I wasn't there I didn't worry. I didn't pay her much. I paid her extra when I traveled.
My kids both became bi-lingual and Maria learned English. I tried but was not good with Spanish.I was like a fireman...One week on and one week off...immersed in my work. I remember traveling a lot my second year with Maria. Sometimes if there was a problem we had to communicate through Susie. But we were a good team. When I got home from work Maria usually had dinner cooked for me. Once when the vacuum broke I didn't know it for a week. Maria swept the carpet with a broom.
I can't be certain, but I believe Maria was gay. Her eyes often lingered on other women. It didn't matter to me. Susie told me Maria and her siblings sent almost everything they made to their Mom in Mexico. Sometimes Susie and I would shop for new clothes or little gifts for Maria. When we gave them to her she always cried.
The kids were supposed to spend the entire summer with their Dad. I was scheduled to spend 2 months in Jacksonville on a project. It didn't make sense to keep Maria on as a housesitter. I agonized about seperating her from the kids. Finally she told me she wanted to go home to Mexico for awhile. We were going to hook up in August and see if she wanted to come back.
The day that Maria left Sami followed her to the car and begged to go with her. Carly stood by the door with her arms folded staring daggers at me. I gave her 2 weeks pay and lots of little gifts, but I still felt like I was losing my best friend. Maria untangled herself from Sami and ran across the yard to me. She grabbed me and looked into my eyes and said..."You are a very good woman, and I will always be grateful we met. I will see you again"
The summer ended up as crazy as it began. My ex disappeared with my kids after only having them 2 weeks. I flew home from Jacksonville. The ex had a slip and a fight with his girlfriend. He drove the kids across the country sleeping in roadside parks. When I picked them up at his sister's they were shattered. My oldest daughter has only seen him twice since then. She refused to see him a couple of times and then he was unavailable again for a couple of years.
I looked for Maria. She was in Mexico then she was gone. I never was able to find her again. Sometimes in my life I have spent so much time mending relationships, that I forget to acknowledge my graditude debts. I hope Maria has children in her life. I pray she found a way to make the darkness go away. Family is everything in the end and Maria was my sister. She slipped away, but she promised we would see each other again. And I believe her. So wherever she is tonight I hope she is safe. Thank you Maria and via con dios amiga.
Anything is possible on a night like this..
