Diaspora Stories Awards #1: “Like this Jackie, right?”

20 de mayo de 2017 · .


I never get to take a picture of this story and it’s been almost 2 months. I am hired by this “husband”, to help him weekly get the house ready for “the wife” who just had baby #2. Every Friday afternoon there we are the both of us, before I get to leave to Centro Romero smelling like Windex, making that house look glorious to the beat of his iTunes-whatEver-music because he never lets me choose the music. I tried once but El Gran Combo was too much for the poor white guy, regardless I explained to him “this is how we do it back home, it moves our brooms faster!” Nope. “That’s the line Jackie!” he said. So I gave up.

Usually I always have my phone on my back pocket. When I see the right image of my experience, I take it and that’s it. Not this time. I’m not even sure if it is because this guy is ALL THE TIME around me cleaning at the same space constantly asking, “Like this Jackie, right?” anytime he moves or fixes or cleans anything ; or because I haven’t been able to find anything really annoying to write a story of. There is usually something to be cranky about when cleaning other people’s houses because it isn’t paradise either c’mon. I spent money on a MA to come to this country to clean houses on the side and I won’t feel annoyed? C’mon. :( (welcome to reality and welcome to America)

There’s Legos stock on my feet (yeah those memes are right, ouch), or dry cookie dough behind the toddler’s bed or that blond doll that smells like rotten milk every freakin’ time I go ( Like seriously, every week? Is anybody watching what this kid is doing with that doll?!).
The “husband” is a charm and does really make his wife happy any time she returns back home. I got to witness the moment every Friday when she comes in, brings me donuts or pastries or apple juice, leaves the baby at stroller while she smiles smelling the house and her husband and I just admire her probably looking like crap. It does melt our hearts every time thou. It is so worth at the end of the day. I swear.

But it doesn’t matter how annoying or not, I
never get to take a picture, ever.

Till the other day.

I did hurt my knuckles while cleaning the window curtains after I trade my gloves with “the husband” and on the process, I totally forgot to heal them. When “the wife” came in, after her usual smelling tour of the house she kept on telling me how amazing the park was while going in and out the rooms and me not getting completely the whole story. Then she appeared again and brought the triple antibiotic to heal my bleeding knuckles.

The years working with pregnant/ parenting people I have always been in “awe” of how resilient and powerful and selfless these women/people who raise little brats can be sometimes. Not all of them nor all the times, but at least the ones I’ve worked with that really leave me in "awe". There she was with possibly a list of things to do, and Legos to collect and mysterious smelly dolls to figure out, and still, she had time to heal my fingers. Sigh.