I wasn’t
expecting the peace treaty to last this long, but discord has been restored to
my life. Forgive me for not jumping for joy and, might I add, it was
not my fault! I have deliberately avoiding talking about anything
remotely connected to the case because Alberto gets upset when I have words
with his madre querida. I’m sorry Caro, but Gisela is so pessimistic
about everything that I never walk away unaffected. I am always
enraged when she attempts to force her opinion down my throat with her
incessant preaching. Today it was about the criminal case again and
I tried to end the conversation and leave several times but she just kept
talking. I tried telling her that I could not talk about the case
with her anymore because it upsets me. Her response was to tell me
it upsets her too and to continue pontificating about it! She kept
saying I need to make sure I tell the attorney this is what happened and that
she knows how it started. She knows better than Alberto who was
actually present, and all of the witnesses have got it all wrong. She
is adamant that the justice system here is just as crooked as Mexico and we
will soon see her innocent son locked away for good. Now do you see
why I generally avoid her even though acknowledging that I do so makes me feel
like a bad nuera? Avoiding Gisela irritates my darling husband and I
simply can’t bear it when he’s mad at me.
What
in the bloody hell is she basing this opinion of our justice system on
anyhow? Is it the fact that her innocent son Caña was ‘falsely’
convicted and sentenced to 4 years in prison for assault? Maybe
she’s referring to the time Caña was ‘accused’ of hitting Roscio while she was
holding their child, you know despite the fact we all witnessed that particular
incident. Then there was the time that Caña tried to hit his sister
Liz with a beer bottle and had to be restrained by force until the police
showed up to arrest him? Four years ago Alberto showed me some
papers because he wanted to know what they were. It was a
restraining order filed by Roscio against Caña during her smarter days. I
surely cannot comprehend how such a sterling example of honorability and
manhood could have possibly done what he was locked up for. My
mother-in-law acknowledges that her son deserves to be in jail for the things
he’s done in his life, just not for beating the hell out of Nemesio. Someone
once said that ‘logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion
with confidence’. If you use that definition, then Gisela is quite
logical.
I
almost forgot to talk about the near fight during social hour on Monday. For
some reason heat makes people lose their damn minds, but Monday night almost
got out of hand. I was in a bad mood when I arrived because it was hot,
I was sticky, and Ashley was sleeping in my arms. I wanted the whole
line of people to move down so I could sit, but instead someone offered me a
seat near the front. Ashley woke up in a good mood thankfully and
the minutes marched on in a decidedly slow manner. At about 10
minutes to 6 pm, I suggested we all start lining up by the door since budging
was becoming a problem. A younger woman in her mid to late 20’s had
spent most of her time out in the hall talking on her cell phone, and came in
to take her spot in line. She was wearing the dress/veil combination
that is popular in the Somalian/Islamic community, over 6 feet tall, and looked
like it had been a bad day. The crotchety old woman had pushed her
way in front of me and started heckling the girl whom she accused of
budging. The girl was there before I was and the old woman came
after me as we all attested to defuse the situation. The girl said,
“Look at me! Do you see how I am dressed? You should be
able to see that I don’t give a fuck what you think!” The old woman
responded angrily, “I see how you’re dressed and I see how you act. This
is why we Americans don’t trust your asses!” Just as it looked like
this was going to come to blows, the girl took another phone call and told old
lady she could have her spot. The old lady started shrieking like a
harpy that she didn’t want HER spot, and spouted several racially charged
insults after the girl was almost out of hearing range. At this
point I was angry because this is exactly the kind of bullshit Ashley doesn’t
need to deal with. I pinned the old woman with potent glare and
said, “You are an ADULT, why don’t you grow the hell up and ACT like
one?” She continued grumbling how she was an adult and yadda yadda
yadda. Did I mention the old woman was proclaiming her pride to be
of the Cherokee Nation and that she was taught the old language by her parents
and grandparents not 10 minutes before all this happened?
I’m
going to have to figure out if I’m going to visit Alberto on Saturday since
Monday I’ll be stuck in Jury Duty. I’m not sure if I want to be
selected, or if I’d prefer they sent me home. I still want to be at
the omnibus hearing on Tuesday.
Que
será
será
Ciao
Interesting
Spanish words/phrases from this post:
Madre Querida: Beloved
Mother
Caro: Pet
name for Alberto (short for Cariño)
Nuera: Daughter-in-law
Cobija: Blanket
Que
será será: What will be, will be
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