I sat down next to her, holding her as she sobbed in my arms. The memories of Maggie had been coming to her faster than normal in the last couple of weeks she’d been in bed. It was like the pregnancy and her hormonal state had been bringing them out somehow. I’d known that, like all the memories that had resurfaced for her of us, the memories of her and her sister would eventually come too. I just didn’t realize they’d come all at once.
She squeezed my arm, breathing in and out quickly, and what was left of my sanity, since hearing her wail, gave way. I pulled back. “What’s happening?”
She shook her head, unable to speak as she continued to breathe in and out quickly, holding her other hand to her back until it seemed to pass.
“It’s like, with every contraction I get, another memory comes.”
“Contraction?” I asked, sitting up straight. “How long have you been having them, Madeline? Why hadn’t you said anything?”
“They only started a little while ago. I wasn’t sure if they’d keep coming or pass like they have in the past.”
“But they haven’t?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I think they’re getting stronger, but—”
I jumped off the bed and scrambled to the closet. We were too close, and the doctor warned us the last time. The next time she went into labor, it was happening. They wouldn’t try to stop it anymore. We were close enough, and the babies were big enough that it was safe.
“Ama!” I yelled as I grabbed the bag out of the closet.
“Baby, relax,” Maddie said, just as I turned to see her starting to breathe in and out again and grimacing.
“Ama!” I yelled again, feeling like I might throw up.
My grandmother rushed into the bedroom. “What? What, Mijo?”
“It’s happening! Look!”
She turned to Maddie, who was still breathing in and out. Dad reached the door, looking anxious as well. “Calmado,” he said, which had me jerking my head to face him.
“How am I supposed to be calm?” I yelled, feeling like I might lose my mind along with the coffee I’d drunk earlier.
“It’s okay,” Grandma said calmly as she walked over to Maddie and began helping her up. “She’s not the first woman to give birth, and with you two, I can guarantee this isn’t the last time Madelina will be giving birth either.”
“Oh fuck!” I said, looking down at my watch. “I’m supposed to be timing this.”
“Baby, calm down,” Maddie said again as, apparently, the contraction passed.
Her soothing voice and beautiful smile calmed me until her face scrunched, and I was suddenly back to feeling like I might lose my mind. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I remember Maggie.” She started to whimper again.
I turned to my grandma in a panic. “She says she remembers everything now. Just like that, it’s all coming to her.”
How the fuck was I supposed to deal with all this at once, right now?
“I remember everything about my baby boo, my sugar plum,” Maddie cried.
“Oh,” Grandma coaxed, hugging her with a smile. “That’s because Maggie’s spirit is about to re-enter the world through baby Maggie.”
“Right now?” I asked as my heart took another giant leap in my chest.
“No.” Grandma shook her head, still smiling even as Maddie began breathing in and out again. “It’ll be at least a few hours. This is her first; it never happens that fast—”
“My water just broke,” Maddie said between her breathing exercises. “And this breathing shit is not working.”
The next few hours were a blur. I barely remembered the drive to the hospital, only that Dad refused to let me drive and I sat in the backseat with Maddie, doing my best to help her with her breathing.
My brothers were almost as bad as I was. Q wouldn’t even go into the room, but when the time came, as terrified as I was, everything went smoothly. Maddie likes to say she delivered those babies like a boss. And I have to say she sure did. Even the doctor was impressed. There were no complications, and both babies and their mama were doing just fine a couple of hours after all the drama.
I sat in the chair next to Maddie’s hospital bed, feeling completely drained.
“Nico?” Xavier laughed as he walked into the room with Q and Nolan. “You’re not the one that delivered two babies. She did and she looks just fine.”
Maddie smiled big, squeezing my hand, even though I knew she was just as exhausted. “I was faster than Mama,” she said proudly. “Mine were only five minutes apart.”
“And they’re beautiful,” Xavier said, kissing her on the head. “You did good, sweetheart.”
They each took turns kissing Maddie’s head then coming over to congratulate me. They hung around and waited for the babies to be brought in then took turns holding them until they said they all had to go. Maddie and I were busy gazing at our perfect specimens, when Loretta and Don walked in.
“Oh, my God,” Loretta gasped as I handed her baby Matti. “Oh, he’s perfect.” She glanced over at baby Maggie in Madeline’s arms. “She is too.” She kissed my cheek then Matti’s and began to sniffle as she gazed at him lovingly. “You were always meant to be, little one, no matter how unlikely it seemed for some time there. Your mama wasn’t about to give up on what her heart wanted.”
“I remember Maggie, Mama,” Maddie said as her eyes welled up. “I remember everything about her. It all came to me in a dream this morning, and it’s all so clear now. Abuelita Loli said it’s because Maggie’s spirit was about to make in entrance back into this world.” I squeezed Maddie’s arm as she glanced down at baby Maggie. “I think she’s right.”
Loretta nodded with a teary smile. “Maggie always said she wished she had your confidence. She just may’ve gotten her wish. I can’t imagine any child of yours being the least bit timid.”
As if on cue, baby Maggie began to whimper. “I think she’s hungry,” Maddie said, pulling the sheet over her as she adjusted Maggie to her breast under it.
“Then give that child what she wants,” Loretta said, smiling as the tears spilled down her cheeks. “Welcome back, Maggie.”
“Welcome home,” I said, feeling a bit choked up myself.
Never in a million years during those worst seven years of my life when I really thought I’d lost my peanut—my life—did I ever imagine being here in a hospital room with my wife, Madeline Hellman-Cortez, and my own twin babies, Matti and Maggie. God’s got a strange sense of humor, but I just thank him and will continue to every day of my life for giving her back to me.
I sometimes bitch about her being so stubborn, but if it weren’t for her obstinate heart that refused to forget, she may never have remembered. And I might still be living with a hole in my heart.
Loretta handed me Matteus so she could help Maddie with her breast feeding. I glanced down at my boy and smiled. “Welcome to our world, baby boy. You’re in for a wild ride. I promise you that much.”
What’s next?
Read an excerpt of the next book in the Boyle Heights Series right here!
BEAST
by
Elizabeth Reyes
(Subject to Change)
Leonardo
Los Algodones
Baja California, Mexico
Age: Twelve
“Auxilio!”
The backhand across Leo’s mom’s face landed with such force she was instantly knocked out.
“Drag her ass into the bedroom,” Rogelio hissed. “I’ll take care of her when I’m done with this.”
Leo felt his eyes nearly bulge out of his head when Rogelio pulled out the glowing red end of the branding rod he’d stuck in his mother’s wood burning stove. “No!” he cried out, trying in vain to come loose from the tight grip of the man’s goons.
“Hold him still!” Rogelio barked; then that evil smile spread across his face again. The man holding his left arm with both hands lifted his arm higher for Rogelio. “Yeah, right there,” Ro
gelio said with a chuckle. “I want this right in the front of your arm so there’s no way you’ll be able to hide it. That oughtta teach that puta mother of yours to fuck with me.”
Squirming in a desperate attempt to pull away from the iron rod coming toward his arm, Leo pleaded. “No, please!”
Leo’s cries were once again in vain, just like when the man and his goons beat him mercilessly earlier for attempting to defend his mother. Without warning, the searing pain had him screaming again until he was coughing and nearly choking. Rogelio laughed as he held it there to his arm for what felt like an eternity. Leo had never experienced such excruciating pain. The pain he’d felt earlier all over his beaten body was suddenly drowned out. He felt none of it now, only the piercing burn of his arm he thought might fall off.
Finally, the animal pulled it away, but the pain remained. In fact, it seemed to worsen with every breath Leo gasped. The two men at either side of him dropped him and left him writhing and gasping for air between sobs on the floor.
“Keep an eye on him while I take care of one more thing,” the evil man said to the other two men as he undid his belt buckle and reached for the bedroom door.
Any strength Leo ever had, had been sucked out of him earlier when he’d tried first to defend his mother then himself. They’d beaten him until he could barely move, all while he listened to his mother’s tortured cries. She’d been forced to watch the beating, since Rogelio had insisted it was all happening because of her fucking disobedience.
Leo was going in and out of consciousness now, and he wondered if he might be dying. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear his mother’s cries again. Instinct had him trying to get to his feet again, despite the blistering pain that seemed to cover every inch of his body. Just as fast, the other men were on him.
Hearing his mother’s cries again in the bedroom gave him a fight he had no idea he could possibly still have in him. But the men were too big—too strong—for him, even if he hadn’t been in so much pain. Still, even though he could barely see—his eyes were nearly swollen shut—he fought with every ounce of strength he could muster. The ringing in his ears was a blessing now. Between that and his own screaming for the bastards to let him go, it made his mother’s anguished cries less deafening. At least to his ears—his heart broke with every one of her screams.
But he could still hear her, and it only made him cry out desperately for them to spare his mother. Still wrestling with the men and trying in vain to come loose, he continued to fight. “Beat me, assholes! Burn me! But leave her alone!”
One moment he was hysterically fighting for his life and his mother’s, and the next Leo was sure his heart stopped because everything went black.
Allison
EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER
East Los Angeles
Eyeballing the assortment of pastries near the coffee pot in the employee break room at 5th Street, Allison chided herself for skipping breakfast. She’d been running late, but she knew better. It always resulted in her giving into temptation. This was rule number one. Never leave home hungry.
“No,” she whispered under her breath. “You’ll just wait until you’re done here and then go grab a healthy snack at the juice bar that’ll hold you over until lunchtime.”
She had plenty of tofu chorizo at home left over from yesterday. Lord knew her sister Lila never touched the stuff. That morning Allison had been too excited and changed twice before heading down to 5th Street, the gym Lila worked at, for this interview. She’d hit Lila up weeks ago to ask her boss for this interview on the work-release program they were starting, and finally it was her chance.
“Sorry about the wait,” Gio said, yanking her out of her thoughts as he walked into the break room. He took a seat across from her at the table where she sat. “Had a few things I needed to get squared away, but I’m all yours now.”
Pushing her glasses up, she glanced down at her notebook. “That’s quite alright,” she said, attempting to sound as professional as possible.
Lila had warned her about the man’s amazing green eyes. Still, she hadn’t quite prepared for them. Clearing her throat, she glanced up at him again. “Thank you for doing this for me by the way. I’m not sure if my sister explained, but, since I’m a freshman in my college journalism class, my stories either usually don’t make the final cut or get buried in the back pages of the paper. I’m hoping this will garner enough attention to make a bigger headline.”
“I think it will,” he said with a smile. “There’s been quite a buzz stirring, and as you can imagine, many do have concerns and questions about the security issues and such. So, I’m actually glad for this.”
“Exactly,” Allison said with a nod. “And as I told my sister when she expressed her concern about it as well, while I can understand there’d be some apprehension about this, I’m a strong believer that everyone deserves a second chance. I think this is a very positive thing. I’m assuming these are not violent offenders you’re allowing on this work-release program, right?”
“Right,” Gio said immediately as Allison made notes. “The criteria for the county to even be considered for work release is already stringent enough. But to us, this is our home. Our families are here often. My wife is here almost every day as is Abel’s and Felix’s. We’re not about to take any chances here, so we reserve the right to add our set of criteria on top of those set by the county.”
“For example?” Allison asked without looking up.
“Well, for starters, the county makes exceptions for violent offenders, if they won’t be working within a certain distance of their victims. We make zero exceptions. If they’re doing time for a violent offense or ever have been convicted of a violent crime, then they’re not eligible for our program. We conduct our own private and extensive background check.”
Good to know.
He followed up to explain that they had very specific criteria for whom they were taking on. “It’s not as selfless as it may seem,” he said sitting back in his chair. “Sure, we’re all for helping community and those who deserve a second chance and all. But we also have our own special interests in mind as well. They’ll be working here, doing maintenance, cleaning, the laundry, even helping out in the juice bar, keeping the back end up to health-code standards. You know, mopping and washing out equipment and stuff. But we’re only accepting those who are interested in training to box.”
Allison glanced up, intrigued. “So, they have to be willing to fight for you?”
“No, just train,” he explained, sitting up and leaning his elbows on the desk. “The prisons and jails have their own recreational programs, and most include boxing. We’ve staked out a few and written down names of those we’d be interested in if they were ever eligible. If we see potential and we can train them to sign on as amateur fighters who might eventually turn professional and they’re willing to, then it’s a win-win. They are looking for a new start, and this could be it.”
“Interesting,” Allison said, making more notes, glad for the two girls who walked into the break room and asked Gio something about their schedules.
It’d give her time to catch up, since her shorthand sucked still. Only she prided herself on being a professional through and through, and a real journalist had to know shorthand. How were you supposed to record anything at noisy places? She learned the hard way it was pretty much impossible and breaking out your laptop on the fly never worked. By the time she got it fired up, it’d be way too late.
One of the girls winced when Allison finally looked up. “I’m sorry I didn’t know you were in the middle—”
“That’s fine, Frankie,” Gio said with a smile. “But Nellie would be the one to ask about the schedule this week.” He motioned to the pastries. “It’s Friday. You know what that means, right?”
“Oh, yeah.” The two girls smiled big walking toward the pastries. “Donuts and, oh my God, La Favorita pan dulce. My favorite!”
Gio chuckled as he watched the girls help thems
elves to the pastries.
Allison’s eyes were instantly back on her notes. Don’t look at the donuts. Don’t think of the donuts. Don’t smell the donuts. Remember how tight your jeans are!
Frankie just had to make a comment about the donuts among the pile of pastries before she could make up her mind on which she was taking, damn it. And, of course, she had to decide out loud between the lemon or raspberry-filled jelly donuts. Only Allison’s favorite! Go away!
Finally alone with Gio again, Allison got back to the subject of the work-release program. He told her more about how they’d be keeping tabs on them. How they used the buddy system and, basically, were given the responsibility of staying with their buddy the whole time they were on the premises. “At any given time, if I ask any of them where their buddy is, they need to know exactly. It gives them each accountability and a sense that they’re trusted to look out for each other. At the same time, it keeps us from having to babysit them every second.”
“So, they do get free time? As in just time for them to work out on their own?”
“Yeah.” Gio nodded. “Even during their training, we train them as we would all the other trainees. We show them what to do, supervise a bit just to make sure they’ve got it, and then let them finish training on their own. These are men and women who are really trying to get rehabilitated. It all started back in jail. They first had to work hard to prove themselves. Getting here is a great feat and a privilege they know they’re lucky to have. They’re not gonna ruin what they know is a good thing. So, me and the other owners are more than confident that this will work out fine.”
He explained more about their compensation and a few of the other stringent rules. He also said most were good guys. “Some may not look it.” He chuckled. “They’ve had tough lives, and it’s evident on their hardened exteriors, but so far, I’ve met every single one, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how respectful and humble they all are.”