The following Wednesday, John came in to my office; his face was full with his smile. “Jose, I have good news. We just got a message that it looks like the adoption has been expedited. It should be finalized in the next few weeks. And even better news, guess who the judge will be?” I could tell that he could barely contain his excitement, so I let him finish. “Tio! Your uncle will be hearing the case for your adoption!”
I was full of excitement now myself. Quietly to myself, I whispered, “God, you overwhelm me.” After I was able to gather my thoughts, I called Brittany to call Luisa for me.
John was still in the office; he was still overjoyed. “Are you going to tell Luisa now?”
“Yes, I am. And I’m going to tell her to take the credit card and go shopping! We are getting a son!”
I heard the intercom page on the phone. “Yes, Brittany?”
“Mrs. Luisa is on line two for you.”
“Okay, thank you.”
I connected to line two. Breathless, I said, “Luisa!”
I could hear the concern in her voice. “Jose, is everything okay? You sound out of breath!”
“Yes, I am great!”
“You’re calling me early today. Are you sure that you’re okay?” I could still tell that she’s not quite convinced that I was fine.
“Well, I’m calling because I have great news! The adoption has been pushed up and Uncle is the judge!”
I could hear a thud as she dropped the phone. “Luisa? Luisa! Are you okay?”
She was crying as I heard her fumbling to get the phone back to her ear. “Yes, I’m just on my knees, thanking God!”
“You scared me, Mujer!” I was relieved that she was okay. “We will need to get the extra bedroom ready! You need to go shopping! Don’t worry about the crib. I have already ordered one. They will call when it comes in and they are ready to deliver and set it up.”
“Okay. This is wonderful news!”
“Yes, love. Now, you need to call Bernice to go shopping. Well, maybe not. She still has her hands full with Emilio. Call JoAnn. She likes that kind of stuff, too. She loves to shop for kids. She did most of the shopping for Iglesias’s children. You know how she feels about the ‘peroxide queen.’”
“Don’t call her that. She isn’t as bad as everyone makes her out to be.”
Like a reprimanded child, I apologize. “Sorry, Amor. I meant Iglesias’s wife.”
“That’s much better.” She sounded pleased now. Then she went back to the subject that made our day brighter. “Thank you for this great news! Oh, the best store in town for baby clothes is the Christian thrift store. I like to look around and pay for some of the customers’ purchases without them knowing. The owner lets me do that sometimes.”
My heart swelled with pride at this true gift from God whom I called my wife. “Yes, love. I know. It’s one of the many reasons that I love you so much!”
“I just want to bless others as I have been blessed.”
“I can’t argue with that reason. I need to get back to work now. I love you. Besos.”
“Kisses back to you, love. I love you.”
As soon as we hang up, Luisa called JoAnn. “Hey, JoAnn. This is Luisa. How are you?”
“Mrs. Luisa, I’m good. How are you?”
“I am doing quite well today!”
JoAnn sounded puzzled with this random call. “Can I help you with something?”
“Yes, you can. What time do you get off work today?”
“We just finished with our last patient for the day. I can leave now if I need to. Dr. I. won’t mind if I leave a little early if I tell him why. You know he pretty much does what I tell him to anyway!” She started laughing.
Luisa joined her. Her mood was the best it had been in quite some time. “Yes, I do know how he listens to you.” As their laughter faded away, Luisa and JoAnn made plans for the afternoon. “Can you come to my house when you leave work? I would like to go to the Christian thrift store and the mall. I need to do a little shopping.”
“That sounds like a wonderful afternoon, Mrs. Luisa.”
“Please, just call me Luisa. We don’t have to be so formal.”
“Okay, I can certainly do that!”
The two women finished the conversation. They both had joy in their hearts to be able to do some shopping later.
Back in my office, I was happy, but sad at the same time. I couldn’t help but think, “La vida es un ontoño sin briza buscado aliento del calor de la trerra que no perdona (Life is fall without a breeze, looking for relief from the heat of the earth that doesn’t forgive).” A knock at my door interrupted my thoughts. Brittany was standing in the doorway.
“Boss, I think that it’s time you go to see someone.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you need to see someone to help you deal with this grief. Go see your rabbi, or maybe a counselor.”
I considered her comment for a moment. “My rabbi would only give me advice if I wanted that. I would just go to a shrink. What I need is just to have someone listen to me!” I banged my hand on the desk lightly to let go of some of the frustration. But I didn’t go to see or talk to anyone. I thought that I could deal with things myself and tough it out. I would realize later that I would remember this day and the need.