It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m sitting on my bed sketching the new Batman from the comic book I just bought when I hear Dad’s voice holler to me, “¡Tomás! ¡Tráeme una cerveza!” At first, I try to ignore him, thinking my mom will get him whatever he wants, but then I remember that she and my sisters went to the grocery store. Frustrated, I put my pencil down and turn my comic book over so I won’t lose my page. Then I race downstairs, knowing that if I don’t get Dad his beer real fast, I’ll never hear the end of it.
As I walk through the dining room into the kitchen, I can see Dad sitting in the living room in his usual spot. His eyes are glued to the T.V. while he watches boxing. Opening the refrigerator door, I wonder why Dad can’t do anything for himself. Does he think I’m his personal slave or what?
When I hand Dad his beer, he’s careful not to take his eyes off the boxing match, not even for a second. “It’s the sixth round and Gómez is winning,” he tells me. I stare blankly at him. No wonder he’s fat. Every weekend, all he does is drink beer and vegetate in front of the T.V. A commercial comes on and Dad finally turns to look at me. He invites me to sit down and watch the match with him. I lie, insisting that I have a book report to work on. What I really want to tell him is that I can’t stand boxing, but instead I turn around and hurry back upstairs to my room and shut the door behind me.
I turn the radio on and lie back on my pillow, hoping I can forget about how much Dad gets on my nerves. But it’s useless. I find myself thinking that I don’t want to grow up and be like him. It seems like all he ever does is work or sit in front of the T.V., watching every single sport he can find. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I hate Dad. In a way I kinda feel sorry for him. I know that working nights at the hospital is hard. It’s just that I want more out of life. I want to do something different, maybe go to college. I don’t want to end up like Dad, working as a custodian all my life. Maybe I’ll be a comic-book illustrator or something like that. My best friend, Maya, says I’m pretty good in Art. She’s pretty sure I can get an Art scholarship when I graduate from Roosevelt High. I sure hope she’s right.
When I’m finally feeling more relaxed, I reach over for my drawing. In a few minutes, I’ve shaded in the last part of the Batman’s cape. I stare at it for a few minutes. Batman hovers over Gotham City looking ominous and powerful. It won’t take me much longer to finish it. Maybe I’ll show it to Maya when it’s finished. Sometimes Maya and I sit next to each other in Art class. She’s always snooping to see what I’m sketching. But I don’t mind. Maya’s pretty cool. She’s the only person besides my little sisters who gets to see my sketches. Maya’s good at drawing, too, except she mostly likes to draw faces of people.
María, the oldest of my two little sisters, suddenly comes bursting through the door and hollers at me, “Tomás, Dad’s calling you. He wants you to help bring the groceries in.” Then she disappears before I have time to yell at her for not knocking first. I slam my pencil down so hard that it pokes a hole in my drawing. Then I hurry back downstairs, wondering why it is that Dad can’t get up and help. Why do I always have to do everything?
As I step into the living room, Mom comes through the front door carrying two heavy bags of groceries. I quickly take them from her and she thanks me. My youngest sister, Amanda, who is only seven years old, is following behind with a gallon of milk. Amanda always pitches in to help, unlike María, who is two years older and makes a habit of disappearing when there’s work to be done around the house.
After a few trips to the car, we finally unload all the groceries in the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye I notice Dad still hasn’t budged an inch. And he probably won’t move from that spot until dinner is ready. I guess Mom must be used to him by now. I don’t know. One time when I asked her why Dad never helps with things around the house, she defended him, saying he gets tired from working all week. Since then, I just keep quiet. But I don’t believe her. I think he’s just plain lazy.
I’m about to take off upstairs again when Dad orders me to come and watch the rest of the boxing match with him. Mom looks at me pleadingly and says, “Ándale, hijo. He really likes it when you watch with him.” Mom knows how much I hate boxing, but even so, it’s hard to say no to her. Now I know how Batman feels when he’s trapped.
“Gómez is really giving it to him,” Dad says as I sit down on the couch and pretend to be interested in the two moronic jerks who are busy bashing each other’s heads in. Boxing is so brutal. I can’t understand how anyone can consider it a sport.
An hour later, the match is finally over and María announces that dinner is ready. Dad orders me to turn the T.V. off while he heads for the kitchen. Dad always sits at the head of the table and waits for Mom to serve him. Amanda and María always argue about who gets to sit next to me.
Tonight we have fried chicken, arroz, chile, and homemade tortillas. Maya says my mom makes the best tortillas in Laguna. By the time Mom finally sits down to eat with us, her face is drawn and tired-looking. It bothers me that she has to work so hard all the time. Mom cleans houses a couple days a week for some rich ladies in town and her feet are always killing her. Someday when I’m older, I’ll have a good job so she won’t have to work so hard anymore.
Tonight, the dinner conversation centers on the boxing match. When Mom asks who won the match, Dad spends the next fifteen minutes describing every gory detail of how Gómez took the other guy out. I’m glad when Amanda spills her juice. While Mom cleans up the mess, I use it as an excuse to leave the table. Dad is too busy wolfing down chicken to care.
I’m almost at the top of the stairs when I hear the doorbell ring. Before I have time to go see who it is, María has beat me to it. I listen as a familiar voice greets María. It’s my friend, Tyrone. All of a sudden, I’m not sure what I should do. I’ve been purposely avoiding him and Rudy at school. But now, there’s nowhere to hide.
“Hey, Tommy,” Tyrone says, coming up to the stairway.
“Hi,” I answer, trying my best not to act surprised. “Come on up.” I turn to María who is standing there staring at us and tell her to get lost.
“I’m gonna tell Dad on you,” she warns as Tyrone follows me up to my room.
Tyrone lives in the next apartment building. We’ve been best friends since junior high. When I first brought Tyrone home, I remember how my parents acted ’cause he was African American. They kept staring at him, and it really made me mad. You’d think they wouldn’t be prejudiced since they understand how white people are always putting us Chicanos down, but sometimes they can be just as prejudiced.
We sit down on the bed. Tyrone picks up my Batman drawing. “This is cool, Tommy,” he says. “Is it the new Batman?”
“Yeah. I’m almost finished with it.”
“He sure looks awesome,” Tyrone says. Then he changes the subject. “Rudy and I were wondering if you wanna hang out with us at the mall tonight. Maya and Juanita are supposed to meet us there.”
Maya is Tyrone’s girlfriend. She’s been dating Tyrone since they were sophomores. They broke up for a while when Maya was acting weird over her parents’ divorce, but now they’re back together.
“I’m not sure. I have a report to work on,” I say, repeating the same lie I told earlier.
“Hey, what’s with you, Tommy?” Tyrone asks, irritated. “Lately, you don’t wanna do anything? Have you got the clap or what?”
I can feel my face turning red.
“Come on, just for a while,” Tyrone begs.
I know that Tyrone won’t leave me alone until I agree. Tyrone can be pushy, like my dad. “Okay,” I finally mumble, and Tyrone’s face breaks into a big smile.