October 6, Wednesday

The station stays open all night and a couple of buses arrive in the wee hours and people clean and mop the floors, working around us. I’m grateful when the morning comes and I show the guy the map and he sells us tickets to Chapel Hill.

We sleep on and off the first part of the trip, waking up when we get to Charlotte, the first big city in North Carolina. The sun is slanting toward evening when the bus drops us in Chapel Hill. I call Joana from the public telephone. She’s expecting us but the exact day wasn’t certain. She sounds excited and says for us to wait just a few minutes and she’ll drive over to pick us up.

A few minutes later a white-over-yellow Volkswagen bus pulls up and Joana jumps out and comes running to us. “I can’t believe it! You made it!”

We kiss and hug and the boys are jumping up and down with excitement as we load the suitcases into the back of the van. It’s getting dark but I can see this is a pretty town with lots of trees. Joana drives us a short distance and pulls into a dirt driveway in front of a light blue clapboard house with peeling white trim and a sagging front porch. We are greeted in the living room by a pretty woman with long dark hair and a shy little boy about Junior’s age hiding behind her legs.

Joana introduces us to her housemates. “Lupe, this is Eva, and Junior and Carlos. This is Lupe and her son, Juan.”

Everyone nods and smiles, and Joana switches to English. “Everyone needs to learn English, so we will try not to speak Spanish or Portuguese, okay?”

Junior and Carlos chime in. “Yes, we speak English.”

Joana smiles and shows us to our room, switching back to Portuguese. “Okay, we’ll speak just a little so this part is clear.”

I nod and look at the little room, which has three twin beds and a white-curtained window. “How long can we stay here?”

Joana smiles. “You live here! Your new home is on Oak Street in Carrboro, the town right next to Chapel Hill. Lupe and Juan have one bedroom and I have another. We share the two bathrooms, kitchen and living room. I’m either working or with David, so I’m not here a lot.”

I’m worried about money. “Is it expensive?”

Joana laughs. “Not at all, it’s one hundred a month plus the utilities. You don’t have to worry about it until you get a job and start making dollars.”

Carlos interrupts. “Mamãe, are we going to stay here in the US? I thought we were on vacation.”

I pull him close. “We’ll talk about it tonight. I had to get us here safely and we’ll only stay if everything works out.”

Joana looks at Carlos and Junior. “The schools are nearby and you can walk there. Once you’re settled, your mom will get you enrolled. I think you’ll really like it.”

“Joana, how will I find a job? I don’t really speak English.”

She smiles. “Jobs are easy here if you’re willing to work. I clean houses, but I heard about a job at a restaurant you can probably get. It’s a janitor’s job, cleaning the bathrooms and taking out the trash. Once you speak more English I’m sure you can find a job cooking. Maybe not sous chef, but cooking.”

“Thank you for everything, Joana. I couldn’t do this without your help.”

“Of course, we’re family so we have to stick together.” She looks over at Carlos and Junior, who have each staked their claim to a bed. “Come on, let’s fix something to eat.”

After supper the boys get ready for bed and we say prayers. The first thing we ask every night is for God to watch over Luiz, Papai. And we thank God that we are safe and together, and remember all our family.

I hold them both close. “My sons, we are going to do our best to make things work so we can stay here. I need you to understand that Chico and Sónia will always know where we are, and if Papai comes home, or if the police have any news for us, they will let us know immediately. If Papai comes home we will go back to Brazil right away.” We cry together for a while then sleep peacefully.