“Before you were born, I got very sick and your dad made me go to Cuba to recover. I stayed in a lovely house on a beach next to a lavish estate. It was a perfect cure for me, lying in the sun, without responsibilities.”
“Was Dad with you?”
“No, I was alone. There was a Chinese couple who took care of the house and me. Chang and Li were their names.”
“How long were you there?”
“Six weeks. I was so happy, just by myself, reading, resting, swimming in the Caribbean Sea. It really was the best time of my life. I never felt better, until, of course, I had to leave.”
“Why did you have to leave?”
“To make sure you were a healthy baby. I needed to be near my doctor, who was in Chicago.”
“The ground is so beautiful here, Mom. It looks like snow, but the air is very hot.”
“That’s cotton, baby. Cotton is the main crop in Alabama. The temperature doesn’t stay high long enough up north to grow it there. Also, the cost of labor is much cheaper in the South, and picking cotton is extremely labor-intensive.”
“What does that mean?”
“It takes a lot of people to handpick the buds. That’s why slaves were brought here from Africa, to work in the fields.”
“They didn’t want to come.”
“No, baby, they didn’t.”
“There aren’t slaves now, though, right?”
“Not officially, no. But too many people still live almost the same way as they did a hundred or more years ago. There’s no work here, really, except in the cottonfields, and it doesn’t pay much. The difference between then and now is that people are free to come and go, they’re not owned by another person.”
“I wouldn’t like to be owned by someone.”
“Nobody does. Slavery is against the law in the United States, but it still exists in some parts of the world.”
“Let’s not go there.”
“We won’t, Roy, I promise.”
“Were there slaves in Cuba?”
“At one time, yes.”
“Were there slaves when you were there before I was born?”
“No, baby, that was only a few years ago.”
“Chang and Li weren’t slaves, right?”
“Certainly not. They were caretakers of the property. Chang and Li were very happy to be working there. They were wonderful people and very kind to me.”
“How did they get from China to Cuba?”
“I don’t know. By boat, probably. Or maybe their parents came from China and Chang and Li were born in Cuba. They spoke perfect Spanish.
“Roy?”
“Yeah, Mom?”
“Are you all right?”
“I’m okay.”
“Something’s bothering you, I can tell. What is it?”
“I think I’d like to learn to speak perfect Spanish.”
“You can, baby. You can start taking Spanish lessons whenever you want.”
“Mom?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“I bet the slaves didn’t think the cotton fields were so beautiful.”