The Outsider Ch. 13

Ruthie's apartment was in a building at the far end of the complex. It was a second-story unit that looked out over the parking lot of an office park. The position gave it relative privacy in comparison with most of the other apartments, which had windows facing into the windows of other residences. They went up the stairs and Ruthie opened the door with her own key.

"Mom! Ya estamos!"

Ruthie's mother came out of the kitchen. She looked somewhat like an older version of her daughter, but her skin was much darker and her facial features reflected her mostly Indian ancestry. She gave Mike a very suspicious look, but Ruthie took her arm and introduced her to her boyfriend.

Ruthie did not know what to expect from the introduction, other than assuming everyone would spend a very tense couple of hours that would have an unpleasant ending. Mike, however, had some time to think over how he was going to handle himself the day. He knew that, above anything else, he had to find neutral topics about which he could talk to a difficult person who could very well become a future in-law. He started out with a few simple questions to figure out how well Doña Lisette spoke English, such as how she liked living in Salinas and how long she had been in the apartment. He told her that Ruthie had mentioned that she originally was from Culiacan and asked her what it was like.

Doña Lisette talked haltingly at first, but then Mike found the topic he was looking for: San Diego. Ruthie's mother always had a special place in her heart for San Diego because it was the one place where she had some fun. In spite of being afraid of being caught by La Migra, she had been in San Diego when she was young and single. There were discos and attractions such as Sea World. Mike knew nothing about the city's nightlife, but he was very familiar with the attractions from having gone there with his family. Mike and Doña Lisette compared their experiences in San Diego. The fact that Mike went there with his parents seemed to set her at ease.

When Ruthie's mother changed the topic to what was going on at the university, he was ready. He talked about the hours of studying and backed up Ruthie's statement that they stayed in the library until it closed. He explained why they had to stay there so late, because they had to conduct research from volumes that could not be checked out. She asked about the danger of a young woman being alone at such a late hour. With no hesitation he responded:

"Of course it's dangerous for a girl like Ruthie to be out by herself that late. That's why I always take her back to her dorm and make sure she gets in OK. For a guy it's not so bad, so I drop her off first and then go to my own building."

When the topic changed to religion, again Mike was ready. He noticed Ruthie tensing up and fidgeting, but he ignored her. He talked at length about going to church with his parents while growing up and about various experiences that he had with his church group. He made himself sound much more religious than he really was, but he did not tell his host a single thing that was not true or that had not really happened to him.

Mike could tell that Doña Lisette was still suspicious of his family's church, but the godless party-boy that she had been expecting was not the person sitting in front of her. Mike was polite, serious, intelligent, and seemed to care for her daughter.

The issue of church bothered Doña Lisette and she pressed Mike on why they were not attending services. Mike apologized about that, saying that he was bothered by that lack in their lives as well, but what he wanted to do was return to attending services at his parents' church. He commented that it was a real shame that there was no decent church in Davenport. When Ruthie's mother chided him about not trying to find a church in Santa Cruz, he simply apologized and agreed that he needed to pay more attention to his relationship with the Lord.

Mike eased past the explosive topic of religion and started talking more about Ruthie and her life in college. He talked about how they met because they were in the same class and how they got to know each other through talking about literature. He talked about her studying and that was one thing about her that he admired, how studious and hardworking she was. He compared her to the lazy rich girls he ticketed and talked up her kindness and dedication.

Ruthie was quiet as she watched Mike establish rapport with her mother. He talked to her naturally and was neither intimidated nor condescending. He was honest about everything he said. Sometimes he distorted facts and events by taking them out of their context, but not once did he say anything false. His handling of the conversation was very different from Ruthie's habit of blatant lying and evasive answers.

Mike was at an advantage because he felt more at ease talking to older people than he did talking to people of his own age group. The difference in years and life experiences put enough distance between Mike and older individuals that he did not need to struggle talking about things such as popular culture that did not interest him. His intellectual curiosity made him want to talk to people whose information and experiences differed from his own, from whom he could learn something or get a different perspective. With a person such as his girlfriend's mother it was easy for him to have such a conversation.

The result of the morning's meeting was what Ruthie had least expected, that her mother actually liked her boyfriend. She opened up with him, telling him about some of the girl's difficulties in school and the worries that she had over sending her off to college. Ruthie was not pleased with the turn of the conversation, because Mike learned several details about her life that she really had not wanted him to know.

At noon Ruthie's aunt and her cousin Rosa came over to her apartment to make their weekly trek to the nearby Salinas Mega-Mart. Mike met two more of Ruthie's relatives and had a chance to further ingratiate himself. He shocked his girlfriend by agreeing to go shopping with the group when they asked if he and Ruthie wanted to join them. For the next two hours he helped the women load their carts with heavier items and then helped them load the purchases into the back of their car. He spent a lot of his time in the store talking to Ruthie's cousin: describing his academic experiences in Chicago and California, making comparisons between the two universities, and giving her some basic advice on taking tests and writing term papers.

Ruthie was totally "weirded out", as she always liked to say, by his behavior. Mike...setting foot in a Mega-Mart? As they walked up and down the aisles, she could tell that he was repulsed by being there. Later she would need to ask him why he agreed to accompany her relatives into the hated store.

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They left Ruthie's apartment in the late afternoon. Ruthie hugged her mother good-bye and Mike kissed her on the cheek. They made their way out of the complex and drove around Salinas, making a quick visit to the old downtown. Ruthie pointed out several places that she had known in high school and shared several more events of her life. Before going back to Davenport they stopped at a local burrito place, where Ruthie often went with her relatives when she was still in high school.

Ruthie's feelings about the day were very mixed. The first thing she wondered about was the Mega-Mart trip. If Mike hated Mega-Mart so much, how could he agree to go there? He responded that he could justify the trip because he was not spending any of his own money in the store. There was no point in arguing because Ruthie's relatives would go shopping at Mega-Mart whether he wanted them to or not. In such a case, his own feelings were irrelevant. Anyhow, his purpose that day was not to enlighten her relatives on the evils of Mega-Town Associates. His purpose was to meet her family and to make her life as easy as possible by doing what was necessary to make a good impression on them. As he put it:

"Different things matter at different times. In Davenport I can worry about Mega-Town all I want. Right now what mattered was me getting along with your mom."

"I 'spose..."

Ruthie was grateful that Mike had given up his day to spend with her relatives, but she was uneasy with how quickly things with him had developed. She was simultaneously impressed and worried by how easily he managed to ingratiate himself with three of her family members. Like it or not, now he was indeed "her boyfriend". That was how the world saw him, and how he saw himself.

Mike showed a side of himself that Ruthie had not known about. To get along with her mother, he managed to conceal a large portion of his beliefs and personality, showing only the part of himself that she would not find offensive. He had the ability to deceive through telling the truth, a talent that Ruthie did not have. She could tell the truth or tell a lie (usually badly) but Mike's subtle manipulation of facts to create false impressions was something she was incapable of doing.

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As Mike and Ruthie drove back to Davenport, Lisette Montoya Burns accompanied her sister-in-law and her niece back to her brother's place. They organized the purchases for Thanksgiving, which was coming up the following week.

When she got back to her apartment, Lisette took out her Bible and read some passages, making sure she would be ready for church the following day. She spent some time in prayer before getting ready for bed. Finally, she pulled out a photo album to take a look at Ruthie's pictures.

There were pictures in that album from the time she was born until she was three. Then there was a gap of nine years. The pictures did not start up again until the girl was 12. Little Ruthie...she reflected...not so little anymore.

It was because of Ruthie that Lisette's last name was Burns. She was married for thirteen years, but married in name only most of that time. She had lived in Salinas, and her husband lived in Lincoln. For the last nine years of their marriage they had no contact whatsoever, nor did Lisette have any contact with Ruthie. Then, totally out the blue, she got a phone call from her husband.

"I'm sending our daughter to live with you. She'll be flying into San Jose on Meg-Air Flight # 223 from Salt Lake City at 5:00. Can you get someone out to the airport to pick her up?"

"I...I'll send my brother to get her..."

"Good. There's divorce papers that'll be coming with her. If you want me to send you any child support, you'll have to sign 'em and send 'em back."

...and...that was the end of Lisette's dysfunctional marriage with Ruthie's father. Not that it really mattered, because they had not seen each other for nearly a decade.

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Lisette looked at Ruthie's baby pictures and reflected on her ill-fated experience with love in San Diego. She had been going out with a group of young Mexican women to some discos that also were frequented by Marines and sailors from the nearby Navy base. Many of the military guys, the Marines especially, were Hispanic and spoke fluent Spanish. One night she was with her group of friends when they hooked up with a group of sailors from an aircraft carrier. There were a couple of white guys in the group, including a petty officer by the name of Jake Burns. By that time Ruthie's mother spoke just enough English that she could get by, and Petty Officer Burn's shipmates could help out with translating when it was needed. He was interesting and different from anyone she had ever met. His blond hair fascinated her.

Jake liked to have fun and enjoyed taking Lisette to various places around San Diego. For three months he splurged on her while he waited for his ship to sail. He never really planned on staying with her past his sailing date, and she had no real plans at all. They were together for the moment. He'd leave and she'd go back to trying to find a job and avoid being deported. At that point her brother already had a job in Salinas and was waiting for her to join him.

The month before Petty Officer Burns was ready to ship out; Lisette realized she had a big problem. She had missed her period. She waited two weeks, hoping that her menstruation would miraculously come about, but nothing. She bought a test kit and found out that, sure enough, she was pregnant.

When she approached Jake about the problem, his answer was simple: get an abortion. She was so horrified by the suggestion that she actually slapped him. Get an abortion? Are you crazy? Do you want to murder our child? Do you want me to go to Hell?

They argued for a week as Jake's sailing date rapidly approached. Finally he decided that the easiest thing to do would be to give Lisette a marriage certificate so she could get military benefits for the baby. He really didn't care, because he was going to be out to sea anyway. So, he took her to a local Justice of the Peace with a couple of his shipmates to serve as witnesses, then took her to the Navy base to get an ID as a spouse so she could see the military doctors. From there he took her to DMV to get a state ID. Lisette was not pleased with the brusque way Jake was treating her but at least, if nothing else, her legal situation was resolved and she no longer had to worry about La Migra.

Jake was gone more than a year. While he was gone, Lisette had her daughter, who she wanted to call Luz Maria. Jake overruled her and told her that he wanted the girl's name to be Ruthie. Worried about what was going to happen when Jake finally got back from his tour, she agreed.

When he got back, Jake decided that he wanted to stay with Lisette after-all. He moved her and the baby into an apartment for the final six months of his contract with the Navy. He became attached to Ruthie and attentive to his wife. Lisette, however, was getting bored and anxiously waited for Jake to get out of the Navy so he could help her get a job.

When Ruthie was two, Jake finally left the service and moved his wife and daughter to Lincoln, where the marriage quickly deteriorated. He had work lined up as a mechanic, but no job materialized for Lisette. His friends and relatives totally cold-shouldered her. He hooked up with some of his old friends from high school and started to go out drinking. He insisted on leaving Ruthie with his mother during the days, because he did not want the child to grow up speaking Spanish. Lisette was totally cut off from everything that was familiar to her. Even going to church didn't work out, because at the time there were not many Hispanics in Lincoln and she definitely did not fit in with any of the white congregations.

Within six months Lisette had enough of Jake and Lincoln and wanted to join her brother in Salinas. She wanted to take Ruthie, but there was no way either Jake or his mother would be willing to part with her. She was under the impression that divorce was not an option, because if she got divorced, she'd be subject to deportation. A recent INS round-up of illegal immigrants working at a nearby meat-packing plant drove home that point. Finally she got on a bus and simply left. Two days later she was in Salinas. She moved in with her brother and his wife. Within a month he helped her get a job. A few months later she was in her own apartment.

Lisette's mind was full of trauma and guilt as she started her life in Salinas. The pastor of her church told her that she had lived in sin when partying around San Diego. God had punished her with her unpleasant marriage and the loss of her daughter. The only hope for her was to lead as upright a life as possible and to spend the rest of her mortal days serving the Lord. She would pray to be reunited with her daughter, and maybe, if the Lord chose to bless her, at some point Ruthie would re-appear in her life.

Nine years later, Lisette's prayers were answered. Eight hours after receiving that phone call from her husband, the Meg-Air flight carrying the terrified 12-year old landed in the San Jose. Lisette's brother picked her up from the airport and brought her to Salinas.

Yes, there were a lot of challenges and the girl had picked up bad influences in Jake's house, but what mattered the Lord had spoken and forced him to release her. Among other details in the divorce agreement was a line that gave Lisette full custody of Ruthie. There was no mention about visitation. She gladly signed the document and sent it back.

Lisette celebrated by taking her daughter to church. The girl would grow up serving the Lord. She would see to that. It was the least she could do to praise Him for returning Ruthie to her. At that point the pictures in her photo album resumed...