Chapter 26

It were a bit after nine in the mornin’ when we got back to the house. As I were a gettin’ outta of the truck, my stomach reminded me we hadn’t eaten a damn thing this morning.

“Hey, Grandma,” I said, entering the kitchen, “what’s the chance of this ol’ cowboy gettin’ some breakfast.

Lisa’s mother looked up, from where she were a playin’ with Angel on the floor.

In Spanish, she said, “You play with Angel and me and Lisa will fix breakfast. Angel and I haven’t eaten either.”

I reached down and picked Angel up off the floor, where she were a workin’ on trying to keep the crayon colors inside the lines of the picture in her colorin’ book.

“Come on Angel, you an me gonna watch some cartoons on the TV.”

Angel snuggled up in my arms and we traipsed off to the livin’ room to watch TV.

While Angel and I were tryin’ to figure out what was goin’ on with “Sponge Bob”, I could hear Lisa and her mother talkin’ in the kitchen.

At first it were purty quiet, but all of a sudden, I heard her mother give out with a string of curses in Spanish that would shock a sailor.

“Well, sounds like Lisa got around to tellin’ her mother what’s a goin’ on.” I said to myself.

Well, I’m here to tell yah, it didn’t slow down much in the kitchen. Lisa’s mom were a cursin’ and a bangin’ pots an pans all the while.

After a few minutes, Angel looked up at me and asked, “Mr. Amos, why are mommy and grandmother fighting?”

I looked down at her and answered, “Sweetheart, they ain’t a arguin’. Your momma is just tellin’ grandma about some bad men. It sounds like your grandma is purty upset though.”

Things finally quieted down in the kitchen, and after a while, Lisa hollered for us to come and eat breakfast.

They sure didn’t let their tempers get in the way of cookin’. They’d fixed huevos rancheros with green chili. Damn, but I made a pig outta myself.

Lisa and her mom didn’t say much while we ate, but I could see a storm were a brewin’ on Grandma’s face. When we’d finished eatin’, Grandma tole Lisa to take Angel out to see the horses. She wanted to talk to me.

While Lisa bundled Angel up for their trip to the barn, Grandma poured a cup of coffee for both of us, and then she took a seat at the table, across from me.

While we waited for Lisa to get Angel buttoned up, neither of us said a word. That didn’t last more’n a second once they were out the door.

“Amos, Lisa told me about the trouble with the drugs and that someone is trying to kill you. Now, what are you going to do about it?”

I damn near fell off of my chair. Not because of what she said, but how. She spoke near perfect English, with very little accent. Up til now, we’d mostly spoke in Spanish. I had no idea she spoke English this well.

I must a looked dumbstruck, cause Grandma smiled and then said, “What! You think I’m ignorant? Amos, I might have come from a poor family in Mexico, but when my husband and I came to the U.S. we both decided that we would be Americans. We both spent a lot of time learning how to read and write English.”

She paused a moment and then with a smile on her face said, “When I took my citizenship test, I was told that my English was exemplary.”