“400”, I said underexagerating $50 even though I know in Mexico this question is a common way to start small talk and not necessarily looked at as inappropriate like it is in English/US.
“I have a friend tell me he get laptops that people are giving away and sells them fro $50. He tell me he get as many as I want...”
"I'm interested in one!"
"Write here your phone number. I call him and tell him and tell him to call you." She stretched out her notepad with a pen and after, while we sat quiet diagonally across from each other on the vinal seats with no one else in our “booth”, I had this fleeting thought that maybe she had some type of business or something she was trying to promote. She broke the thin ice with a little more small talk about the computer that led into a little more personal conversation... "I 53 and I do different things because I'm curious and interested. I was curious how is that a ship that weigh tons floats so I read books and got a job working on a ship yard at NASSCO. Is an interesting job cause you see in two years how ship go from nothing to a big ship. It takes 2 years with 5,000 people working day and night."
"5,000 people! Wow!
How was the job? Did they pay fair?"
"They pay 15-20/hr. time and half over time and triple pay on Sunday and holiday. At the end when the ship was done they have party with you and your family and champagne."
“That's cool. How long did you work there?”
“Five years”
“Oh so you got to see at least one ship made from beginning to end.”
"Yea... I do different things.“, she said starting a new subject. I was more than ok with it. We had a pretty long trolley ride and I was in listening mode... ”...my sister tell me I should focus on only one thing, get an education. But I just learn different things and get different certifications." Somewhere in there I told her I was 43, felt open to tell her my age cause she told me hers. She went into great detail about her sister who was a chemical engineer, very sharp and traveled all over the world attending prestigious schools and working for different companies. It occurred to me that it might appear to some or that at another time or with a different person, I would've been getting bored of her going on so, but I was for some reason in a mood where I really wanted to listen to someone. That, in combination with the fact that there was something about the way she told stories, kind of speckled with out of the ordinary occurrences and confidence in her speech contrasting her kind of humble appearance that kept me listening to every word. "My sister went to a very prestigious training in Japan where she sat next to the prince of Kuwait."
"The prince of Kuwait?! Your sister went to school with the prince of Kuwait?!"
"Yes." she smiled just a twinge to acknowledge my amazement but I could tell it was old news to her and something not that surprising considering her sister's life in general. "She has pictures and whatever. She live her life like a princess. She grew up in a very difficult situation. She had polio when she was young and had trouble walking. She had to get up at 3a to be ready by 5a for the bus to school every day because she had to get her legs ready with her.." (here she gestured a crutch I guess she couldn't think of the word in English and I just nodded knowing what she meant). "She struggle for a year until she got a car but soon got a high paying job and bought the car of the year." (translating literally 'al año' which actually means a new car that was made the same year you bought it). "She had offers for jobs in the US but didn't want to leave Mexico and was doing fine there. She never got married she just dedicate herself to her career."
After a short silence and wanting to keep listening, I asked, “Where do you live?”
“I live in San Diego but I go to San Ysidro to buy something.”
“Where do you live?”
“I live in Tijuana, but I'm getting off at the Iris station to meet a friend.”. The Iris station is the second to last on the blue line that goes down to the San Diego/Tijuana border where she was going and still a good 15–20 minutes away.
“Where do you work?”
“I'm a Spanish teacher.”
She asked me my background and we slowly switched to Spanish. I told her my Dad's side and told her my Mom and Dad aren't Latino. She told me her Dad was half Chinese and half Italian and her Mom was 1/2 mexican and 1/2 black.
"Wow. Usted sí es una mezcla interesante."
She continued talking about her sister and how it was smart for her to never get married and how people think kids are wonderful when you see people with them in the movies but the truth is unless you have a million dollars for each kid you're going to have, it's not a good idea because they are going to have a hard life and go through a lot. She asked if I'd been married.
“No, nunca.”
“Por eso eres tan tranquilo.”
“Sí, cuando estoy en una relación, no estoy tan tranquilo.”
“Es que no has encontrado a alguien compatible...” I identified with some of the things she was saying about relationships and thought how sometimes relationships mess me up even if I am compatible with the person, but didn't want to get into my stuff. I was enjoying getting out of my head and my issues. She continued about how important it is that someone find someone who likes the same things and that she was with someone and they had totally different interests, "No está bien si estás con alguien y vives por el otro en vez de vivir tu propia vida. Si haces todo lo que él quiere digamos 90% de tu vida pertenece a él y solamente estás viviendo 10% de tu propia vida. No creces como persona." That I definitely identified with, “Yo estuve con alguien, éramos muy diferentes. Nos gustaban diferentes cosas...”, She went on to give examples of how she liked the ocean and the indoors and how he liked the mountains and camping and how he always offered to cook but she didn't like the way he cooked, when he cooked meat, he'd serve it in a pool of blood which was disgusting to her for example...
”Uno debe de ser inteligente y no estar en relaciones, no tener hijos. como mi hermana hasta que la mataron en su casa." [People should be smarter and not be in relationships, not have kids, like my sister until she was murdered at her home]
"¡¿Qué!?" I said whipping my gaze directly into her eyes. ”¡¿Qué dijo de su hermana?!" I was almost sure I heard the word matar, to kill, but I was thinking I must not've heard right.
"Ella tenía una criada,“ she said in a calm voice that kept me wondering still if I heard correctly.
”Confió en ella. Le ayudaba en todo y vivió con ella por 5 años y después le evenenó y le robó todo."
With my mouth half open and still staring directly at her eyes that met mine at an angle and darted strait ahead and back to join mine again and back again as I repeated what she said in a question, "¿Mató a su hermana?!"
"Si la evenenó. Le ganó la confianza primero y luego aprovechó y se quedó con todo. La manipuló y le cambió el testamento para que ella se quedara con todo." She repeated adding a few more details about the sinister maid to the story.
"Y no le pasó nada?"
"No, todos saben que lo hizo pero no tenemos dinero, no podemos demanadarla." I was still flabberghasted by the shocking plot twist in the story and wasn't sure what to say and she asked another question that got us off the subject.
We chatted a little bit more until I heard, "Next stop Iris Ave.." which caught me by surprise even though I've ridden the route hundreds (thousands?) of times and usually almost instinctually know when to start gathering my stuff. "O, ya estamos! Pues, mucho gusto Cristina. Llámeme por favor me interesa..." not able to finish the sentence distracted as I quickly gathered my book and ipad which were sitting on my lap closed for the past 25 minutes, and stuffed them in my back pack.
"Sí.. te llamo sobre... (she said “la compu” and I said “la laptop“ simulataneously)
"Gusto platicar con usted." I said as I stood up to go and shook her hand goodbye and the automatic door opened behind me.
