Chapter 12 #2
Inasmuch as he wanted to spend the summer on a tropical island, Ray was disappointed about the plans he, Kenny, and Frankie had made for themselves.
They’d made a promise to see one science fiction, horror, western, and the latest James Bond movie that summer.
They’d also talked about going to Times Square, but then dismissed the idea, because they knew the consequences if their parents found out they were going there to see if they could get into some of the peep shows.
He finally fell asleep, and when he saw Kenny and Frankie the next day, he would have to tell them of the plans his parents had made for their family.
“Are you really going to spend July and August in Puerto Rico?” Frankie asked Ray, as he and Kenny shared a table in the school’s cafeteria during lunch.
“Yeah. We’re leaving the first week in July and coming back the last week in August.”
“Did you guys do something for your parents to punish you by sending y’all away?” Kenny questioned.
Ray shook his head and met Kenny’s eyes. “No. Why would you say that?”
“Because my mother said when she was growing up, if Black kids acted up, then their parents would send them down South as punishment.”
“We’re not being punished,” Ray told Kenny.
He explained why the Torres kids had to stay on the island for the next two summers.
He’d felt a measure of pride when his best friends appeared surprised that his parents were planning to buy a house.
“Once we move in, you guys can come over whenever you want.”
Frankie combed his fingers through his thick black hair. “Even if you weren’t going away for the summer, we still wouldn’t be able to do all of the things we planned, because I told my father that I’m willing to work in the store with him this summer.”
Kenny set down his milk container. “What did he say?”
“I think I shocked him, because he didn’t say anything.
It was my mother who thanked me for helping him.
My dad is a proud man who would never ask anyone for help, and that includes asking Nonna if we could move into one of the apartments in her brownstone so he could have more space for his family.
But my mother refused to live under the same roof with a man who controlled the very lives of those who went along with rejecting her because she’s Irish. ”
Ray wiped his hands on a paper napkin. “If my mother was in your father’s position, she would have moved her family in right after her husband’s father was in the ground.”
“But the difference,” Kenny said, in defense of Frank’s father, “is your grandfather wouldn’t have rejected your father’s choice of a wife because she’s Puerto Rican.
Frankie’s mother has every right to feel the way she does after being alienated because of who she is.
It’s the same with Black people. Folks judge us by the color of our skin and not because we’re either good or bad. ”
A beat passed before Frankie said to Kenny, “This is the first time I’ve heard you talk about race.”
Kenny closed his eyes for several seconds.
“I don’t talk about it much, because it upsets me with all that is going on in this country about Black people wanting to be accepted as equals.
My mother talks about us being here for hundreds of years, and we still don’t have the same rights as other people.
Folks who came here for a better life forget that they were discriminated against in their country but do the same to my people. ”
“You sound like a militant,” Frankie said, accusingly.
“I’m not militant,” Kenny countered. “I just want what I’m entitled to as an American.
It hasn’t been that long since people didn’t want to hire immigrants.
They’d put up ‘No Irish Need Apply’ signs when it came to employment.
And your father’s people, Frankie, were and are still called dagos and wops.
And forget about Spanish-speaking people being called spics.
All of us were victims of that yesterday when your cousin Pasquale lost his temper. ”
“My cousin is an asshole,” Frankie spat out.
“Asshole or not,” Kenny continued, “he meant what he said. And it was enough to make your mother cry.”
“You’re right,” Frankie agreed. “We don’t have to go through that again, because he’s been banished from the family.”
Kenny smiled. “Talking about family. Once I begin cooking lessons with your grandmother, will I become an unofficial member of your family?”
Frankie stared at Kenny with wide blue eyes. “You’re really going to let Nonna teach you how to cook Italian food?”
“Yup. My mother said it’s okay because your uncle will pick me up and bring me back home.”
“My uncle is part owner of a restaurant on Second Avenue, so if you’re really good, maybe you can work there on weekends—that is, if they need extra help.”
Smiling and nodding, Kenny said, “That’s something to think about.
” If his mother made extra money typing, then he could do the same working in a restaurant’s kitchen.
And if he were able to master certain dishes, it was something he could do on weekends as a high school student as long as it didn’t interfere with his grades.
Not only did he need the grade average, but also had to score high enough on the SAT to get into a public college as a matriculated student.
If he were to apply to private colleges, then he would have to rely on scholarships to cover tuition.
Paying for room, board, and books would have to come from either savings or his having to work part-time while at the same time attending classes.
“Well, it looks as if we won’t be able to hang out together during the summer over the next two years, and by that time, we’ll be ready for high school,” Ray said after a comfortable silence.
“Once we’re in high school, we can take the first Saturday in each month for breakfast at our favorite coffee shop on Broadway,” Frankie volunteered.
“I like the sound of that,” Kenny said. He placed his hand palm down on the table. “That’s a promise.”
Ray placed his hand over Kenny’s. “That’s a promise.”
Frankie did the same when he covered both hands. “Me, too.”
The bell rang, signaling it was the end of the lunch period, and the three got up to empty their trays before leaving the cafeteria for their next class.