This story is not unique. It's honestly all too common.
It's 2019 in Tampa, Florida. It's summertime, and it's hot.
Jose was born in Xicoténcatl and came to this country looking for milk and honey. He loves his family more than Trump loves putting k...
Jose and Rosa lay in bed, binge-watching Ingobernable. She's wearing his green and gold number 9 rec league soccer jersey and a pair of yellow panties. He's wearing black basketball shorts. Her hand rests on his chest, touching a crude tattoo of a heart with her name in it. On the TV screen, Emilia and Canek are arguing— but Jose's mind is elsewhere— it's bad— bad enough that he doesn't want to tell Rosa. She can tell that something is up, though, "Are you going to tell me what's on your mind, or am I going to have to drag it out of you?"
"It's nothing—"
"It's something. I can tell when the gears are turning in your head— don't make me ask again."
"Miguel didn't come in today."
"Is everything okay?"
"I'm not sure— ICE showed up at his wife's work last week and took two people away."
Rosa pauses the show and shoots up in bed, "Did they take Maria?"
"No, she was at lunch— her boss texted her and gave her a heads up that they were there, but he told her not to come back."
"She lost her job?"
"Yeah— I guess it's better than the alternative."
"What are they going to do?"
"What can they do? She has to work. Miguel has a brother in Tulsa— they are thinking about moving— he was really freaking out.
"I'd be freaking out too."
"Have you ever thought about moving?"
"To Tulsa?"
Jose sits up and swings his feet over the side of the bed— contemplating all of the things that could go wrong, "No, not Tulsa— but someplace safer, like Las Vegas or Arizona."
"Elena is happy here. She's just now making friends. I don't want to put her through all of that."
"Friends won't do her any good if she's not around to play with them."
"I want her to have a normal childhood—"
"She's never going to have a normal childhood."
"If it's not for her, then what in the hell is all of this for?
"It is for her! It's for you too— I just don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder."
"Then you never should have brought us here. Paranoia comes with the territory— I won't spend my life scared of boogeyman—"
"They're worse than boogeymen—I'm terrified that I'll come home and you'll both be gone— taken in broad daylight, to god knows where— put in cages, like animals— I couldn't bear it."
Rosa scoots behind him and wraps her arms around his shoulders. They are hard, like granite. Strong enough to carry the weight of the world if need be. He takes a deep breath, letting the tension out of his chest, "Everything is for you— stay or go— I'll do whatever you want. You're the only thing that matters."
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New chapters released every Monday and Friday (Chapter 9 of 28)
