Corner Store

FauxNe

Corner Store

         Maria turned her eyes from the cutting board to the stove, the chicken broth still hadn't come to a boil. Having already chopped the tomatoes, celery, and zucchini she quickly diced an onion before the fumes could gather underneath her face. Scooping the pieces up with the knife and her free hand she tossed the pieces into the broth. Every time she made albondigas she thought about her mother teaching her to only use half an onion for the soup. But her husband loved onions, so she never hesitated to add the extra half just for him.

         The broth barely coming to simmer she tossed the celery in along with the cilantro, cumin, and oregano. The zucchini cooks the fastest so that goes into the soup last, gathering them into a bowl she places it into the fridge. While she is in there she grabs the tray of meatballs that she had prepared earlier in the day and places them on the counter. Looking up and across the table into the living room she smiles at her daughter.

         "Marisa, mija are you getting hungry?"

         "Ya."

         The girl looks up from her dolls and smiles at her mother. Quickly focusing back on her stuffed toys she arranges them on a pink blanket placed on the floor. Maria watches her for a few seconds before turning her attention back to dinner. The thought had been crossing her mind more often this year. Instead of growing into other toys or playing with other kids Marisa had only become more devoted to her stuffed bear. She thought about this while placing the meatballs next to the stove; checking the broth it had come to a full boil so she turned down the flame and began to place the meatballs into the stove one by one.

         One specific occurrence kept repeating itself in Maria's head as she stood there in the kitchen, and that was the tantrum Marisa threw when she was forced to part with her bear for the day. Her husband Rafael, Rafa as she called him affectionately, was taking Marisa to a party for a co-worker's child and would not allow her to take her bear along. Both Maria and Rafa were not quite expecting the meltdown that followed. While her husband remained steadfast in telling the girl that she was not taking her toy to the party, Maria took notice to the attachment towards this specific bear. Marisa had never thrown any fits like this in the past. It was that moment that she realized her daughter never brought any other of her stuffed animals along with her, only this dark blue bear.

         The boiling broth splashing onto her hand snapped Maria back into the moment, she had dropped the meatball rather than placing it into the pot. She turned down the flame to its lowest setting and began putting the rest of the meatballs in the soup. Hearing the neighborhood children playing outside she looks over at her daughter again, who now has her animals lined up across the couch. After a few seconds she begins to drift back into her earlier thought.

         Once Rafa and Marisa had left for the party Maria immediately got to work washing the bear. Over a year's worth of dirt and grime had worked its way into the bear's fur, and Maria decided that she would treat this bear as her daughter would. She went step by step and refurbished the toy over the next few hours. First cutting into the stitching underneath one of the arms she removed the cotton stuffing before hand washing the skin of the bear. As she gently rubbed the dirt out, bringing life back into the blue color; Maria pondered about the relationship this bear shared with her daughter. Did the bear have a name? She never heard Marisa call it any name. When she thought about it, she had never really heard her daughter speaking to it. After washing the bear, when it was time to stuff it again she removed some extra cotton from her bed pillow to give it some extra fluff.

         An outburst of shrieking laughter coming from the children outside startled Maria as she covered the pot, now filled to the brim from the meatballs. The kids were having a blast with whatever game they were playing. Marisa slowly made her way to the window next to the front door to get a view of the commotion.

         "You want to go outside mija?" Maria asked optimistically.

         "Mm-mm." Marisa shook her head as she ran back to the couch.

         "You can if you want to, dinner still isn't ready."

         "I'm waiting for Papa." Marisa said as she popped her head out from the side of the couch.

         "Well he won't be home from work until later, so you have time..." Maria smiled in encouragement.

         "Mm-mm." Marisa was now peeping out from the top of the couch, her smile hidden behind the cushions.

         Maria laughed as she went back to cooking. Now it was time to fix the tostadas for Marisa. She had never been a picky eater, she will still have a small bowl of soup; however she will always ask for a tostada to pair with whatever meal they were having. Being extremely easy to make, Maria never had a problem fixing her girl a quick tostada. She quickly melted some bacon fat into a pan before placing the refried beans in. Slowly she used a spatula to fold the beans over into the fat, gradually giving them a creamy quality. While doing this her mind went back to that peculiar day.

         Barely an hour passed after Maria finished stitching the bear and put it back on Marisa's bed when Rafa came into the apartment with Marisa running straight to her room in tears.

         "What happened?" Maria asked, surprised that they were back so early.

         Rafa smacked his lips vocally and threw his arm up towards Marisa's room.

         "She cried all day, like that." He said nodding towards the hallway.

         "Oh no." Maria clasped her hands together.

         "Mira, she never stopped for one second since we left. Begging me to come back and get the bear. We got there and she didn't talk just cried; she wouldn't eat, or play, or do anything. She acted terrified the whole time. Manny's wife tried to talk to her, got her to calm down a little bit but she wouldn't stop so I took her home." Rafa explained with an exhausted tone.

         "Rafa, don't be upset." Maria pleaded.

         "I'M NOT." Rafa snapped, quickly calming down and taking a breath.

         "I'm not. I just can't believe she acted like this. She's never done this before. HEY, remember we went to pizza the other week. She didn't bring the bear that time and she didn't care. So what, she just gets to choose when she wants to bring it?" His joking tone coming out signaling that he had cooled down a bit.

         Maria kissed him and softly said.

         "I love you honey. Everything will be ok."

         With the beans ready to go, all that remains is some chopped lettuce and some grated cheese. Going into the fridge to get the lettuce Maria notices out of the corner of her eye that there are no tortillas in the fridge. Being the one thing that Rafa prefers to have with his meals Maria begins to think fast. While Rafa wouldn't be upset at the lack of tortillas, she still wanted to have something for husband. Quickly she scanned the kitchen; the dishes were already on the table, the soup and tostadas were ready to go, and Rafa wouldn't be home for 25 minutes. Turning all the burners off on the stove she begins to call to Marisa.

         "MIJA, GET YOUR CHANCLAS WE ARE GOING TO THE STORE!" Maria yelled as she made sure everything was okay to leave for a few minutes.

         Marisa came towards the table with a confused look on her face. She was trying to figure what was happening.

         "Andale mija, we have to get back before your Papa gets home." Maria explained as fast as possible while getting her shoes, purse, and keys.

         After hearing this Marisa ran to her room and came back out with her shoes and socks on, by this time Maria opened the front door. Stepping outside and holding the door open, she watched as Marisa ran up to the doorway only to turn around and run towards the living room.

         "Honey we have to go NOW." Maria implored.

         Marisa came running back with her bear in hand, a worried look on her face. Upon seeing this Maria smacked her lips sarcastically as she realized that she was just thinking about having more patience towards Marisa and her bear. Having her already walking out of the door with the bear, Maria quickly gave in but still tried to explain.

         "We're just walking to the gas station but we have to hurry so we get back before Papa ok? So c'mon."

         Maria quickly locked the door and threw the keys into her purse. Holding out her hand, Marisa takes hold of her mother's as they make their way down the alleyway towards the street corner. Her other arm clutching the bear close to her chest.