He flinched. He did not want to think about motherhood and the woman he was dating in the same sentence. Parenthood was a long way off as far as he was concerned.
After the table was cleared and the dishes stacked in the dishwasher, David sat at the dining table with Larissa and Tiana. The television was on in the next room and it sounded like a reality show. Larissa was listening.
“Do you like the show?” David asked her.
“It’s a good way to learn English,” she said. “People on those shows talk like normal people and they talk fast. It is hard to understand at first, but gets easier with practice.”
He hadn’t thought of it that way before. The different accents in the States must make it difficult for those learning English.
“This is what I’m stuck with,” Tiana said when she’d unpacked her books and notepad.
David turned to her and focused on the problem.
An hour later, the math work was done, and Tiana and Larissa had moved on to English. Zita was upstairs putting Beatriz to bed, so David went into the living room where Teresa and Elena were now watching a different show. Teresa eyed him somewhat warily, so he took a seat on the opposite side of the room.
It was easy for him to forget what had happened to the girls. They appeared like any other teenagers until they were alone with him. Then their fear reminded him how they’d been abused. He couldn’t imagine living with that every day.
When Zita came back downstairs, she was holding a phone to her ear. “That’s good news. I’ll tell the girls.” She hung up. “Julio is fine. The doctors gave him some pain relief and his temperature is coming down. They’re keeping him there for another hour for observation and then they’ll be home.”
Elena crossed herself. “Gracias a Dios.”
Zita’s shoulders were slumped and her eyes were a little dull.
“Come, sit down.” David patted the spot next to him.
She complied, sinking onto the sofa with a sigh.
He pulled her close and massaged her shoulders. “You’re very tense.”
“Oh, don’t do that. You’ll put me to sleep.” She leaned into the massage, belying her words.
He continued to rub the knots in her back. “You need to relax.”
She didn’t say another word, but slowly, her muscles relaxed. The show ended and the girls said goodnight and went upstairs to bed.
Zita sat up. “I’m sorry about tonight. I was looking forward to our date.”
“It’s fine. I still got to hang out with you.” He felt good about being useful and had a real appreciation for what she actually did here.
“I bet you didn’t picture your night involving algebra and crying babies,” she said with a small smile.
“Not exactly,” he admitted. “But it was fun. The girls are great. Why you ever said what you do isn’t work, I don’t know. You’re like a mother to all of these girls, and that’s got to be one of the hardest jobs there is.”
“Mama usually does all the work. I just help out.”
“That’s not what I saw.”
“But do you understand why I can’t leave her alone? If there wasn’t someone else here, who would have cared for the girls tonight?”
“Both Larissa and Tiana are old enough to care for the others, and I’m sure if Daniella was home, she would have come over. You said she lived on the property, right?”
She nodded. “The girls wouldn’t have known what to do with Xaviera.”
“They would have figured it out if it had come to that.” Perhaps he was being too optimistic. He knew nothing about babies, but his first thought would have been food and then to check its diaper. “Besides, Carly said there was money for a caregiver, didn’t she?”
“Yes,” she admitted.
“Have you investigated law school?”
