“There, that’s everything,” Sofia finished explaining her decision to get an abortion.
Maria wept quietly from her seat on the couch. Next to her, Juan hugged his wife in an attempt at comfort. "This isn't how we raised you," he said softly.
Sofia sat up with a look of long-suppressed emotion, “Dad? How can you be so intolerant? I had to do it before those idiots in the Arizona legislature begin enforcing the abortion ban. The world is changing, and your beliefs are old-fashioned. Nobody believes that stuff anymore."
The criticism was like a knife to Juan's pride. "I'm still your father! As long as you live here, you're gonna respect my wishes!"
“Then maybe it’s time for me to move out!” Sofia fired back.
When did she become so disrespectful? Juan wondered. She knows she can't talk to me like that.
“When I go to register for Fall term,” Sofia pressed the issue hard, as if Juan was to blame. “I’ll find an apartment of my own.”
Juan nearly snapped, but he controlled his anger. “Please, you don't have to move out. You know you're mother and I love you. We just don't agree with your decision."
Sofia made a rude noise that sounded like she was choking back a curse. She stood up and strode out of the room.
"You don't need an apartment!" Juan called out, but Sofia disappeared down the hallway. He instantly regretted his words. He'd always doted on his daughter, but somehow he'd failed to teach her his values. Maybe I've been spoiling her too much...
Maria, always sensitive to arguments, couldn’t handle the terrible news she was hearing. She broke into sobs and ran back to the bedroom.
Juan felt like his world was turning upside down. He knew the world was changing, but his culture and tradition wouldn't let him change with it. Juan felt a familiar anger flaring up inside him, and he needed to go someplace to cool off. "I'm going to Isabella's house!" he shouted down the hallway.
As he left for his sister's house, Juan slammed the door behind him.
It was always pleasant at Isabella's house. His sister was a large woman who spoke with a soft, strong authority that seemed to offer answers to every problem.
“I’ll tell you, the whole country’s going to hell!” Juan opined. “Men think they’re women, and women think they’re men. The whole country is obsessed with sex. And then when they make a baby, whoops! They just kill it.”
"The world is complicated, hermano," Isabella said. She rested a hand briefly on his shoulder, and then sat down across from him in her sunny breakfast nook.
Juan knew the world was complicated, but all this stuff happened to other people. Not him. He didn’t want any part of this vulgar world. “Why’s everything changing?” he asked dejectedly.
"People have more freedom now," Isabella peered over the rim of her tea cup. "That's why."
Her statement invited further explanation, and it drew Juan in, "What do you mean, people have more freedom?"
Isabella smiled softly, and her eyes radiated kindness. "When we were kids, we had to work hard. Remember?"
Juan nodded.
"Look at us now," Isabella waved a hand airily around her home. We've got everything we ever dreamed of - even more than that. What do we have to worry about?"
Juan grimaced, "I don't understand. Why can't people just be happy with our prosperity? Why do they have to destroy our culture and traditions too?"
Isabella's laughter bubbled merrily up from within her, as if from a deep well of contentment. She placed a hand on Juan's forearm, "A bent tree never has a straight trunk." She quoted an old Mexican proverb that basically meant, "Old habits die hard."
Juan gave a brief snort of laughter, "So you think I'm old school, huh?"
"Old school?" Isabella's eyes sparkled, "Oh, hermano, you're so old school that you're the Donald Trump of South Mountain!"
"Ay!" Juan pulled away playfully. "I might be bad, but don't compare me to that arrogant, racist cabrón! I'm a Joe Biden guy!"
Isabella returned to her cup of tea, "Well, there may be some help for you yet. Bust seriously, Juan, you don't have to worry so much. People are different here in America, and our kids are changing. But they're just becoming more fully human, like the people God intended them to be."
At the mention of God, dark clouds scuttled across Juan's features like a gathering storm. "How's that possible? These things... they go against our faith. We've been taught this is depravity. It's all from the devil."
Isabella's expression transformed into a mixture of shock and disappointment, "No," she said flatly. "No, it's not from the devil. Haven't you learned anything?"
"But it says in the Bible..." Juan began.
Isabella cut him off. "What does it say in the Bible, Juan? When's the last time you read it?"
Juan didn't answer. They both knew he was a working man who never took time to read.
"Look at President Biden," Isabella continued. "He's a Catholic, too. Right? Doesn't he support all these things you're worried about? Transgender rights, women's reproductive rights, all of it? He's our Patrón, no? He cares for us."
“Mmm,” Juan grunted. It was always good to talk to Isabella.
“Cheer up, hermano,” his sister never seemed to get depressed. "Remember, the house does not rest upon the ground, but upon the woman."
Juan shot Isabella an wry look, “Are you messing with me?”
"No, I'm serious," she said. "What the world needs now is more feminine energy."
"Oh yeah?" Juan quipped. "Then why haven't you offered me any food yet?"
"You're impossible!" Isabella scolded, swatting him lightly on the arm as she rose to prepare a meal. "You need to take a couple of lessons from President Biden on how to be a new-age man."
Juan chuckled, "I don't know if I'd go that far. I might starve to death!"
Choose Option 1: Juan Doubts Biden
Choose Option 2: Confidence in the President