Miguel was born into a middle-class family. His father spoke both English and Spanish, his mother, French and Spanish. While Miguel was growing up, his parents each spoke to him in their native language. Eventually, Miguel started going to school. His teachers became concerned and called the parents to advise them not to continue talking to him in their foreign languages, because it jeopardized his studies in Spanish, which was the official language of the country they were living in. When Miguel turned 15, his parents died in a car accident, which left him alone, so, he could not continue studying and went to live with his grandmother, who was a sickly elderly lady, and the little money she had was spent on her medication and continuous doctor visits. One day the grandmother told him, “Miguel, I can’t help you. My situation is difficult. I advise you please, son, find a job.”

“Yes, Granny,” Miguel told her. He started looking for work here and there, until he found one in a fancy restaurant. The general manager, Mr. Galaz, had allowed him to work in that restaurant as a janitor. He was in charge of cleaning the place, and he was working and fulfilling his obligations. One block from the restaurant, Mr. Galaz had his house, where he lived with his family, his wife and daughter. Every day he sent Miguel with food for his family. There Miguel met his daughter, Erika, who was the same age that he was. One day, Erika came out to receive the food with a book in her hand entitled, “‘English for Beginners”. Miguel asked, “Erika, are you studying English?”

“Yes.”

“And how are you doing?”

“Well, not very well, because there are words that I don’t know how to pronounce.”

It was there that a friendship began between the two. Daily, Miguel would help Erika pronounce certain words. Little by little, they lost track of time, not realizing that he had stayed 10 – 20 minutes, sometimes up to an hour. On one of those occasions, Mr. Galaz inquired, “Miguel, why are you taking so long?”

Miguel answered by telling him the truth. With the passing of time, Mr. Galaz realized that his daughter was falling in love with Miguel. He didn’t like that. So he addressed his worker, “Listen, you piece of sh*#. You are a nobody. You don’t have any future. What makes you believe that you can have someone like my daughter? Look for someone from your class. Get out of my sight! YOU ARE FIRED!!!”

Miguel left in pain. Already on the street, tears poured like rain down his cheeks from the hurtful words of Mr. Galaz. He had hurt his feelings, because at no point did Miguel have in mind to fall in love with the girl, for it was simply a clean friendship, based on his desire to help her learn English. Several years after, in a busy central square, they caught a glimpse of each other through the crowd and locked eyes; however, he didn’t greet her, for Mr. Galaz’s painful words were yet fresh in his mind. A few more years passed, and they met again. This time, it was Erika who approached him:

“Miguel, do you remember me?”

“Yes, of course I do. How are you?”

“Not very well.”

“Why?”

“My father was deported to his country.”

“For what reason?”

“Because he was involved in drug possession. The police arrested him and he was thereafter deported.”

“And your mom?”

“My mom got together with another man.”

“But what happened to your dad’s restaurant?”

“It wasn’t his. My dad just managed the restaurant.”

“Ohhh…and you?”

“Well, being in a difficult situation, I got married, but it didn’t work out. I got divorced and was left with a 2-year-old child. I’m looking for a job because I don’t have one, and I need to support my son.”

“I’m so sorry,” Miguel said, “I didn’t know.”

Miguel reached into his pocket, extracted his wallet and took out a personal card. On the back of the card he wrote, “Mr. Rodríguez, the bearer of this card is a good friend. I have known her for many years. She is a very responsible person, a trustworthy person. I ask you to help her in whatever way is possible. I will be very grateful.”

Miguel gave the card to Erika and told her, “Go to where I’m working and give this to Mr. Rodriguez.” Erika asked, “So, where do you work?”

“I am an auditor for the Azteca textile factory, and they will help you there. Go see Mr. Rodríguez!” he said. Erika complied with Miguel’s instructions. She went to see Mr. Rodríguez, and handed him the card that Miguel gave her. Mr. Rodríguez asked, “What do you know to do?”

“I am a secretary.”

“Okay, I’m going to give you an opportunity of a 28-day contract. If you prove to be qualified, I will give you a permanent secretary post.”

That was how Erika started working in such a factory and she did her job perfectly—was very responsible, early to work, obedient in everything they asked of her. In other words, she was a professional. Having Miguel so close by, she tried to seduce him by being so friendly and courteous. Miguel realized that Erika wanted to have a serious relationship with him, and one day, Miguel mustered up the courage and told her, “Erika, I’m not the right person for you. I’m not looking for a serious responsibility. Not right now. Let’s be good friends, but nothing more. I don’t think we could be good partners, and I don’t want to hurt you. I’m not ready for a serious relationship. I don’t want to have that kind of responsibility.”

“So you have a girlfriend?”

“No”

“But do you have a wife?”

“Neither. I dedicate myself to my job, nothing more, and I have other plans, but you are not part of it. As I told you, I don’t want to hurt you. Find another partner, a good man who can love you, respect you, and can give you everything you need.”

It didn’t last long, about a year later, Erika had found someone who had taken an interest in her, who fell in love with her. He was a good man, and they began to have a good relationship, so much so that they decided to get married. Erika sent Miguel an invitation to attend her wedding. Miguel saw the card and thought to himself, “I wish her the best, but I don’t think I will attend.” He began to analyze the situation and concluded that he should go live elsewhere. At work, he had gotten to know several other people who worked in other factories in other cities. In one of many, Miguel made a call to a friend and asked him if there was an opportunity to work where he was. The friend told him, “Yes, right now we need an operation manager. The pay is very good. So come over here and I’ll recommend you to the general manager.”

“Good. Thank you.”

Miguel submitted his resignation at the Azteca textile factory and thereafter went to the other city to start his new job. Miguel was the type of person who did not talk about his personal life. So no one knew that he spoke 3 languages. While on his new job, Miguel met a beautiful lady by the name of Shakira who worked as a sales manager at another factory not far away from where he was working. They became friends, fell in love, had a relationship, and decided to get married. They both earned very good money; besides, Miguel had money saved in the bank, because he always dreamed of buying a house. So between the two of them, they bought a house, after which they got married. In that, Miguel began to enter another business, which was real estate. He got houses that were for sale, he sold them, he made a good commission, and since his wife was also a sales manager, well, he also shared the work with her. They were also buying houses for themselves, preparing for the future, for their old age. They had two children, and everything was going well. They had a good understanding, a very good relationship between the two of them. Their children grew up and time went by; they accumulated money for the future. Miguel was not the type of person who distrusted his wife, so he didn’t care when she bought houses and put it in her name. He had a lot of confidence in himself. To him, that didn’t matter.

(To Be Continued)
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December 25, 2022
Finca Solana
Corozal Town