Belong to You Read Online Free PDF Page B

out of her bedroom. Before she even reached the kitchen, she caught the wonderful smell of chorizo and eggs and her stomach growled. She headed into the kitchen and saw her aunt preparing breakfast at the stove.
    At five feet tall, Aunt Maria was an inch shorter than Anna. Maria had a full figure and her gray hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She wore an apron over her uniform and sturdy shoes.
    “Good morning, Aunt Maria,” Anna said in Spanish.
    Her aunt still struggled with English and usually admonished Anna to speak in English to help her better learn the language. Anna’s aunt and uncle had come to the U.S. from Mexico City. The children were born in the U.S.
    Today when Maria looked over her shoulder, she responded in Spanish, “You look tired, my child.”
    “I’m fine.” Anna switched to English as she opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. “Where is everyone?”
    “Of course your Uncle Tito left early for work with the landscaper.” Maria enunciated each word clearly but with a strong accent. She picked up the frying pan and slid the chorizo and eggs onto a plate then added a folded homemade flour tortilla. “Your cousins are at school.”
    “It’s that late?” Anna set the orange juice on the counter as she glanced at the clock. It was after nine. She took a glass out of a cabinet. “What are you doing here, fixing me breakfast?”
    Maria got out a fork and a napkin. “Josephina called last night. Our first house cancelled,” she said as she carried the plate of chorizo and eggs, as well as the fork and napkin, to the table. Maria worked for a house cleaning service.
    Anna knew her aunt was disappointed at the loss of income and a twinge of guilt stabbed at Anna’s belly for her shopping spree yesterday. Not that it would have made a difference in the household. Anna would have gladly paid all of the rent, utilities, and groceries, but her aunt and uncle were proud and insisted on paying half of everything. It hurt their pride deeply if they couldn’t make their half and still send money to relatives in Mexico. Anna just felt guilty because she could afford so much and they had so little. But they wouldn’t allow her to spend money on them.
    Knowing that her aunt wouldn’t be pleased at Anna’s train of thought, she made herself smile and she said, “It looks and smells so good.”
    Maria pointed toward the breakfast table. “Sit.”
    Anna put the carton of juice back into the fridge and carried her glass to the table. She slid into a seat and held back a grin. “Yes, ma’am.”
    With a return smile, Maria set the plate in front of Anna along with a fork and a napkin. “You are right. It is good.”
    Anna set her glass on the table. “Is that menudo I smell, too?” Anna said as she picked up her fork.
    “It will be ready for dinner.” Maria untied her apron and pulled it over her head. “It is time for me to go. We have a house at nine-thirty.” She hung the apron on a hook inside the pantry door before closing the door. “Tomorrow is an event, yes? A wedding?”
    Anna swallowed the delicious bite of her breakfast. “Yes.” In the past, she had offered her aunt and uncle various jobs to help at her events, but they considered that charity, too, so she’d learned not to ask them. “It’s in Phoenix so I’ll be leaving early.”
    Maria rested her hand on Anna’s shoulder. “You’re a good girl, our little Anna.”
    “Who are you calling little?” Anna grinned at her aunt. “Last I checked you were shorter than me.”
    Maria laughed and squeezed Anna’s shoulder. “I will see you tonight.”
    “Would you like a ride to Josephina’s?” Anna asked. “I can save this and eat it when I get back.”
    Maria took her house keys off of a hook and slipped them into her pocket. “You eat while it’s still hot. I will walk. It does me good.”
    “See you later, Aunt Maria,” Anna said fondly to her aunt.
    Maria gave a smile and a nod and headed out