Gramita's BFF

“Nacha es Gramita’s B.F.F.” Jeannie explained to her 5 year old daughter, Puchi.  

Her 5-year old daughter’s eyes widen.  “Whoa! Gramita has a B.F.F.!?!”

“Yes and she’s a true B.F.F.  Tia Nacha is 71!  Can’t get more of a Best Friend Forever than that!”

Jeannie and her daughter get in their car to pick up Gramita to begin the trek from the Bronx to Brooklyn.  Meanwhile Gramita is rummaging through a mental checklist to make sure she has everything.  The door bell rings.   Before heading out the door, she enters her bedroom, stands in front of the oversized, glow-in-the-dark rosary and makes the sign of the cross.  She closes her eyes for a second before leaving.  

As Gramita steps in the car, she exhales deeply as if she was holding her breath for the last few minutes.  “Pues, ojalá, te recuerdas como llegar a Brooklyn.”  “Just give me the address, Mamá.”

Back then Jeannie was Puchi's age, they traveled by bus and train all the way to Brooklyn.  They visited Nacha at least once a month.  Jeannie starts unfurling the folds of her memory to figure out when was the last time she saw Nacha.  Like always, Gramita must have read her mind.  “La última vez que vimos a Nacha fue el año pasado.  La trajo su hija, que vino desde Colorado.”

How can Jeannie forget!  Jeannie’s mother’s BFF’s daughter, Yvette.  She would be like a cousin to Jeannie.  Jeannie looked up to her b/c she was a “teenager”.   Yvette in turn thought of Jeannie like someone to look after.  Yvette never played with her as she wished now she had, but always kept a close eye on her from afar.  Heaven forbid she was seen playing jump rope with an 8-year old!  Instead, Yvette would sit on the stoop
while they played and their mothers would be inside also keeping a close watch through the window.

As Puchi looked out the car window, her mother, Jeannie, told her.  “Puchi, Gramita’s BFF is really a BFF- E and E.”  “E and E?”  “Yeah for ever and ever!”  Puchi was too busy enjoying the breeze on her face than worrying about what “ever” meant, much less what “FOUR ever” meant.  She closed her eyes into the wind and imagined giant number 4’s hitting her face.  “Puchi, you know that I remember Tia Nacha all the way back when I was your age!”  “I’m not FOUR, Mami, yo tengo five.  Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco.” Puchi imagined all the numbers flying toward her face as the wind blew.

Gramita started talking about what the doctors said to Nacha until she got to Brooklyn.  They found parking right in front of the building.  Jeannie looks up the block instinctively to see if she saw Yvette rollerskating.  They walk up the small stoop.

“Mami, tu no dijiste que ella vivia en una casa?  Esto no es una casa.”  

“OK Puchi,” murmurs Jeannie.  

She was entering a nostalgic trance, as she opened the large heavy doors into the building.  She walks down the hallway and all of a sudden everything looked exactly the same as it did 10 years ago!  She gets to the stairs and places her hand on top of the large heavily painted banister post and stops.  She used to grab on to the top of the banister post and swing all the way to other side of the stairs and then hide under the stairs.  Gramita was a few steps behind and saw Jeannie stop.  “Sigue…" "¡Ya voy!”  Jeannie remembered her Mom used to search for her.  Searching, Searching, Searching. “¿Jeannie?” Searching, Searching, Searching.  "¿Jeannie?”  Gramita would hear Jeannie snicker from under the stairs. Gramita used to call out to her, loud enough so her voice bounced off the echoey hallway, “¡Sígueme los buenos!”  

Jeannie continues up the stairs.  Instinctively she turns right at the top of the stairs and knocked on the door.  When they entered, everything looked the same, except Nacha.  Nacha looked a little down and walked very slowly.  Gramita hugs her and smiles.  With Nacha being sick, Gramita now looked much, much younger, strong and vibrant.  

Gramita walked Nacha to the living room and started talking about the ride from the Bronx to Brooklyn.  Puchi, as usual, was a little shy in the beginning and then she took out her dolls and started playing.  Jeannie listened in to the BFF’s musings.

Nacha asked if they wanted anything to eat. Gramita quickly nodded no at Jeannie.  Too late!  Nacha was already getting off the couch.  Jeannie tried and said, “Ya nosotros comimos…”  

Nacha went straight to the refrigerator.  “Tengo Chef Boyardee.  Tengo pan.  Tengo huevos.  Tengo jamón y queso, yogurt…”  “Mami, jamón y queso!” Puchi exclaimed.

“OK Está bien, Tia Nacha.  Jamón y queso.”

“Pero y para ti?  Tengo salchicha, y …”  looking into the half empty refrigerator.  “Ay, m’ija es que ya yo no cocino.  Oh! Mira!  Tengo espaguetti en la estufa que yo me iba a comer.”

Abuelita closes the refrigerator and says, “Perfecto!”

Jeannie begins to open up the jamón y queso white paper from the deli.  To her dismal surprise the ham was too old to eat and the cheese- well, maybe if it was melted down, it would be edible.  She wouldn’t have said anything but Puchi did, “¡Ese queso no sirve!”

Nacha overhears and walks toward the cabinet.  “Dejame ver, tengo peanut 

butter….”

Jeannie reached over to grab the peanut butter.  “Perfecto, Tia Nacha!”  They ate all the spaghetti in the small pot on the stove and they finished the bread with the peanut butter.  They washed it all down with red Kool-Aid.

Jeannie and Puchi cleaned up while the BFFs went back into the living room.  By the time the kitchen was cleaned up, Gramita and Nacha were whispering.  Jeannie wondered what they could be talking about.  Nacha took something from her dresser.  Gramita went to grab her pocketbook and they both went into the other room and closed the door.

Jeannie got up and looked on the dresser.  Nacha had a few medicine bottles, an open oft-used Biblia, a Virgin Maria, a phone, small phonebook, and a small old wooden jewelry box with a ballerina with a broken leg.  Jeannie picked it up and dusted it off.  She remembered playing with it 20 years ago.  Jeannie overhears noise from the room.  They were praying!  They never closed the door before, she thought.

Jeannie whispered in Puchi’s ear, “Puchi, ¿tu te recuerdas cuando vamos a la iglesia?  Pues vamos ahora a rezar con Gramita y Titi Nacha, ¿OK?”  Jeannie quietly opens the door and Nacha is sitting on the twinbed-turned-sofa in the little room dedicated to all things spiritual.  Gramita and Nacha hardly looked up as they were praying the rosary.  “Dios te salve Maria, llena eres de gracias…”  Jeannie chimes along.

Puchi looks around at all the statues in the room.  In Gramita’s house the statues are all hidden inside this makeshift- homemade cabinet.  Here they are in the open.  

Puchi gazes at the black Indian aiming his bow and arrow.  She glances at the hand with many fingers.  She looks over to the Virgin Maria and then she catches a glimpse at a rag doll with a bright red dress.  Not like any doll she has ever seen.  It looks like it was made from a black t-shirt for the face and arms and the red dress is simple and plain.  Puchi chimed in with the other women praying the Ave Maria like her mother taught her to pray at night.  “Bonita tu eres entre todas las mujeres….”

When they finished Gramita looked over at Jeannie and said “Lleva a Puchi pa’ la sala.”  Jeannie nodded, “No, she’s fine.”  Gramita closed her eyes and continued.  She faced the altar and took a deep breath that started from the lower confines of her lungs.  Nacha stood up with her head hanging low.  Puchi was almost afraid to look.  Jeannie is watching every detail.  Jeannie knows firsthand the power that Gramita has.  She used to cure her headaches, colds, flu, sore throats, even heartaches with merely the touch of her hand.  

Gramita raised her hands up to the air as if holding the power of God and slammed her hands down as she twisted around and let out the deep breath she was holding in with a loud cccccchhhhhhhhh!, and passing her hands, her power, all her strength, over Nacha’s ailing body.  Puchi didn’t move.  Jeannie looked to see sparks of fire glowing from Gramita’s mighty hands.  But she didn’t see any.  One day she knows she will.  

Gramita took an even deeper breath and slammed her hands over again, shaking them over her beloved friend’s aching body.  Nacha tilted over almost falling.  Jeannie reaches over to hold her up.  Jeannie remembers the prayer and says, “Que la paz de Dios esté aqui…”

Gramita kneels down with clenched fist over the altar and prays.  “¡Amen!” Puchi says first.  Jeannie and Nacha repeat, “Amen.”  Gramita opens her eyes, puts her rosary back in her purse and takes out a small bottle to give to Nacha.  “Aqui tienes algo que te hice para hacerte un te.  Bébetelo dos veces al dia, por 5 dias."

It’s almost time to go now.  Puchi runs back to the living room to play with her dolls.  Jeannie goes back to the chair.  The BFF’s go back to the kitchen to put away her new tea, which she places between the Kool-Aid mix and the can of Bustelo.  They talk for about 20 minutes more before exchanging goodbyes.  

Puchi is playful and joyful.  Jeannie feels like if she leaves, she’s leaving behind a piece of her history.  Abuelita looks satisfied that her job here is done.  She hugs Nacha good-bye once again.  

Gramita’s happy glow is cast over as she looks away from Nacha and towards the door.  Jeannie sees a gleam in Gramita’s eye as they walk through the door and down the hallway.  It makes Jeannie wonder who is going to be there when it’s her mother who needs a healing hand.  Gramita’s lays her hand on Jeannie’s shoulder for strength as if answering her concerns.  Jeannie stands up taller.  She wonders, will she be strong enough for Gramita?  

Gramita walks down the stairs with Jeannie one step behind her.  Puchi is impatient and playful and jumps down 2 steps at a time.  Jump, jump, jump.  Jeannie finally gets to the bottom of the stairs and looks around. “¿Puchi?”  Gramita looks up towards the stairs.   

Searching, searching, searching. “¿Adonde se fue esa muchacha?”  Searching, 

Searching, Searching. “¿Puchi?” They hear Puchi snicker from under the stairs.  

Jeannie nods her head.  She continues toward the door and calls out to Puchi, “¡Muchacha!”  Jeannie and her mother turn to each other and call out in unison, loud enough so their voices bounce off the echoey hallway, “¡Sígueme los buenos!”