In memory of my mother Victoria a former pecan sheller
CHAPTER 1 WORK SAN ANTONIO TEXAS JANUARY 1937 Something different was in the air that day An uneasy feeling chased Petra as she hurried home from school Ominous clouds loomed over-head over-head Heavy gusts of wind whipped her long black hair against her face as she maneuvered through the barrio’s unpaved streets which turned into a muddy mess every time it rained She kept her head down hugging her school-books school-books to her chest When the skies opened up she ran for cover sheltering her books from the rain as best she could At home Petra helped her stepmother Amá get supper ready Her half-siblings were their usual selves nine-year-old Samuel chattering nonstop 1
about whatever had happened at school eleven-year-old eleven-year-old Elena quietly setting the table But Petra still felt an uneasiness she couldn’t explain Maybe it was the rain pounding the roof Maybe it was the wind shrieking through the branches of the back-yard back-yard oak tree and blowing the outhouse door open and closed with unsteady bangs Her mind wandered to the upcoming history test She loved learning about faraway places and events Someday maybe she would even visit some of those places as a writer her dream profession Tonight she wanted to devote at least one hour to studying for the test and another hour to writing That is if Amá didn’t keep her up late shelling pecans like she often did lately When her family sat down at the kitchen table the backs of Petra’s eyes stung with longing Papá was not there to say grace like he’d done before every meal Everyone ate in silence Petra tried not to look at the empty chair at the head of the table No one mentioned Papá In the four months since his death Amá had never brought him up As usual they started shelling right after the dishes were cleared Amá had brought home a sack of whole pecans from the factory where she worked Anything 2
the family shelled tonight she could bring back to the factory tomorrow morning She’d be paid based on the weight of the shelled pecans so the more the family family shelled the more money Amá could make They needed every penny Amá’s wages from her normal working hours weren’t enough for them to live on While Petra and her siblings scooped handfuls of pecans from the burlap sack on the f loor Amá made a fresh pot of coffee More coffee Oh no That meant Amá expected them to shell all night long When would Petra find time to study Samuel cracked the pecan shells using the rail-road rail-road spike Amá had brought home He loved smashing smashing the nuts with the spike looking delighted after each shell was shattered Petra Elena and Amá used long knitting needles to scoop the nutmeat out of the open shells Shelled pecans went into an old coffee coffee can for Amá to take to the factory It was tedious work and Petra got bored quickly Her thoughts shifted back to school She and her best friend Carmela had rehearsed a singing duet for the spring talent show They’d recruited Delia to accompany them on the piano even though Delia had just started piano lessons 3
