sit back, chilax and have a laugh!
“La Chismosa”
“Maria!” “Maria!” “!Levántate!” My mother, Mrs. Linda, yelled at me before six o’ clock in the morning. My mom a proud mestizo who was born and raised in Mexico City migrated to Belize, seventeen years ago a few months before I was born. Hence, I know to speak the Spanish language quite well due to my mom’s origin and have adopted the English language. The Kriol dialect is spoken here and due to circumstances of living in a rather ghetto neighborhood I have learned to speak it, but I think of it as being informal and improper so I rely on speaking proper English.
Indeed, my neighbor Ms. Margaret grew to hate me for this since, she believes I am just trying to be British when I am not. Nevertheless, she had often asked me to help her write letters for her family in the Caribbean I could remember her saying “Como se espellea esta palabra?” I would often correct her saying “Deletrear Margaret””Se dice Deletrear!” Ms Margaret had many characteristics she was very ignorant, jealous and a hypocrite. That very morning after helping her, I went to my music recitals my teacher was from England and definitely influenced me in speaking the English language more fluently. While, I attended classes my mother stayed home to do the house chores and prepare dinner for me and my stepfather whom she claimed to love so much. Ms. Margaret knew my father was having an affair but never told my mom because she envied her and just enjoyed spreading rumors. I could clearly remember how it all happened.
After my classes were over, I went home all excited because I was going to represent the music class for the annual music competition in England. As I entered my home, I saw my mom chatting with Ms. Margaret through a little window that separated the two apartments and so I greeted them as usual. “Good afternoon!” “How are you Ms. Margaret?” “Ehmemm!” That was the only response I got from her. Her facial expression said it all as she frowned and wrinkles formed in the corners of her hazel eyes that now deemed to be a bomb wanting to explode with so much hatred and envy. That afternoon my mother and Ms. Margaret stood washing and chatting.
Linda- “How’s life treating you Margaret?”
Ms. Margaret- “Más o menos!” “Adonde esta Pedro?”
Linda- “He is at work quite busy.” “He is quite a hardworking man.” “That’s why I love him mucho, mucho.” “He really cares about our well-being as a family.”
Ms. Margaret- “Lucky you Ms. Linda!” “I don’t have such luck.”
Linda- How bout Don Domingo? “El es soltero y muy bueno.” “You should get to know him better may be you two are meant to be.” (winks eye)
Ms. Margaret- “Aha!” “Maybe I should.” “Anyway, got lat a ironing to do chat with you lata dalin!”
Linda- “Yea!” “Me too!” “Got to go done mi cooking before mi loving husband come home.”
Ms. Margaret- “No kill up yo self woman!”
Linda- “No man!” “This isn’t any hassle.” “It is mi job!”
The next day I left for my recital and my mom had left early for her shopping where she encountered my stepfather with another woman. I got the message quite soon right after the “Chismosa” informed the entire neighbor even though she knew it long ago. Mr. Domingo must have been sorry after he told her the story. Here’s how it all happened.
Ms. Margaret -“Good manin!” “Good manin!” “Anyone home?”
Don Domingo -“Aye! Misses” “Who you looking for?”
Ms. Margaret- “Mi fren, mi fren, Dona Linda.” “Where she is?”
Don Domingo- “At the hospital.”
Ms. Margaret- “ Nuh tell mi!” “Weh you seh?”
Don Domingo- “At the hospital misses.” “ I heard she in her death bed, ketch a stroke this ya maning.” “She find out her husband cheatin on her and left her for another mujer misses.” “A twenty year old, blue eye, blond hair gringa. A rich, anorexic figured Barbie.”
Ms. Margaret (covers her mouth as if in surprise) - “Pobrecita!” “Wat a thing!” “Don Pedro nuh know what he getting into. If he think that ginga wah cook, wash, clean and tek good care a him like Mrs. Linda he darn crazy, but you know sir weh goes around comes around!” “Dios lo va castiga!”
Don Domingo- “Castigar!” Margaret, but “True that! True that!” “Him must be dreamin!” “If Mrs. Linda were mi wify I mi wah cook breakfast everyday for her and even wash the dishes!”
Ms. Margaret- “But you know, she find it, da she fu blame, always cleaning and stuff!” “Not even try go tha the beauty parlor now and then.”
Don Domingo- “Weh kind a fren you?” “She beautiful as she is.”
Ms. Margaret- “No, just sayin.” “You still love her nuh?”
Don Domingo (Stares back with dreamy eyes and breathes deeply) – “Hmmmm!”
Ms. Margaret (who is now jealous) - “Viejo!” “You listening to mi?”
Don Domingo- “Oh! Yes! Yes!” “ You were sayin?”
Ms. Margaret- “That you still love her nuh?”
Don Domingo- “From tha one night I saw her at the village dance.” “It seems like just yestodeh she was standing there lookin so lovely in that straight fit red dress and long, shiny, brunette hair.”
Ms. Margaret- “Why you neva marry ah den?”
Don Domingo- “Oh she never loved me so. We were good fren, you know, pero en el corazon no se manda.”
Ms. Margaret- “Que?””Qué?” “Corazón qué?”
Don Domingo- “It just means you can’t change what your heart feels, you know”
Ms. Margaret- “Oh!” “Aha! A si weh yo mean.”
Don Domingo- “Oh really!” “Why you seh that?”
Ms. Margaret- “Nothin important Viejo!” “It a long story tell you lata.”
(Pretends to care) “Got to go si Mrs. Linda.” “You comin?”
Don Domingo- “Yes man!” “But Ms. Margaret please no remind a bout it!” “Yo si she must be all heartbroken, no wa si her suffer more.”
Ms. Margaret- “How yo tink a wa do that veijo?”
Don Domingo- “Just sayin. Yo know?”
Ms. Margaret- “I she fren man!”
Don Domingo- “Wait fu mi.” “Just mek a go get some roses from the garden!”
Ms. Margaret- “Sure thing man!” “Tek yo time!” (Rolls eyes)
Don Domingo- (Picks up his walking stick) “I’ll be back in a second misses!”
They went to visit my mom at the hospital. Ms. Margaret’s intentions were no good, as she just wanted to know more about what had occurred and then added more to it so that she could share the “news” to her delight. However, she blamed it all on my mom when already she knew about the affair. She had encouraged my stepfather’s relationship just to seek revenge because of Don Domingo’s love for my mom. She was so interested in him but he never lost interest in my mom.
Therefore, after my mom recovered, we went to live in the City to start over where we got no new versions from what had occurred. Don Domingo surely missed my mom’s presence while, Ms. Margaret only continued her interfering in people’s lives when her new neighbor moved in. Ms. Margaret’s jealously and fake friendship led her to be called “La Chismosa!” by the neighborhood after she went on spreading rumors about other people’s business and making their lives impossible.
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