Magical Moments
Without a job on Christmas Eve, this undocumented worker has only encouragingwords
Editor's Note: We asked CultureMap staffers and contributors to recall moments in 2012 that have remained with them. In this first of a series, Ralph Bivins recalls a parting blessing from an employee at his dry cleaners.
I said goodbye yesterday to the young woman who kept me pressed and clean for the last few years.
Her name is Carla.
On Christmas Eve, she joins the ranks of the unemployed. Through no fault of her own, her job at the dry cleaning shop is terminated. Carla’s upbeat greetings won’t be part of my life anymore.
It’s going to be more difficult for Carla to find a new job than some folks.
The thing that fascinated me the most about Carla was her love for books. She always had a library book — usually a genre novel or a self-help volume — to read when things were slow at the front counter.
She is an immigrant without proper documentation. In some circles, she would be labeled an “illegal alien.” In her own words, she describes her condition as: “I got no papers.”
I just call her a friend – an unlucky friend.
Life can be hard for immigrants in America. She’s a single mom losing her job on Christmas Eve. There will be no abundance under the tree. I could weep and enumerate her other hardships, but it would dishonor Carla’s optimistic nature.
The thing that fascinated me the most about Carla was her love for books. She always had a library book — usually a genre novel or a self-help volume — to read when things were slow at the front counter.
Carla inhales three or four books a week, maybe more.
A while ago, I brought Carla a few chapters of my unfinished novel that I’ve been working on for more than a year. A week later, she returned it and gave me some positive feedback. After that, Carla always held me accountable, asking me: “How much have you written lately?”
So yesterday as I paid her and gathered up my clean shirts for the last time, I tried to think of what I could say to help Carla – advice, job leads or encouragement. Did I have a word of wisdom even?
Instead, Carla turned the tables. The unemployed, undocumented immigrant with no formal education was giving me the parting blessing as I walked away.
“I’ll be watching for your book to come out, Mr. Bivins,” she said.
So I’ll get serious now. The fiction project is on fast forward. I’ll finish it for Carla.
