Summer 2003

"Did you get an email from Jake?" Gary asked Cindy one day.

"I sure did!" Cindy replied.

"We've got a trip to Miami to plan soon."

"Miami's in Florida," said Jonathan.

"That's right! It is in Florida," Gary replied.

"That funny-looking state on the very bottom."

"Yes, that funny-looking state on the very bottom." Gary laughed. "Jake and Amber are getting married soon, and we're invited to their wedding."

"Are we gonna take an airplane again?" asked Rebecca.

"Yes, it's too far to drive."

"I've never been on an airplane before." Carmen looked a bit worried.

"There's nothing to it, Carmie," said Jonathan. "You just sit there and read or listen to music, and before you know it, you're there."

The next few days were busy with packing and getting ready for the trip. Jessica brought little Ryder over for a visit one day.

"My, you're a big boy now, aren't you," Cindy said as she took her grand nephew into her arms.

"Goo," said Ryder. Cindy noticed that he had two top teeth and four bottom teeth now.

"Can you say 'Aunt Cindy'?"

"Goo," Ryder said again.

"Is he walking yet?" Cindy asked Jessica.

"He can take a few steps," Jessica told her.

Cindy carefully set the baby's feet on the floor, and he took several steps before falling on his bottom.

"My, aren't you a big boy!" Cindy exclaimed. Ryder gave a clever laugh.

"They grow up so fast," Cindy commented. "It seems just yesterday that the twins were at that stage." Jessica smiled.

"She sure seems to have matured since Ryder was born, doesn't she?" Cindy asked Gary after Jessica and Ryder had left.

"Parenthood tends to do that to people," Gary agreed.

At last the day for departure arrived. Jonathan held Carmen's hand as the family boarded the airplane together.

The flight to Miami took about six hours, so all three children were quite restless by the time the airplane touched down in Dade County Airport. Gary and Cindy's eyes scanned the crowd waiting at the end of the runway.

"There he is!" Rebecca shouted, running toward Jake.

Having not seen her stepson in several years, Cindy was startled by how much he'd changed. He looked taller and more muscular and tanned, and he had a mustache and a small goatee now.

"Dad! Cindy!" he greeted them, fiercely hugging them in turn. "It's so good to see you again! Hey, squirt!" He ruffled Jonathan's hair, then grinned at Rebecca and pinched her cheek. "This is Amber."

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Greenberg." Amber was an attractive young woman, slender with dark hair, green eyes, and a radiant smile. "It's so nice to meet you."

"This is Carmen." Gary glanced around quickly. "Carmen?" But the little girl was nowhere to be found.

Distraught, Gary and Cindy began a frantic search for their younger daughter. After what seemed an eternity, Cindy finally recognized Carmen's shoes underneath the door of the last stall in the women's restroom.

"Carmen? What's wrong, sweetheart? Why'd you run away?"

"I saw my Papi!" Carmen sounded terrified.

"What do you mean? Your Daddy loves you very much!"

"Not him, my other Papi! The one who used to hurt me!"

"That's not possible, Carmen."

"But it is! If he sees me, he'll make me go back, and I don't wanna go back! I want to stay with you!"

"Sweetheart, nobody's gonna make you go anywhere. I'll make sure of that."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Carmen unlocked the door to the bathroom stall and let Cindy take her hand and lead her back into the lobby. They were almost to where Gary and the twins stood with Jake and Amber when Carmen screamed and hid her face in Cindy's shirt. "It's him!"

Cindy saw the slight, dark-complected security guard looking their way, perplexed.

"Sweetheart, this isn't your Papi."

The man walked toward them. "I'm Officer Gomez. Is there a problem?"

Carmen peeked cautiously at him. "You're right, Mommy. He isn't my Papi. He has the same hair and eyes and skin, but my Papi's bigger and taller."

"She thought she saw her stepfather. He abused her before we adopted her," Cindy explained.

"Poor little girl!" said Officer Gomez. "Would you like to hear a story about something that happened to my Papi when he was only a few years older than you are now?"

Intrigued, Carmen nodded.

"When my Papi was a little boy, he lived on a sugar cane farm on a lovely little island called Cuba. He and his family were very happy, until one day something really bad happened. A new leader came to power. His name was Fidel Castro. All of a sudden, my abuelo, my grandfather, didn't own his sugar cane farm anymore. He could still live and work there, but it belonged to the government, just like everything else did, and if anybody ever said anything bad about that government, they could go to prison. My Papi couldn't even go to church anymore. All the churches were closed."

"My abuelo knew that he had to bring his family to America, so they and some other people all got on a raft and made the journey. They had to sneak away, because if Fidel Castro found out they were trying to leave Cuba, they would go to jail, or even worse. They were very afraid!"

"So there was my Papi on this little raft with a bunch of other people in the middle of the ocean. They all knew that if a big storm came up, the raft would tip over and they'd all drown. They were ever so happy when they finally reached solid ground."

"In America, my Papi finished growing up and graduated high school. A few years later, he married my Mama and I was born. I've lived my whole life right here in Miami, Florida."

Cindy was reminded of Bubbe Golda's long-ago story of her own family's journey to America. She glanced at Gary and wondered if he was thinking about the same thing.

"But didn't your Papi miss his sugar cane farm?" asked Carmen.

"A little bit. It was kind of rough at first. He had to learn a new language and everything. But here in America he was free. He could say and do whatever he wanted."

"I can speak both English and Spanish!" Carmen exclaimed.

"So can I!" Officer Gomez chuckled.

"Jonny and Becky can only speak English."

"Well, they're lucky they know you, because you can teach them. I have a little girl too, but she's much smaller than you. Her name is Isabella, but we call her Bella. Would you like to see a picture of her?"

Carmen nodded. "She looks just like me when I was little!" she said when she saw the picture.

"She does look just a little bit like you, doesn't she," Officer Gomez agreed. He and Carmen spoke a little bit longer in Spanish, and then he ruffled her hair and said good-bye.

"Well, it certainly looks like Carmen's made a new friend," Gary remarked.