Yohanna Lopez was an American citizen because she was born in the United States soon after her immigrant parents had snuck across the Rio Grande. It cost him all the money he had for he and his wife to be smuggled in. Her father was determined to give his family a better life. A life he did not believe possible if he stayed in the corrupt, cartel-ruled part of Mexico he came from. He took all the jobs he could in the United States, usually off the books. Eventually, he bought forged documents that allowed him to work regular jobs. He was dependable and worked hard.
Yohanna's father learned that corruption was not just on one side of the border. In many of his jobs, he was shorted on his pay and never got anything extra for overtime. He never complained to anyone outside of his family for fear of being reported to ICE. His deportation would be devasting to his dream for his family. His attention was laser focused -- his children would have a better life, no matter what he had to put up with personally.
It wasn't until Yohanna was a teenager that she began to understand her father. It pained her to see him work so hard and receive so little. She tried to talk to him about his rights and told him that he should not stand for it. His response showed anger that Yohanna had never seen before. He told her that he could not risk the life he was making possible for her and her siblings. All the cheating, insults, theft, and disrespect he suffered was the price he was willing to pay. Although her father never was violent at home, he drank a lot. Alcohol helped him tolerate the loss of manliness that his macho heritage demanded.
Yohanna met other children of immigrants whose fathers were making the sacrifice for their families like her father was. Many were angry and wished their fathers had stood up to their bosses and other authority figures. Then there were those friends whose fathers had protested. Some lost their jobs. Some were reported and either deported or were threatened to be deported. It was not unusual to have friends disappear overnight. She hoped the reason for their vanishing was only that the families had to move and start over again.
Yohanna thought since she was an American citizen, she would not face the danger and humiliation her father had to tolerate. As soon as she was old enough, she started working part-time to help the family. She was a waitress in a Mexican restaurant. Her work taught her a lot: responsibility, dependability, hard work and that there are a lot of nice people in the world and a lot of not so nice people.
One other thing serving the public taught her was that many men were attracted to her. They would compliment her looks and some were very specific in the body parts that they liked the most -- breasts most often but her butt was praised also. It seemed that those men automatically assumed a waitress would make her body accessible to them -- for fun, for money, or for a not-so-believable promise of a permanent relationship. She learned the fine art of flirting to increase her tips, but never took any of the vulgar proposals or offers of cash she received.
Yohanna's school and waitressing schedule meant that she could only date infrequently. Mostly she went out with Latino boys, but there were some Anglos too. Ethnic background didn't seem to matter as far as what boys expected. All the boys wanted to get around the bases as quickly as possible. She never went past second base with any of them, therefore, she never had a steady boyfriend.
Graduating from high school, she went to Tech School to take secretarial practices. Word processing, spread sheet, and data processing were her main classes. Yohanna continued to be a waitress and date when she could. The loss of her virginity came shortly after her 19
th
birthday. During the second and final year of her tech program, one of the other waitresses introduced Yohanna to her brother, Miguel, an auto mechanic. They clicked instantly. With little time to date, Yohanna decided to make the most of each date. They had sex on their third date, committed to be exclusive on the seventh date, and engaged by their 20
th
date. The total time of their relationship until they got married was just over a year a few months past her 20
th
birthday.
Their plans to get an apartment to start married life depended on Yohanna getting a full-time job as soon as possible. Miguel worked in an auto repair business but was still an apprentice mechanic making just above minimum wage. Yohanna was helped by the tech school's placement department and put in a number of applications. It took six weeks, but she was hired by Gordon Ramer at Astro Industries, a supplier of custom shipping packages for fragile objects. The interview with him had gone very smoothly. She was relieved to have found a job and excited to start a new household with Miguel.
Mr. Ramer had told her that she would be expected to dress professionally, but she should not try to downplay any of the physical attributes that she felt made her attractive. "I don't want to sound sexist, but the truth is that the men who visit here are more likely to do business when they can remember our office had beautiful, smiling, friendly women. That might not be politically correct, but I'm not going to accept less business because my girls don't look good." He chuckled after saying that.
Yohanna and Miguel went apartment shopping. Their happiness in finding a good place was short-lived as they learned of the amounts of the deposit and first month's rent in advance plus deposits for electric, water/waste management, and gas. Then there was budgeting for two car payments, insurance for two cars, rent, and renter's insurance. Health insurance for Yohanna was covered by her benefits' plan, but she had to pay to get Miguel added. Reality bit them on their asses. They needed an initial boost in their income to get started.
After neither family was able to help in any substantial way, Miguel suggested that they both go to their bosses about an advance in pay to help them get into the apartment. Once the initial deposits were paid, they believed they would be able to pay the recurring monthly expenses.
Yohanna asked to meet with Mr. Ramer. She was terrified to have to have to ask for a favor this soon after she had been hired.
*****
MR. RAMER'S OFFICE
"Yohanna, isn't it? I hope you're not having a problem with the job. Do you need more on-the-job training?"
"No, Mr. Ramer. The job is going fine. This is a personal issue that affects my job. The problem is that my husband and I can't afford all the deposits we need to get into an apartment. We have asked our families and they have given us all they can. We haven't done enough borrowing for us to receive a credit rating in order to get a loan. Those paycheck loan places will give us money, but their fees are horrendous.
"Mr. Ramer, I know that this is my and my husband's personal problem, and you are you are certainly under no obligation to help us, but you did say in orientation to come to you with any problems. I am asking for help because the distance from where we live now takes so long to get here that I am afraid I might be late to work some days if there is a traffic problem.
"The good news is that we have found an apartment close to here. We can afford the rent, but we can't afford the deposits. I hate to ask you, but I was wondering if you might be able to give me an advance on my wages that I could pay back with interest over time. Like I said, I hate to ask you especially since I just started but I don't know what else to do." She was almost crying.
"Yohanna, please don't cry. I think you will find that by working here you have an employer who has a heart. Your and your husband's situation reminds me of when Alice and I first started out. There was a time where rice and beans with an occasional Banquet pot pie -- four for a dollar, was what we ate the most. It was sure hard for us to live that way, but it gave us an appreciation for money. Our salvation was a car I had been restoring since I was a teenager -- a 1957, red and white Chevy Bel Aire. I loved that car almost more than I did my new wife. Since I did love my wife more, however, I sold the car. My wife tells people that when I did that, she knew I really loved her. Several years ago, I was able to buy it back although I had to par a lot more than I sold it for. By sacrificing then, I could afford the expense now.
"I assume you two don't have anything to sell that would bring you enough money. If so, I will tell you what I will do for you. I will personally loan you the amount of your deposits. Once you two get settled into your apartment and get used to paying the monthly bills, you can tell me how much you can afford to pay me back each month for my loan. I will not charge you any interest." He wrote a check for $2500 and gave it to her.
Yohanna broke out crying. "Thank you, Mr. Ramer, but this is more than what we need."
"Take it. I also remember that there were dozens of little extra expenses in setting up our first place we hadn't thought of. You'll see."
"This is more generous than what I had hoped. Oh, Mr. Ramer, would it be against the rules if I hug you."
