Read Rich in Love: When God Rescues Messy People for Free Online Page B

woman will bear, and yet the minute she sees her child it’s all forgotten. In that moment nothing mattered but the instinct of wanting to hold and protect that tiny creature. It was the most amazing feeling in my life.
    As they wheeled me out of delivery, Domingo was standing there, waiting, as proud as could be. I said, “Look at him, Domingo. He’s so beautiful.”
    Domingo had a funny look on his face. Only later did I learn that he didn’t think our boy was beautiful. The doctor had used forceps to deliver him, so his head wasn’t shaped quite right. Domingo was worried there was something wrong with him. And yet he too fell in love with his boy the moment he saw him. It seemed like he glowed as he tenderly touched our boy’s face. I don’t know why, but at that moment I felt a sense of peace for my boy—but deep heartache for me.
    after the baby
    A week after Anthony was born, we were able to get our first apartment. We had to lie and say we were eighteen to get the landlord to rent to us. It was a small one-bedroom, but it was ours.
    I earned extra money by babysitting and doing other odd jobs while Domingo worked all day—except for Tuesdays and Thursdays when he went to night school at the junior college. He’d drop me and Anthony off at my mom’s on the way to school and pick us up on the way back. Once we got home, I did his English and science homework, he did the math, and we shared history.
    Most afternoons Domingo was able to come home for lunch, so as a good little wife I was happy to make it for him. It was enjoyable to be together then, the little married couple as new parents in their own apartment. I was good at pretending.
    I knew Domingo was a unique boy. He was barely sixteen and had taken on the responsibility of father and husband. He’d gotten real medical insurance so the baby and I would have good care and we wouldn’t have to rely on the state’s welfare system to pay for us. He worked harder than any grown man I knew—often eighty hours a week.
    Because his father had not been in his life much, and he’d suffered as a child, I knew he would keep the promise he’d made the day I told him I was pregnant—that he would always care for our son. And he did. He loved his boy and was a good daddy—a proud and attentive daddy. We put Anthony between us in our bed, and Domingo would hold the baby’s fingers and feet and say, “Look how perfect he is, Irene.” Those times when it was the three of us together made me happy and gave me hope—hope that didn’t last longer than the brief tender moments.
     
    Prior to getting married, Domingo had promised my dad that I could go to cosmetology school and get my license. So when Anthony was nearly two years old, Domingo took me to sign up for school. I know he really didn’t want me to go, but he had given his word to my dad, and Domingo always honored his word.
    At the same time I started school, we rented a larger apartment. I was excited to have shag rugs and beautiful hardwood floors—ones I scrubbed to a brilliant shine. I took a lot of pride in keeping my home shiny and neat.
    Within a month of starting school, I discovered I was pregnant again. As crazy as it sounds, I was excited to have another child. It seemed like Domingo was meant to be a dad. And I thought maybe another child would change Domingo and he would stop drinking.
    I put all my effort into school and began making big tips that helped with the greater expense of the larger apartment and gave us extra money as well. I enjoyed learning and treasured my growing independence. Mom watched Anthony while I worked. She was the perfect grandmother and loved her boy deeply.
    Domingo’s shop worked on catering trucks. Since the catering trucks had to be available during the day, the only time to do maintenance and repairs was at night. Domingo came home later and later. Soon he was also working on high-performance racing engines for cars. Being part of the racing circuit meant