Jenny felt the whisper soft kiss on her lips. It was simply the sweetest feeling, so pure and chaste, yet thoroughly delicious.
Jenny slowly opened her eyes to fully awaken. She loathed losing that good feeling induced by such a brief, yet memorable interlude.
She smiled and took a few moments to reminisce about that sweet kiss before she had to start her chores all over again.
It was quite different from the kiss that Oscar had furtively given her during their lunch break. He was upset with her since the last time they had spoken, and perhaps it was for the better.
She missed their camaraderie, but their clashes in views, always caused him to distant himself.
She recalled their last conversation.
-“Jenny, I am 24 years old! I am old enough to be a father and take care of you. You tell me when and we will run away together. I am saving all my money from my second job so that we can get a place to live.” Oscar offered once again.
-“That’s very sweet Oscar, but I don’t want a family so soon. I am already saddled with household chores, and I’m sick of it. I don’t want that for me; I want something different.” Jenny said, unsure as to what exactly.
-“When you’re old enough we could then get married. Meantime, I’d take care of you, or you could work too if you want to save for a car and stuff. That’s the way things work Jenny, you need a man to stand by your side, and I love you.” Oscar said with puppy love eyes.
-“You are right Oscar, yet, will you listen to what I need please? To me freedom seems more precious than anything else.
One day, I’d like to be free, to go anywhere I please without fear of immigration, or of the police, or of Myrna!
I would also like so much to be like those girls that dress in high heels, hose, and skirts to go to the office. They look so pretty and sophisticated, some even carry a briefcase.
There's nothing more than I’d like besides freedom, than to go to school.
I’d like to be carefree like those girls that giggle on their way to school and carry the burden of their books. I think that to me those books would not be a burden. I would like to learn so much more - I crave that!” Jenny said dejectedly without hope.
-“You don’t need to go to school for that. You can be a receptionist and dress nice and answer the telephones. Anyway, you would not work when we have kids; I’d like to have two or four at least.” Oscar tried to reason with her.
-“You would take care of the whole family Oscar by working two jobs? We would become a burden an always worry about making ends meet. We would never see each other, except maybe on a holiday or each Sunday.
I don’t want to be a burden; I want to lift myself up! Don’t you see?” Jenny tried to reason with him.
-“What you don’t see Jenny is that you are stupid. You let Myrna enslave you without freedom or pay working from dawn to late into the night, cleaning her home, cooking, and during the day you work in her business with hardly any pay. That is enslavement, but you are too scared to run away. What I offer you is a home and a future family!”
-“I owe her Oscar. She keeps me safe and I have a roof over my head and food to eat. And I'm also safe from the police and the immigration authorities.
I have to pay her for my keep and my debt. What would I have back home? There was not even enough food to eat, and they decided to send me away to work since I was nine years old.
Anyway, I must make the best of my destiny now, and I won’t be with her forever, and I won’t jump from one type of enslavement into another!” Jenny said passionately.
That is what it took for Oscar to storm off looking furious at her.
Jenny shook her head. She had to be true to herself, and bid her time to escape. Anyway, as sweet and cute as Oscar was, two illegal aliens hooking up made little sense in the current state of affairs.
To be continued…
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