Sidewalk Scetches

Joaquin, a boy at the age of eleven, often felt far away from his family. His mother, Emilia, was a stay-at-home mom and ensured the house was clean and taken care of, which was no easy task considering four children were living in it. This, along with preparing the meals for everyone and watching over Joaquin’s six-year-old twin sisters, meant that she hardly had time to spare for her older sons.

Joaquin’s father, Jose, also did little in terms of being a part of his children’s lives, only doing the minimum he felt he needed to as a father. He worked manual labor at a construction site, which meant for him early mornings and coming home around five o’clock in the afternoon. Due to this, he had little patience for any troubles that would face him on arriving home. He would often become angry if he felt he was forced to meditate on the issues brought home by his eldest son, Joaquin’s older brother Tavo. Once his patience had reached its limit, which wouldn’t take much, he would yell and threaten to hit Tavo with his leather belt. Joaquin rarely heard his father speak calmly. He would come home and, without acknowledging anyone, go straight to the bathroom attached to his and Emilia’s bedroom to shower. Once out, he would sit on his recliner in the living room, watch television, and expected dinner to be ready not long after taking his seat. If it were to take too long, he would turn and stare at Emilia as she cooked. Even Joaquin felt the palpable heaviness that this would bring as if it were a warning or a threat of some kind. Joaquin dreaded the day that his father rose from his seat after staring for, what Jose felt, was too long.

Tavo as well brought unease to Joaquin, at the times his older brother would emerge from his room, that is. The only time he would speak to Joaquin would have been to admonish him, often belittling his hobbies or interest. And even when in his room, as they shared a wall, Joaquin was careful not to make noise above a certain threshold, as doing so caused Tavo to pound his fist on the wall, sending a shock that made the decorations on it fall to the floor. There was no one Joaquin feared most than his older brother. He often would shake from anxiety if he felt that he had done something to upset Tavo, as he wasn’t sure what the extent of his brother’s cruelty was. Tavo didn’t do well in school, which was a point of contention for Emilia, for she didn’t want news of this reaching Jose. She would often attend meetings with Tavo’s teachers to discuss his performance and lack of focus. She would also caution him about staying out of “the wrong crowd”, advice he ignored as he felt that he was old enough to make these decisions himself.

The only time Joaquin felt truly at ease was when he was outside. There he could run in the yard and play fetch with his pet Chihuahua, be as loud as he wanted without fear of retribution, and use his large chalk to draw on the sidewalk. He would stay out for hours on end, leaving the inside soon after coming home from school and only coming back in once his father returned from work. Joaquin’s long stays outside began when Tavo would lock the front door while his little brother was out playing. This made it so Joaquin needed to knock on the door to come in, and his mother would scold him harshly for being so careless as to repeatedly lock the door behind him. Joaquin never corrected her and grew accustomed to being outside for long periods, learning to drink from the spigot when he got thirsty, and keeping his bowel movements at bay until Jose arrived. At that point, Joaquin would follow Jose inside, shower, and get ready to eat dinner.