“¿No te dije que dejaras a ese muchacho? (Didn’t I tell you to leave that boy alone?)” Ms. Cruz yelled. Her voice rose and her face turned red. “¡El no es bueno para ti! ¡El es el Diablo! ¿Intiendes? El no es nada mas que un pajaro cárcel. (He’s no good for you! He’s the devil! Understand? He’s nothing but a jailbird.)”

Salty tears began to flow down Gloria’s cheeks and into the corners of her mouth.

“But Mommy, that’s not true!” Gloria explained. “You don’t know him like I know him. He’s a good person.”

Ms. Cruz shook her head in disbelief. She never thought she’d live to see the day when her daughter would openly defy her. Ms. Cruz took another long drag on her cigarette and then aimed it at her daughter. The glowing tip of the cigarette touched the girl’s skin.

Gloria was in shock. Her mother continued jabbing at her with the cigarette, backing the girl into a corner. It took a moment for her to grasp what was happening and protect herself. This was her mother.

“Mama. Don’t.”

“¿Con quien tu te Crees que estas hablando? (Who do you think you are talking to?)” Ms. Cruz exploded. “¿Estas loca? ¡Yo, soy tu madre! Yo a tite di a luz. ¡Y Antes que te Veo runiar tu vida, primero yo te mato! Ese muchacho no es bueno. (You crazy? I am your mother! I gave birth to you. And before I see you ruin your life, I’ll kill you first! That boy is no good.)”

“But Mommy, I love him!”

“¡Tu no sabes nada del amor! ¡Tu eres un bebe! (You know nothing about love! You are a baby! What do you know about love? Huh?)”

They stood a few feet apart, like two gunslingers at high noon. Ms. Cruz was breathing heavily, while Gloria wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth in a vain effort to shake off the pain she was feeling from the burns.

“Look at what you’ve done to me, Mommy; because somebody—he loves me too.” She announced, “We’re gonna be married, Mommy.” All this and her mother didn’t even know that she was pregnant.

“¡Tu eres una malagradecia Puta! (You ungrateful bitch!)” She cursed. “¡Yo te voy a matar! Sobre mi cardave, te dejo casarte con ese muchacho. (I’m gonna kill you! Over my dead body will you marry that boy.)”

“Then you’re going to kill me and your unborn grandchild,” Gloria blurted out. Ms. Cruz had a wild look in her eyes. She was frozen for a moment. But then she picked up a lamp that rested on her night table and hurled it at her daughter. Gloria ducked. A split second after, the lamp hit the wall and shattered. It landed inches away from where Gloria’s head had been.