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chapter 9 Trouble Ida was going home. She had been living in Tijuana since tying the knot with Gaspar, but now all bets were off. It was hard enough adjusting to life in the dusty, chaotic streets of Tijuana, fitting in to a culture much different from her own while trying to raise a baby amid a large, bustling family. Now she learned that Gaspar had begat another child, and even worse, that Gaspar’s parents and siblings had known about the other woman and had purposely kept it a secret from her. The other woman’s name was Dalila Perez. Dalila had first met Gaspar during the Independence Day celebration in Tijuana on September 15, 1956, the same day he had knocked out the obnoxious fellow who had tried to push him and his brother Sapo around. Dalila herself had come to Tijuana from Colima, a small state on the western shore of central Mexico, back in the 1940s. Her mother was a homemaker, her father an engineer at a sugar processing plant. Unusual for Mexicans in those days, her parents had divorced when Dalila was still a young girl. After the breakup, her mom had picked up everything and moved to Tijuana with the kids, searching for work and a new life. Dalila would see her dad only a handful of times growing up. He stayed in Colima, living with his mother. Though born into a middle-class family, Dalila found herself cast into poverty and hardship along with her mother and siblings after the divorce . Growing up in Tijuana, she also discovered the cultural wonders of Mexamerica. Dalila started to dress “like American Graffiti.” She learned to use dollars and to speak some English phrases. She became a fashion- 132 Part II. Indio conscious “border girl.” She also learned to work for a wage. When she first met Gaspar, she was employed as a servant for a wealthy family. She had liked his looks, so she had approached the young boxer and started a conversation. The two connected instantly. When Gaspar traveled to Tijuana with Ida at the start of their marriage, Dalila had come into the room he had rented to be away from his wife and parents. According to Gaspar, he tried to tell Dalila that the affair was over now, that he was a married man. Dalila had teared up, told him that they were meant to be together. Gaspar could not make the decision to expel her from his life, or from his room. Nine months later, Gaspar Jr. was born. Gaspar wore a gold chain in the early days of his courtship with Ida. When Dalila came into Ida’s hospital room that fateful day, she was wearing it. Ida saw this and decided that she had had enough. She left the house, left the furniture, left everything in Tijuana. She took her young son, Michael, and got on a plane back to New York, vowing never to return. Gaspar followed. He begged Ida for forgiveness; he pleaded, he cried. Ida talked to her beloved stepmom for advice. Ramonita didn’t tell her what to do, but Ida knew that Ramonita liked Gaspar and sensed that her stepmom did not want her to abandon him. Ida thought it over and decided to take Gaspar back. But she would never live in Tijuana again. The romance between Dalila and Gaspar continued. Later, Ida saw her once more in Tijuana, during a visit. She told Dalila, “If you think you’re the only one in his life, you’re in for a surprise. If you want him you can have him. I wash my hands.” By this point Ida knew that Gaspar had a wandering eye. She hadn’t expected this when marrying. She was so young, so naïve; and Gaspar seemed so quiet and self-reserved. Once, she got up the nerve to scold Gaspar’s parents about their role in it all. “I blame you people. You encourage him. You can keep this house and him.” She felt that Gaspar’s mother resented her from the get-go, this Puerto Rican New York girl who had taken her son away from his family. Ida believed that Sebastiana covered for her son, especially in regard to Dalila. Of the other women in Gaspar’s life, at least one was famous. Back when Gaspar was just starting to date Ida, he had been given the opportunity to present a bouquet of roses to...

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