There are two stories about Izola’s birth. One is told by a mother to her small child
(Izola to Ogarita), and the other is the harsh truth.
The first story.
The unsettled sea was tossing the ship back and forth. The
sky was dark gray. Sunshine had difficulty reaching the constantly pitching
ship through the pounding rain.
In the Captain’s quarters lies his wife. She was having
contractions. Their bed is a mattress on top of a platform in the corner of the
cabin. Her bed moves with the ship. With each massive wave, her body weight
shifts; she’s afraid that her baby is being tossed around inside her. Both the Captain
and his wife are fearful for the life of their baby in this constant turmoil.
Izola was born during the storm. This version makes Abram out
to be a successful sea captain. No one can blame a parent for this
exaggeration.
The second story
Sixteen-year-old Abram Mills gets a job as a common sailor.
At seventeen, he marries just before his ship sets sail. While his ship is
docked in Spain, Abram meets Izola Mendoza.
Three years later, his ship returns to Spain, and he goes
looking for Izola. When he finds her, she has a two-year-old little girl with
her. Izola informs him that the baby is his.
In Spain, it is a sin to have a child out of wedlock. To
save Izola from sin, Abram proposes to Izola, and she accepts. They are married,
and Abram now has two wives. Abram convinces Izola to go to America. Just
before the ship arrives in America, Izola dies.
Abram can’t give the baby girl to his wife, so he finds
relatives to care for her. Ten years later, at twenty-eight, Abram, a common
sailor, dies below deck.
I don’t think any
parent would want to tell their child that her grandfather died poor, a
bigamist, and she was illegitimate.
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