California Sunrise Read Free

caught Alicia’s eye.
Sociology of the Family
. “That looks interesting,” she said.
    “Do you want to sign up?”
    The choice was a fork in the road. One class decision shouldn’t have mattered that much, but somehow, in her heart, she knew it did. It was the difference between a predictable life and one that was pregnant with possibilities.
    She took a deep breath. “Yes. I think I do.”
    After she finished registering, she hurried to leave the campus, feeling giddy, like she had when she’d first started high school. Some of her friends from Los Banos were going to Merced College in the town. Like her, they still lived at home.
    Maybe she wasn’t so different after all. It might take her a little longer, but she was going to accomplish something with her life.
    Joy put a spring in her step as she walked to the top of the stairs.
    The view of the bay caught her attention. The sun sparkled off the distant waters, and she forced herself to believe she saw dolphins looping through the waves while they played. A yearning for the shore overpowered her. It had been too long since she’d spent time there. No matter his protests, she’d take Luis this weekend. The doctor had told her to provide new stimuli. Maybe he become focused on the waves and leave her some time to experience the sun on her face.
    “Hi, are you lost?” a sinewy older woman with faded red curls asked. The woman’s smile invited trust, and her gray eyes hinted at wisdom.
    “Just looking at the ocean.”
    “Yes, it is beautiful, isn’t it? There are so many places here that catch me unaware. I’m rushing about and then the beauty of where we live grabs hold of me.” She put out her hand. “Dr. Susan Walker. Most students call me Dr. Susan. I teach sociology. Are you a new student?”
    “Oh! I think I just signed up for your class. Sociology of the Family.”
    “Yep. That’s me.” Dr. Susan gestured at the stairs. “Headed down? I parked down there today to get the exercise.”
    As they descended the stairs, Susan continued to ask Alicia questions about her intended degree. “It’s an occupational habit, I’m afraid,” the professor explained. “I’m so curious about why people do the things they do and the effect it has on others. Why did you decide to take my class?”
    “I’m not sure, really. It seemed interesting.” Alicia shrugged. “I guess I wanted to do something irrelevant. Not that your class isn’t good ...”
Damn.
She’d put her foot in it.
    “You’re not alone.” Susan laughed. “Plenty of people think sociology is irrelevant. They postulate that only courses that lead to a high-paying job are worth the effort. Bah!”
    They reached the bottom of the steps.
    “I look forward to seeing you again,” Dr. Susan said over her shoulder as she walked away. “I think you’ll discover sociology is very important.”
    Alicia unlocked the door to her car, mulling over the last hour. An Anglo boy, an unexpected decision, and a chatty professor—all were very different from the events of her normal day. Her lungs expanded with new air, as if a breeze had blown in from a far-off country to change her life forever.

Chapter 2
    Raúl pounded his fist on the steering wheel.
Idiots!
    According to the radio announcer, a private firm had taken over a public mental health service in North Carolina and put in place a policy that denied doctors Medicaid reimbursements if they treated undocumented immigrants.
    “We’re not going to aid and abet the government in spending our hard-earned tax dollars on a bunch of illegals,” the company spokesman, a man by the name of O’Hannasy, said.
    Damn it!
Doctors would refuse patients, and treatments that could have prevented more serious illnesses would be withheld. What kind of a world was this, where families were ripped apart and children died because of greed? Where families were deported, leaving young children to fend for themselves?
    And who was O’Hannasy to talk about