"When the baby was finally born, Roberto, Trampita, and I were excited to see him, especially because we had worked so hard to get things ready for him. Papá and Mamá named him Juan Manuel, but we all called him Torito, or little bull, because he weighed ten pounds at birth. […] Whenever I changed his diaper, I made him laugh by tickling his stomach."
Francisco and Roberto are called upon to participate in much fo the raising of their younger siblings. When Torito comes along, Francisco becomes his primary caregiver. The boys are excited for their little brother, but his arrival is a burden upon the entire family. Francisco loves him, taking great joy in teaching the baby things.
"I knew I had no chance, but I stubbornly held on to my jacket. He pulled on one of the sleeves so hard that it ripped at the shoulder. He pulled on the right pocket and it ripped. Then Miss Scalapino's face appeared above. She pushed Curtis off of me and grabbed me by the back of the collar and picked me up off the ground. It took all the power I had not to cry."
When Francisco starts getting picked on by a bully at his first school, he tries desperately to resist the temptation to fight back. Finally the insults become too much, however, and he takes a swing at Curtis. He's utterly crushed when Curtis tears his only jacket during the fight. The fallout is far worse than the emotional toll of the insults had been.
"One night as we were praying, Torito got worse. He stiffened and clenched his arms and legs, and his eyes rolled back. Saliva dribbled from both sides of his mouth. His lips turned purple. He stopped breathing."
Unable to pay for a doctor, the family turns to divine intervention to save baby Torito when he gets sick. The entire family worries over him as he's sick for days. This time he nearly dies. Francisco is the most upset of all of them.
"'When can we start work? Papa asked, rubbing his hands.
'In two weeks,' the foreman answered.
'That can't be!' Papa exclaimed, shaking his head. 'We were told we'd find work right away.'
'I am sorry, the strawberries won't be ready to pick until then,' the foreman responded, shruggin his shoulders and walking away.'"
This is the struggle of the migrant lifestyle. Even though the family is ready and willing to work, they often can't because of the fickle nature of the crops. They must follow the seasons, moving from place to place when each different crop becomes ripe. And sometimes, like this quotation explains, they simply have to wait for work. Meanwhile they're starving because they have no money for food and no means of making any immediately.
