Chapter 16

Isabella

I took three deep breaths in Mia’s office before venturing out into the unknown. The first hall we went down led to double doors that opened to a library filled with books. There was an English and a Spanish section. Both contained everything from how-to books to fantasy and romance. Besides the shelves and books, the furnishings included multiple tall tables with chairs as well as couches and comfy chairs. As we stepped out to leave, a woman nearly ran into us.

She was pretty in a nondescript way. Wearing blue jeans and a white tank top, she was easily ten years my senior, which didn’t make her old.

“Liliana,” she said, surprised.

“Isla,” Liliana replied. “Are you working in here today?”

“Sí. I’m a little late. Tell Mia I’m sorry. After what happened at the club, it was hard to fall asleep.”

Club.

Is she one of the whores?

No. She looks too normal.

Liliana smiled. “I don’t know what happened, but you’re fine. I think other than us, you’re the first to arrive.” She turned to me. “This is Isabella Luciano. She’s going to help around here while Mia’s out.”

“Hola, Señorita Luciano.” Her eyes opened wide. “Luciano. You’re related to Mia. That was her name.”

“I am.” I extended my hand. “Nice to meet you, Isla. Please call me Isabella or Izzy.”

“Izzy.” Her cheeks rose. “Thank you for helping Mia. We miss her.”

“I’m glad to be here.” I looked around. “I think I’ll get lost.”

“Ask any one of us. We’re here to help.”

Liliana’s advice came back to me. ‘It’s simple. Be nice to them, and they’ll be nice to you.’

“Thank you,” I said.

After she walked away, I lowered my voice to a whisper. “She isn’t one of the club’s whores, is she?”  

“We told you last night that they are simply women who choose their employment.” I let that sink in as we again passed the front offices. Horace and José could be seen in the front office working on their tablets.

“Why aren’t they following us?” I asked.

“Men aren’t allowed beyond the front office unless they’re guarding the back doors, but they’re covered by surveillance.” She shrugged. “It makes the residents more comfortable. Of course, if there was to be an emergency” —she pointed at a red button on the wall— “these will sound an alarm, and they’ll come.”

“I saw one of those in the library.”

“Yeah. They’re all around even in the residents’ apartments.”

This was a lot to take in. As Liliana led me down another hallway, I asked, “What do you think happened at the club last night?”

She shrugged. “I don’t ask questions. I would suspect it is connected to the men at the house, Dante arriving, and Mia wanting me to stay with her.”

Despite all the security, a cold chill ran through me. I rubbed my palms over my arms. “Are we safe?”

She simply smiled and led me into the dining room. Each location was spotless and perfectly suited. This room had a high ceiling with modern light pendants hanging on long poles. The sunshine coming through the skylights made the glass bulbs glisten. The aroma of breakfast foods met us as we entered. There were only a few residents sitting at two of the available tables. I counted twelve round tables, each seating six chairs. The ladies present were deep in conversation that I mostly couldn’t understand. They didn’t seem to notice us or care as we walked through the large room.

“Mia took a poll,” Liliana said. “The original tenants chose a dining hall over having the ability to cook in their rooms. That said, almost every cooking or baking class that’s offered is filled up within hours. Earlier this week they had the chance to bake flan.”

“What is flan?”

“Oh my gosh. It’s delicious.” She pursed her lips. “It’s like what you might call baked custard covered in caramel. You must try it.”

I nodded.

Through a swinging door, she took me into the industrial-sized kitchen. Three women in white uniforms appeared to be cleaning after breakfast and getting ready to prepare lunch.

“Hola,” the women greeted.

After Liliana introduced me—I didn’t know how she could remember all the names—she went on with her tour. “They also vote on dinner entrees. Breakfast and lunch are more generic, the regular choices.”

“Who pays for all of this, the cartel?” I asked as we walked back to a hallway.

“Mostly, but from the onset, Mia applied for grants and has received a few.” Liliana smiled. “All she needs to do is smile at el Patrόn and she gets what she wants.” 

I recalled our brief encounter. “He doesn’t seem that easy to please.”

“Mia knows the secrets.”

“Are all cartel men as eager to please their wives?”

A shadow passed over Liliana’s expression. “Not all. Let me show you the classrooms. Today is Thursday. There will be two different classes in session.” We walked down a second hallway. “Thursday mornings, we have English as a second language. While all the women speak some English, many voiced a desire to be better at reading and writing it.”

Through the window in the door, I saw a woman standing, and her lips were moving. While I couldn’t hear what she was saying, the ladies in the front row were listening and taking notes.

Liliana pointed to the other side of the hall. There was another closed door with a window. “This is GED prep. It’s more facilitated learning than traditional instruction.”

“I should know what that means.”

She paused. “Self-led. Each woman is at a different place and takes a different speed in her own education journey. A facilitator guides the students to help each person find their answers. Research shows that facilitated learning is better retained.” When I didn’t respond, she asked, “How does a child learn that a stove is hot?”

“Either they touch it, or they are told.” A smile curled my lips. “Touching it—learning it for themselves—will be remembered.”

“Exactly.”

“Have you thought of becoming a teacher?”

She shook her head as pink filled her cheeks. “I’m not smart enough for that.”

“Are you kidding? You’re blowing me away right now.”

The quiet, introverted Liliana I met last night was gone. In her place was a more confident woman. I wondered if needing to step up since Mia gave birth had transformed Liliana more than Mia realized.

“Is participation in education mandatory?” I asked.

“No. All voluntary.” Liliana went to the next room with the same windowed door. “This room is the computer center. Everyone has access to the internet.”

“Kind of normal.”

She shook her head. “Not for some of these women. This one feature has been life-changing.”

Life-changing?

“Computers?”

“The ability to research,” Liliana said, “have online accounts, monitor their bank information. When we first opened, not one woman had a bank account. Even if they’re in the computer center scrolling on social media, that’s research beyond their small slice of life. The availability of this technology has broadened their world.”

“Wow. I never thought of it like that. Don’t they have phones?”

“They do. This center is protected against malware and has better security than their phones.”

Her answer short-circuited my mind. I never questioned the security of my phone or other technologies.

The door opened and a woman stopped when she saw us, and her eyes grew wide. She started speaking quickly in Spanish to Liliana. As she spoke, I scanned her from head to toe. Her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her face was clean of makeup. She was wearing a San Diego Padres t-shirt, shorts, and canvas loafers. If I passed her on the street, I would have no idea of her profession.

With each word, the woman’s excitement bubbled out.  

Liliana replied before turning to me. “This is Julia. Julia, this is Isabella Luciano. She’s helping here while Mia is out.”

“Hola.”

“Hi, please call me Izzy. It’s nice to meet you, Julia. What’s all the excitement?”

“I was telling Liliana. This morning, I received the email. I was accepted to community college. Online.” Her entire body vibrated with energy. “I want to be a nurse.”

“You will be,” Liliana said.

“I didn’t know you could be a nurse with online classes.”

She nodded. “After I pass the classes, I will need to work in a hospital for the clinical.”

“That’s fantastic.”

She bounced up and down. “I need to tell Angel, my roommate. She’ll be happy like me.” Julia hurried down the hall the direction we’d come.

“They have roommates?”

Liliana nodded. “When they were housed at Wanderland, they lived in a dorm-style room. Here, each classroom has been renovated into three small bedrooms, a common area, and a full bathroom. This gives them privacy while also providing the camaraderie of one another.” We started walking in Julia’s wake. “It’s good that they voted on communal eating. In the blueprints when kitchens were included in each classroom, the number of bedrooms was only two. Originally, there were seventeen classrooms, five bathrooms, and a gymnasium. Part of the gym was converted to the cafeteria, and the communal bathrooms were removed. The other half of the gym became housing units. Overall, there are now twenty units, each capable of housing three women.”

“Wow! Does the club employ that many wh—women?”

“If you include all staff, yes and more. But after a few early rough patches, Mia decided to keep these apartments for the entertainers. They were the ones who were housed in the back of the club. The bartenders, managers, cooks, cleaning crew, and other females were living on their own. They make more money.”

“Oh, Mia did say something about that.”

By the time we returned to the offices, I was introduced to two more women who worked as secretaries for Mia and Liliana. Their names were Reina and Celeste. I also learned that the various jobs such as secretary, librarian, cook, or custodian were paid positions the women could do on the side to earn more money. They paid well above California’s minimum wage. Liliana said the goal was to provide a pathway to move beyond the women’s current status, if they wanted to. If not, this was a safe, clean place for them to live.

“Do you want to eat lunch here or go to a restaurant. There’s a cute café not far away,” Liliana asked.

I was having difficulty wrapping my mind around all I’d seen and heard. Getting away for a while might help. “A café sounds nice. Will Horace and José accompany us?”

Liliana rolled her eyes. “Always.”

As I gathered my purse, the noise level in the front office rose.

Peering around the corner, I saw what or more accurately who was the cause.