Harbor Me

Haley and her mother arrive at the prison in Malone to see her father. This time, he rushes to the visitor's room and is overjoyed to see his daughter. He hugs her and once again profusely apologizes to Haley for not coming down to see her last time. Haley still feels upset about his refusal to see her, but she keeps her feelings to herself and tells her father that she is just glad they are together at that moment. He hugs her again and Haley thinks about how she hopes to have the story of his imprisonment behind them as soon as possible.

Haley and her uncle are driving back home. She asks her uncle to tell her what he remembered about her mother. He tells her that her paternal grandfather did not approve of the interracial relationship between her mother and father. Haley's mother and father met when they were students at Brooklyn College and immediately fell in love. According to her uncle, her mother and father were always smiling and laughing.

Haley’s uncle then tells the story of her mother's death. She and Haley's father were returning home from a party when he accidentally crashed his car into a lamppost. Distraught, he went home to get Haley's uncle for help, and her father was then arrested for leaving the scene of a crime and for driving drunk. He was convicted of vehicular homicide and imprisoned. Haley's uncle immediately stepped in to take care of her, and they have formed a strong bond.

Esteban has been absent from school all week, and the ARTT group is worried about their friend. Ashton says that because Esteban and his sister were born in the United States, they can't be deported. The group reminisces about Esteban, the poetry he read, and his sense of humor. Amari mentioned the Lenape again and how they were "getting robbed" and "gangstered" out of their rightful home by the European settlers who came to New York (122). He compares the experience of their mistreatment to the forced detainment and deportation of immigrants in the modern day. They all talk together about their hopes that Esteban will return.

Esteban is still out of school when the ARTT group meets on Friday. Tiago asks to take a turn recording himself. He begins by expressing his love for his friends. Tiago tells how it is difficult for him to write in English instead of Spanish, and talks about the taunts to “[s]peak English” he receives from strangers. He asks why he’s told by strangers to speak English in American when he is from Puerto Rico, which is part of the United States. Tiago says he prefers to speak Spanish with his family at home, but also that his family is nervous about speaking Spanish in public. Tiago tells the story of Perrito, his dog, that he felt protected his family. When Perrito died, Tiago was very sad. Tiago tells his friends that America can seem oppressive and leaves he and his family sometimes feeling as vulnerable as Perrito.

The next week, Esteban returns to class, and everyone is overjoyed. The entire class hugs Esteban as soon as he enters the classroom. He looks tired and worried. His father is still being detained in Florida, and Esteban’s family has moved to Queens to live with his aunt. Ms. Laverne invites Esteban to read another poem that his father has written. He first recites it in Spanish and then shares his English translation. The poem is a meditation on fear and mystery, and uses the metaphor of an “army of ants” (131) to symbolize a quiet but persistent resistance to fear.

At lunch on the day Esteban returns, he asks if he can record his father’s poems into Haley’s voice recorder. He sadly notes that he knows he could be taken away any day because of his father’s situation. Esteban’s mother fears that she will be detained as well, and is hiding at Esteban’s aunt’s house because his aunt was born in the United States. The aunt promised Esteban he could live with her if his mother is deported, but he does not want to be separated from his family.

Haley notes the holes in Esteban’s shoes and his disheveled clothing as she turns on the voice recorder. Esteban tells how his father was taken away while at work. Yet he also shares his father’s insistence that he be thankful and hopeful. Still, Esteban is aware that fighting for his father’s rights requires legal assistance and other expenses his family cannot afford. He admits to expecting to be taken back to the Dominican Republic, and shares how much he will miss his friends.