Lucky Broken Girl

The cast smells bad from Ruthie’s sweat; it is also getting too tight and leaving red marks on her skin. The doctor tells Aunt Sylvia that Ruthie must not gain more weight; Mami therefore decreases her food intake and allows no sweets. Ruthie feels like she is “suffering and dying” while watching Izzie eat cookies (104).

In July, Clay and Bobbie return to bring Ruthie to the hospital. Dr. Friendlich sees from an x-ray that her leg is still broken. He resets the leg with an iron pin to keep the bone in place; Ruthie wakes up to a new, fresh cast. Back home, she feels her bed and room are secure and safe compared to the outside world’s strange, dreamlike appearance. Ramu sneaks to Ruthie’s apartment for a visit. They have a good talk and Ramu tells Ruthie that Shiva, the god who “dances to bring goodness to the world” (109), will help her heal. Mami then tells Ramu she sees his mother returning, and he runs home. Later, Ruthie prays to Shiva for strength, healing, and release from the “hate in [her] heart” (110).

Mami is ironing in Ruthie’s room when they hear screams from down the hall. It is Mrs. Sharma: Ramu’s little brother Avik fell from their window to his death. Izzie later tells Ruthie he saw Avik “flying in the air. Like a bird!” (112). Mrs. Sharma, crying and wailing, hugged his body until the police came.

Mami and Papi go to give their condolences, but Mr. Sharma tells them they are not having visitors. A few days later Ramu comes to say goodbye to Ruthie; he and his parents are returning to India with Avik’s ashes. Ruthie tells Ramu how sorry she is, and the two exchange good wishes for each other for the future. Ruthie prays to Shiva to welcome Avik when his ashes arrive back in India.

A cheerful, loud man named Francisco moves into the Sharmas’ former apartment. Mami and Papi make friends with him; he speaks Spanish, comes from Mexico, and enjoys the Cuban coffee Mami makes. He asks to meet Ruthie when he hears her call for the bedpan; in fact, Ruthie hadn’t really needed the bedpan, but she wanted to meet this new neighbor who goes by the nickname Chicho.

Though sensitive to Ruthie’s condition, Chicho talks directly to her and offers to paint a picture on her cast. After fetching his art supplies, he paints flowers, vines, and butterflies. Chicho then returns to his apartment for a full-length mirror so that Ruthie can see the images better.

Chicho stays for dinner but requests to eat with Ruthie in her room. He also offers her supplies to use to paint. He brings a special easel Ruthie can prop up on her cast. He helps her tilt her head up with two thick pillows. Chicho encourages Ruthie to experiment and find her own colors. He even offers to clean up the brushes so Mami does not have to tend to a mess. Ruthie tells Chicho what happened to Avik, and Chicho asks Ruthie to make a picture of Avik so that he can place it on his altar. He will burn incense to honor Avik. Ruthie paints a picture of Avik, giving him wings so that “he can fly as much as he wants in heaven” (123).

When the school year resumes, Joy returns. Ruthie paints a picture of her and tells Joy it is hers to keep. Joy tells Ruthie she will be back in school soon. Ruthie’s assignment is to think about freedom so that she and Joy can practice debating. Ruthie is grateful that Joy “makes [her] think about important things” (127). She credits Chicho with prompting “big, interesting thoughts” too (127).

Chicho tells Ruthie about Frida Kahlo—a Mexican artist who broke her back in a bus accident and continued to paint despite the pain. At first Frida’s story inspires Ruthie, but when Chicho tells her that Frida wore long skirts to cover her uneven legs and later had a leg amputated due to infection, Ruthie pushes away her paints and tells Chicho she wants to be a “normal” girl who runs and plays. Chicho reassures her that she will, and that Frida is watching her “from the sky” and wanting for Ruthie to be well (128). Later Ruthie asks Frida to help heal her legs; Ruthie promises to continue painting, however, whether she does or not.

Ruthie is jealous as Dennis, Lily, and Izzie dress in costumes to trick –or treat. Izzie plans to collect candy for Ruthie but returns disgustedly, saying, “People thought I was telling a lie to get more candy for myself!” (131). Ruthie reassures him that his heart was in the right place and eases his frustration by saying she cannot eat much candy anyway. She offers Izzie the candy he collected for her, but he turns it down; Ruthie then tells Izzie to give it to the “kids in the dumb class” (132).

Nervous about gaining too much weight in her cast, Ruthie tries exercising her upper torso; she claps, inadvertently hailing Mami. Later she claps and Papi comes in. He teaches her to clap to the beat of the cha-cha-cha. Ruthie convinces Papi and Mami to dance the cha-cha-cha there in her bedroom. Mami looks excited and happy, and Ruthie applauds when they finish.

Though she wants to be happy, rainy and dark weather makes Ruthie feel a hovering gloominess on her 11th birthday in November. Mami tells Ruthie she has been writing to Ruthie’s former nanny, Caro, in Cuba, telling Caro updates about Ruthie and the family. Caro prayed at the shrine of San Lázaro, a saint also known by his African name of Babalu-Ayé. He is known for interceding for those with leg injuries. Ruthie sends Caro a painting of Mami and Papi dancing. Chicho and his friend Mark arrive to decorate with pink and red balloons. They place a tiara on Ruthie’s head and call her the “queen of Queens” (136). As friends and relatives arrive for Ruthie’s party, she no longer feels gloomy; for her birthday wish she wishes to be alive a year later, because “being alive is the best gift of all” (139).

Ruthie thinks often about the boys who died in the accident and paints their pictures. Chicho decides Ruthie needs a new perspective; he and Mark turn Ruthie’s bed so that she can see outside. This cheers her up greatly. She asks to see the newspaper with the story of the accident in it and learns the names of the boys who died: Jack, Johnny, Stuart, Andy, and Eddy, the driver. Mami says Papi is not suing the families because he and Mami do not want the families to suffer more. Ruthie is relieved: “Oh, Mami, I am so glad! That’s how I feel too” (142). Ruthie prays to God, Shiva, and Frida to take care of the dead boys in the next world.

Joy, who now considers Ruthie a highly skilled reader, gives her books to read over the holiday break: Emily Dickinson poems, José Martí poems (which allow her to compare the Spanish and English translation), and Alice in Wonderland. She also gives Ruthie a news article about Martin Luther King, Jr. from August, asking if Ruthie knows what he is fighting for. Ruthie knows he tries to get others to see that freedom and equality are the rights of all people. Joy explains that she is not supposed to share her views with students but does so with Ruthie. Ruthie asks Joy how some people can hold onto hate so strongly and mentions how she felt when she gave up her hatred for the boys who caused the accident: “When I stopped hating them it was like I stepped out from under a dark cloud and saw the sunshine again” (148). Joy says she is grateful for those who fight for equality and freedom but admits, “[T]he world can be a frightening place sometimes” (148).