Julio: Part Vi

By Dorila Marting

Julio, a bright ten-year-old boy, is the only survivor of his family when the flood of the century killed about five thousand people on Saturday, December 7, 1941, at the northern part of Huaras, Ancash, Peru. His cousin, Esperanza, takes charge of him. Together they go to Lima and suffer hardships to earn their secondary diplomas in order to enter the United States of America as immigrants and become worthy, naturalized citizens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503593909

Dorila Marting

Dorila A. Marting gives us a riveting portrait of a land and a culture very unlike our own. Yet at the same time, her universal themes—the eternal struggle between the generations, the ties that bind—make for an astonishing debut novel filled with colorful characters and intriguing situations anyone can relate to. Coming to the United States as an immigrant, Dorila A. Marting is proud to be a naturalized American citizen. From 1959 to 1968, the author was a correspondent for the Arizona Republic in Phoenix and the Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff. A member of Arizona Press Women and the National Association of Press Women, she has received ten State Press awards and one national award for her journalism. Following graduate work at the University of Arizona, she became a Spanish language and ESL teacher. Now in her golden years at age eighty-seven, Marting is in perfect health and continues to write creatively from her home in Tucson.

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Copyright © 2015 by Dorila Marting. 703473

Photo by Barton Robison

ISBN:      EBook      978-1-5035-9390-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 08/10/2015

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JULIO

J ulio, the ten year old orphan boy, victim of that horrible flood of December 7, 1941, in the northern part of Huarás, Ancash , Perú, is now a legal immigrant studying at Stanford University. He is working at Melinda’s Chalet, an elegant restaurant, where he is employed with a secured job for four years while he completes his undergraduate degree.

Julio started the job as a dishwasher, but quickly became a favorite waiter. To the surprise of Melinda Patterson, the owner of the chalet, Julio assumed all the responsibilities of ordering supplies, overseeing the employees and being a gracious host to Melinda’s clients, all the while she was ill for ten days. Julio also checked on Melinda frequently, to make sure that she was getting along well and that her needs were being met during those critical days. He even missed his classes, so that he could attend to Melinda’s business.

The kind lady, who was willing to sponsor an unknown student from another land, found herself very grateful to Julio, who voluntarily assumed her duties. Of all the cooks and waiters she had employed for many years, none had the initiative to take over and run the business during her absence like Julio had done.

After her recovery, Melinda called Julio to her office to thank him for what he had done during her illness. From now on, Julio, you will no longer be a dishwasher or waiter, unless it is absolutely necessary. As of today, you will be my salaried assistant. By all means, you will continue to attend your classes at the university as usual. You will earn a $4,000 yearly salary. If you agree to this contract, please fill out this form, sign and date it.

Julio was spellbound and surprised! He could not believe his good luck! He thanked Melinda immensely for the promotion and promised her to do his best to assist her.

As Julio walked towards his room, he still could not believe his good fortune: His salary was more than he expected, plus room and board and time to attend college. He never believed that such things could happen so soon. He thought of Esperanza, who was responsible in finding this wonderful job for him through her American History teacher.

At the university, Julio shared his good fortune with Dave and Betty, who were very excited and happy for him. At this rate, Julio would soon be driving his own car. All three went to the coffee shop and ordered three root beer floats to celebrate Julio’s good luck. The gentle