I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

The next morning, Julia goes into the room which used to be her mother’s bedroom and looks around. She is aware of the irony of the fact that though she hates when her mother goes through her things, she’s now going through her mother’s old things. She doesn’t find anything exciting, though she does come upon a framed drawing of Amá when she was young. She brings the drawing to Mamá Jacinta and asks who drew it—Mamá Jacinta, surprised by the question, reveals that Apá drew it. Julia is surprised, and insists her father doesn’t draw, but Mamá Jacinta tells her that he was once known as the best artist in Los Ojos. Julia asks her grandmother why Apá would have stopped, and Mamá Jacinta suggests that Apá got too busy with work in the factory and other responsibilities once he got to America.

That night, in bed, Julia lies awake and wonders how long she’ll be in Mexico. She wonders if she’ll ever be able to find out who Olga’s boyfriend was, and as she thinks about what she knows so far, decides that he had to be a doctor at the office where Olga worked.

Fermina’s oldest daughter Belén is “the town hot girl.” She is not much older than Julia but nearly a foot taller, and dresses in revealing clothing that makes everyone in town stare whenever she walks down the street. Belén decides to take Julia out and introduce her to everyone else in town—Julia is nervous about talking to so many strangers, but decides to go along. After a few of these walks, Julia begins to enjoy them, and loves listening to Belén’s constant gossip, even though she doesn’t know who any of the people her cousin talks about are.

On one walk with Belén, Belén points out a “depressing park” as the place where a group of narcos—drug lords—beheaded the town mayor years ago. When Julia is shocked by the violence, Belén points out a nearby house that was burned down by a Molotov cocktail. Julia asks if she is safe in Los Ojos, and Belén insists she is—as long as she doesn’t stay out late, “especially alone.”