Almost a Woman

Esmeralda’s work relocates to New Jersey, so Esmeralda asks if she can move closer and be roommates with Regina, but Mami rejects the idea. Esmeralda begins going to community college part time, where she makes friends with a beautiful Jewish girl named Shoshana. Esmeralda continues to write Otto in Switzerland, but Shoshana encourages Esmeralda to keep dating boys in the country. Esmeralda and Shoshana get jobs together as telemarketers, working in the evenings. Esmeralda is meant to stick to a script, but she likes talking to people and learning about their lives: “If I listened carefully, I might hear myself speak twenty years from now, or thirty, or even fifty” (195).

During the day, Shoshana and Esmeralda attend tapings of television shows and become friendly with some of the pages who work at the studios. Esmeralda begins spending time with Andy, a page who works at the Johnny Carson show, though Shoshana is appalled when she learns Esmeralda and Andy spend their time together platonically: “You’ll die an old maid!” (199). Shoshana sets Esmeralda up on a double date where they go horseback riding. Esmeralda is nervous riding on the horse, especially after Shoshana falls and must be rushed to the hospital.