Alejandra and Juan remind me of Jane Bennett and Mr. Bingley from Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen wrote of them: I have not a doubt of your doing very well together. Your tempers are by no means unlike. You are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income."
Well, except the part about having servants.
Juan often smiles and is jovial in nature but tends towards nervousnous. His brother says that he's blessed by good luck and has escaped from many a scrape miraculously. He drives around town at high speeds, worries a lot about money, and is forgetful. He's good-natured and in conversation his favorite expression is "andale pues," which roughly translates into "yeah, man." His brother complains that he's slow and never gets anything done. Their phone service is periodically cut off because Juan forgets to pay the bill. Juan had bad luck with women and thought he'd never be able to settle down and have kids. He was almost 30 when he met Alejandra and from where he comes from this is quite an old age to start having kids. He thought it was too late for him to find someone to settle down with. So, when Edwin was born in 2007, it was much to Juan's joy and relief to finally become a father.
Alejandra is all kindness with me. If I'm in her kitchen she always asks me to sit down and offers me something to drink. She calls me Dona Mari. In meetings she's agreeable and easy-going and usually goes with the flow. It was only after knowing her for almost two years that she told me with tears in her eyes that she had an 8 year old son back home in Chiapas and that she hadn't seen him for over 6 years. She longs to go home and misses her family but also says that it is hard to think of leaving her life here because she's gotten used to it. I don't know much more about her except that she's all sweetness and like a mother to me.
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