When she told Laina about that day, Laina grabbed her by the shoulders and said, “There’s no excuse for what he did. Ever.” Rebecca nodded, but the words didn’t balance the scales in her heart. Sure, she agreed with Laina. That had never changed. But later, she found out that beatings were the way older Puerto Ricans disciplined their children—even some of her parents’ friends. Her father and mother had made the decision never to do that. There was room there, maybe not for forgiveness, but for understanding. Her parents had shown incredible restraint with her and her brother, had buried a
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