Host: In the early 1950s, Irene Montoya and Linda Garcia’s mother was hospitalized for tuberculosis.

Linda was eight… Irene was still an infant… and for years they were passed between a series of neglectful foster homes.

Linda Garcia (LG): A lot of the nights, you would wake up crying because you were hungry. And I’d go rock you, and I’d sing to you a song that Mom used to sing to you. and I would pray, Please, God, make my mother well, bring her home.

Host: Finally, they landed in  the house of an older couple named Belen and Joe Moreno… the girls called them Nino and Nina.

Irene Montoya (IM): When you met Nino and Nina, what was your first impression?

Linda Garcia (LG):  When I saw them for the first time, I was scared, I didn’t trust too many people, and I surely didn’t trust them either.

But we were having dinner, and Nina comes up with this cake, and she goes, ‘It’s your birthday.’ I didn’t know it was my birthday. And that night when we went to bed, I remember she took my socks off, and she tickled my nose with my socks. And of course I laughed and I thought to myself, I know she wants me to love her like my mom. But I’m not going to love her like I love my mom. But they were very kind hearted.

IM: Well, I think it’s because we were so cute. 

[both laugh]

No, um, Nino was very gentle, very quiet, very calm.

Nina, she was, she was a tough cookie. She was hard. But loving! My first memory of her is they had me in a crib, and I would put my hand through the crib and she would hold my hand until I fell asleep. So I think they just felt such compassion.

They even helped the transition when our mother came home.

IM: I was so attached to them, they let me stay, but you left. 

Once our mother got settled with you, I would go visit every weekend and I liked her, I thought she was beautiful, she was young. But to me, honestly, it was like visiting my aunt, you know.

LG: Do you know that I asked our mother, why she didn’t bring you home with us? And she said, whenever you visited, as soon as it would get dark, she would see you sitting at the window, waiting for Nino to come pick you up… So she let them adopt you.

IM: I remember when I was adopted, I remember going to the courthouse and when I came back, I had a new name. And it made it official: Home was with Nino and Nina.

LG: You had a good life because of it.

IM: Yeah. I always used to tell people, I’m so lucky I have two moms. And I see the influence of both Nina and my mom in you.

LG:: I think we’ve helped each other be strong.

IM: Yeah… We come from strong roots.