There was some very fast Spanish, and Sebastian clapped me hard on the shoulder. Pura and Yolanda considered each other for a couple of seconds, and then abuela started taking her apron off. Yolanda followed her example while the other three gasped as if something monumental was unfolding in the cramped kitchen. It seemed like Abuela’s accepting my offer to clean was a game changer for the Ortiz clan. I wasn’t even sure why, but I was feeling about ten feet tall, especially when Julia’s grandmother pushed up and kissed me on the cheek.
“Esta bien, querido.” Pura’s smile was wide as she spoke, and Yolanda had a matching expression.
“Julita, your friend is a good boy. I like him,” Yolanda declared with a friendly wink aimed in my direction. Julia, Paula, and Sebastian had matching expressions of shock as I smugly tied on Abuela’s discarded apron. I waggled my eyebrows at Julia as she looked on in disbelief. Pura and Yolanda each patted me on the shoulder as they walked from the kitchen to relax on the couch.
“Vamos, Julita, a limpiar,” I teased, as she shook her head in amazement.
I noticed Julia’s shock was quickly replaced with an expression that looked a bit more menacing, so I quit teasing. But soon she and I were cleaning up side by side in the kitchen as her dad and Paula tidied up the living room.
Once we got busy scrubbing pots and pans, Julia bumped my shoulder. “I never thought there would be a guy to wear my abuela down and get her to take a rest after a holiday meal.”
“Oh?” I was impressed with my ability to sound casual.
“My ex, Matt, and I were together on and off for like fifteen years and she never let him anywhere near her kitchen.” She frowned at something, then muttered. “Not that he ever offered.”
I’d never wanted to punch someone I hadn’t met so bad, but if I ever ran into that fucker I was going to pop him right on the mouth.
“On the first try you got her to actually sit down.” She gestured at her grandmother, who was sipping some rum, with a baffled expression. “You talked her into literally putting her feet up! What kind of witch are you?”
I laughed and winked at her. “Uh, wizard, and Abuela likes me, I guess.”
Something that sounded a lot like “get in line” left her lips, but we went back to cleaning up in companionable silence.
Being here with Julia, it made me yearn for things I never knew I wanted or even considered I deserved. With Coach Brito, I’d always been welcome and cared for, but I wasn’tone of them. My parents were always lurking only a few miles away, threatening to pull me back into their chaos.
Here though, in this city and in this apartment, I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be. Like I was a piece of the puzzle, and if I went missing, the picture would not be complete.
Things were starting to wind down at Julia’s and even though I knew I should, I didn’t want to leave. I ran my hand over her thigh, which was under a blanket she’d draped over the two of us while we watched an old movie with her family.
A shiver ran through her as I touched her, and more than anything I wanted to have my hands on her skin. Her eyes were sultry and she looked soft and sleepy. I wanted to pick her up from that couch and take her to bed. But that would certainly put an end to whatever new set of rules we were playing by tonight. So when she whispered a, “What’s up?” close to my ear that sounded like a moan, I gritted my teeth and did my best to answer in a normal tone.
“I should get going.” I looked around and saw that her dad and grandma had fallen asleep on the little love seat across from us. “Looks like you guys need your space.”
As soon as I uttered the word “space,” Paula—who had been doing something on her phone since she’d been outvoted on her horror movie suggestion—huffed and got up from her spot on the carpet. She eyed the couch Julia and I were still curled up on, and pointed. “You’re in my bed, my guy.” She didn’t sound like she was exactly thrilled to be sleeping there, but she looked tired and more than a little cranky.
She was so different from Julia, her skin a lot paler and her hair straight and very dark, almost black. She was shorter than Julia too, and very slender, a total contrast to Julia’s curves, but they looked like sisters. Something about how they carried themselves.
I got up, feeling embarrassed that I’d taken her bed. “Sorry about that.” She waved a hand without looking in my direction as she fished for a small toiletry bag from a basket next to the couch.
Before I could think about what I was saying or why, I blurted out, “You and Julia can come and stay at my place if you need a little more space. I have two extra bedrooms and I’m only like a ten-minute walk from here.” I looked around as Julia, who had been folding the blanket, froze with her arms outstretched, each one holding a corner of the soft bright red blanket. Before she could respond, Paula yelled, waking her father and grandmother from their post-meal nap in the process, “Mami! Julita and I are going down the street to sleep at Rocco’s.”
Julia finally reacted and quickly finished up her fold job as she talked. “Paula, hold up! I don’t want to impose.” She turned to me and her face was a mix of panic and anticipation. Which was also a good way to describe what was currently going on with me.
“It’s not an imposition at all. You know I have tons of space, Julia. It’d be my pleasure,” I rushed to reassure her as Yolanda came out of the bedroom.
“What is it, mija? You’re sleeping somewhere else?” I started freaking out internally, wondering if I’d somehow insulted Julia’s family by implying there were too many people or that her place was too small. Before Julia could answer, her dad got up from the armchair, fully awake now. He looked between Julia, Yolanda, and Paula, then at me, his expression unreadable. I wondered if he was calculating just how sleazy I was trying to be with his offspring, but then he smiled and gave me a thumbs-up.
“Thanks for offering, Rocco. Poor Pau’s been sleeping on this couch that’s too short for her. They can walk here in the morning to have breakfast with me.” He looked up at his wife, who still didn’t look fully convinced about the change of plans. “Yolanda and Pura are planning to be at the mall by 7:00 a.m. Right, mi vida?”
Yolanda still didn’t look too sure about this new development, but seemed determined not to make a thing out of my impulsive invitation. “That’s fine, mija.”
Paula, on the other hand, had a backpack over her shoulder and was ready to go. “Yup. We’ll head over when I get up, Papi.”
Julia had been silent as the whole exchange happened. Now she looked at her parents like she had no idea who they were.
“So, you guys are cool with us taking off to Rocco’s for the night?”
Sebastian just walked over and gave her a one-armed hug. “Sure, makes sense to take Rocco up on his hospitality. We’re pretty tight here.” He held out his hand for Yolanda. “Vamos, mi amor. I’m tired and you need a foot rub.”
