“Okay, okay, cálmate, Walter Mercado.” I laugh and kiss her cheek.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay here and watch a movie with you?”
“No, mija, I’ve lived my life. You still have more living to do. Go.”
Cocadas in hand, I start off walking towards Manny’s house. I pass by many homes with family and friends gathered on the porch, laughing and drinking. Music streaming in the distance, a mix of different sounds blending together. This was my favorite part about Corpus. Even with some of these modern neighborhoods being built, there was still a lot of the culture still embedded.
I’m rounding the corner to Manny’s house when a car honks at me. Prepared to grab my pepper spray, I clutch my keys before I recognize the car. The black El Camino slows, and the windows roll down to show Manny sitting behind the wheel.
“Isa. What are you doing?”
I loosen my grip around my keys and let out a sigh of relief as I look at the house and back at him. It’s so crazy how a boy’s face can mature into that of a man. His high cheekbones, long lashes, and full lips. Those youngerfeatures are still there, but now they are more defined with age.
He’s wearing an all-white shirt, and the sexiness of the all-black car highlights that cholo in him that drives me mad. I lick my lips before I regain focus.
“I was bringing Junior some cocadas my mom made.”
I hold up the plastic container. It had originally been a tub of lard, now turned into a Tupperware box. Manny smiles and then nods in front of him.
“I’ll meet you at my house,” he says.
I’m at the front porch before he’s parked the car. Taking a seat on the front steps, I watch as he takes his time to slowly reverse the car into his driveway. Once he exits the vehicle, he assesses the entire car, touching it delicately, his eyes narrowing as he checks for any minor defects. I get why my mom was jealous of a car now. What would those hands feel like on me?
“I didn’t know you still had the El Camino,” I say when he finally looks at me.
“I mostly just use it for shows now, but I took it out to get a good wash and check the oil.” I nod and offer him a smile.
“And Junior?” He rubs his neck and lets out a sigh.
“About that, I was gonna tell you. Juan Carlos showed up today.” He walks to sit next to me.
It is comforting since there’s a ball of anxiety forming in my stomach. I had assumed Junior was going with his dad every weekend, so I shouldn’t be thrown off, but I couldn’t help wondering what Juan Carlos was up to. You don’t just blow off your son for months, then reappear like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Oh. Well, that’s good,” I say, swallowing my worry.
Maybe Juan Carlos was the reminder I needed that these developing feelings I had for Manny were not okay. He was Junior’s godfather and Juan Carlos’s best friend.
“Here, I can take those and give them to him when he gets back.” Manny offers. “You walked here?”
“Ya, I needed to get my steps in, and Mom had been yelling at me about the cocadas.” I lie.
“Do you want to come inside? Just to drop this off, and then I can give you a ride home?” he asks nervously.
I nod, and he smiles before moving past me to unlock the front door. The smell hits me immediately, and I begin to gag. The foul odor choking me. A mix of rotten eggs and burnt rubber.Santa Madre, something has died in here. Manny is also gagging, his eyes red from the coughing, as he rushes to open all the windows.
He pulls his shirt over his nose, then rushes to grab my hand, pulling us back through the front door. I grasp for air, both of us still coughing and gagging.
“What the fuck died in your house?” I ask him when I can breathe again properly, without the intrusive smell of ass.
“Este pinche chiquillo. It’s this fart spray,” he says between deep exhales.
“What the hell is fart spray?”
“It’s this... spray. We’ve been in this sort of prank war. I sprayed one spritz of it on his backpack last week.” He looks away when he sees the disgusted look on my face.
“One spray is pretty powerful. Junior must have found it and sprayed the whole house,” he explains further.
“Right. So, you’re telling me I just almost went blind because of a prank war between you, a grown ass man, and my son? Manuel, I can fucking TASTE it!” I yell.
