Norma’s gaze darted to the plastic bat ring on Javi’s fourth finger as he slid it under the table. “What do you mean, married?”
“We’re not married!” Vero said, staring daggers at her cousin. “Javi and I just had too much to drink in some crappy casino.”
Javi looked stung. “Why do you have to keep discounting it like that? There are worse places to get married than a chapel in Atlantic City!”
“Name one!” Vero snapped.
He wisely shut his mouth.
She turned back to her mother. “Javi and I arenotmarried. That wedding doesn’t count.”
“You’re doing it again!” Javi said. “It might not have been perfect, but it was ours!”
Both of Norma’s hands came down hard on the table beside her, rattling the wineglasses as she shot to her feet. The roomerupted into chaos as everyone began shouting over one another in Spanish. The words flew like bullets over my head, but not one of them sounded like congratulations.
Gloria tried several times to intervene. Finally, she drained the wine from her glass and shouted,“Basta ya!”
We all fell silent.
She took a deep breath and eased back into her seat. “We’re all here for the same reason,” she said calmly. “To support Vero. Fighting over the past won’t fix what is happening now, so let’s all try to get along.”
Norma and Vero glared at each other across the table. Gloria reached over, took her sister’s hand, and jerked her down into her seat. Gloria took Norma’s wineglass and filled it to the brim, emptying the bottle. Norma drank half the glass in one long gulp. She violently tore a corner off her tortilla and shoved it into her mouth. Javi ate slow, cautious bites, careful to keep his left hand hidden below the table.
“Has Vero’s attorney made any progress with her defense?” I asked, delicately changing the subject.
“I’ve known corpses who could put on a better defense than this guy,” Vero muttered.
Gloria clucked her tongue. “I’m sure Mr. Marcin is doing everything he can. Donald came highly recommended by Roberta Hernandez down the street. He defended her son when he got caught shoplifting. That was eighteen months ago, and Angel already finished his community service.”
“He was a minor,” Vero argued. “He took a Twix and a pack of gum from the self-checkout lane at the Walmart! That’s not the same thing. I’d be better off being defended by a third-year law student.”
“We’ve talked about this, mija,” Norma said. “Your friend isn’tqualified to practice law. And even if he was, he couldn’t represent you in this state.”
“At least Julian has a pulse. That’s one more bullet on his CV than Donald Marcin has. But why even bother trying, right? The only person who can testify on my behalf refuses to cooperate.”
“You have a witness?” Javi sat up, clearly as surprised as I was that Vero hadn’t mentioned this before now. He brimmed with hope. “That’s great, V!”
“Who is it?” I asked.
She pushed her stew around in her bowl. “Just someone I used to hang out with sometimes. We were together in my room before I left for the party, and we hung out for a while after it was over. The money went missing while I was there.” There was an uncomfortable silence from the rest of the table.
“I don’t understand,” Javi said. “If this witness was a friend of yours, why isn’t she willing to help you?”
“Because we had an argument. Andheisn’t ashe.”
Ramón winced. Gloria and Norma kept their eyes on their meals.
Javi looked at their downturned faces as Vero’s meaning sunk in. “You were dating him?”
She tossed her spoon into her bowl. “Sure, Javi. If that’s what you want to call it, I was dating him.” He recoiled as if she’d thrown ice water on his face. “Don’t look at me like that. You weren’t here, so you don’t get to judge.”
“You had an argument with some guy you were screwing around with, and he can’t be bothered to keep you out of prison? You bet, I’m judging! The guy sounds like a dick!”
She glared at him across the table. “Then that’s one less dick you need to worry about. Theo and I got in a huge fight after the money went missing, and he hasn’t spoken to me since. Does that make you happy?”
“Maybe we can talk to him and convince him to sign a witness statement,” I suggested to ease the tension.
“Don’t bother,” Vero said. “I’ve already tried.”
