Before I can come up with some way to make it clear that his worries are misdirected, the phone rings from the kitchen.I don’t expect him to answer, but he clearly thinks it’s JMB because he sprints across the house to getit.
“¡Ay, bendito!You finally picked up!” Miguel’s hit a button on the phone that sends his sister’s voice fluttering into the air. Miriam lives in Bayamón, which is apparently somewhere in Puerto Rico and not a place a dog can get to easily. She flew in for the funeral and wanted to bring him back with her for a couple weeks. But Miguel refused—told her he couldn’t visit anytime soon because he needed to stay home to take care ofme.
For beings with such big brains, humans can be awfully dumb.
“What’s this ‘finally’?” he scoffs. “I didn’t know you called.”
“Which time? I’ve tried you three times in the past two days!”
“Lo siento.I haven’t been listening to my messages.”
“Listening to what? Your voicemail’s been full since last year. Welcome to the twenty-first century, Miguelito—turn on your cellphone and take it with you like the rest of the world. No answering machine required.”
“I only got that stupid thing because Amelia made me.Y sabes que yo lo odio.”
“Love it or loathe it, it might be useful when I have an emergency and need to contact you.”
Miguel straightens his spine. “¿Qué pasó? ¿Es Titi Ceci?” Their aunt raised them after their mom died when Miriam was nine and he was twelve, but now she’s in a nursing home and doesn’t always remember them.
“No, she’s fine. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Hmph,” he says, but I know he’s happy to hear from her.Then he tells her about the event. “Between the rent increase and Jonathan not showing up, I’m out of cash and almost out of options.”
“Listen, this is just a setback—not the end. You remember what happened after Mami passed?”
“Not really. Which is probably my brain trying to save me from myself.”
Miriam snorts. “Lucky for you, your sister has a mind like a steel trap. Remember how we didn’t want to ask Titi for cash because we felt bad that she was already grieving about Mami?”
“Hmm.”
“And you knew my sneakers had holes in them. So instead of telling her, you marched over to the comic book place and somehow convinced the owner to let you sell copies outside of school for however much you wanted to charge. Remember?”
Miguel’s expression is slowly changing, but I can’t tell if he’s about to smile or cry.
“And damned if you didn’t convince every other kid at St. Mary’s to spend their lunch money on the latestNew Mutants.It was like, what, a week before I had a brand-new pair of kicks? But instead of pocketing the leftover money, you gave it to Titi for groceries. I’ve never seen anyone with more hustle and heart.”
“That was then, Miriam. I’m not that person anymore,” he says gruffly.
“Sure you are,” she coos. “I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but that fighter’s still in there, Miguelito. If anyone can figure this out, it’s you.”
He sniffs. “What if I don’twantto figure it out?”
Her voice lowers. “That’s okay, too—just keep putting onefoot in front of the other. And if you can’t, you call me, and I’ll pull you along until you can walk again.”
He wipes his eyes and swallows hard. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay—promise.Te quiero.”
“Te quiero también. Besito.”
After he hangs up, he rubs his lids with his knuckles, then turns to me. “My sister should be a motivational speaker, Harold. I have no idea how we’re going to pull this off—but somehow, you and I are going to have to find a way.”
Six
Miguel peers into the bathroom mirror. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he tells me as he attempts to get his curls to submit to his demands.
Then don’t!I think from my spot beside his feet.Use that enormous noggin of yours to think of something else!
“You know I’ve been brainstorming for hours, and this is the only thing I’ve been able to come up with,” he says defensively, as though he’s heard me—although maybe my pointed stare implies that I believe he’s about to throw himself to the wolves. He spent hours muttering and pacing the living room after talking to Miriam yesterday. But by the time he fed me dinner, he’d decided he had one decent idea: He’d ask Amelia’s parents for money.
