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“You need a name, sweet girl,” I said as I crouched down to grab her soft body. Her purring was still low and cautious, developing together with her confidence and slowly getting her out of her shell. “You and me both, bud.”
The lights flickered once, twice,before they were completely off, and the cat scurried from my arms and slid right under the bed at the unexpected darkness. I sighed and face-planted on my bed, waiting to see if this one was going to be a classic summer blackout or if it was going to be one of the milder ones, just the warning before the big ones started.
A few moments later, the lights were back on, and the cat immediately jumped on the bed and curled against my side.
How could he not remember me?
11
FRANCISCO
Deep breath.
New year, new me, right?
Except that, no, wrong.
Victoria and Santiago were walking ahead of me, hand in hand, in the direction of the big house, where the wedding had taken place only a few nights earlier. Turns out, the place was Santiago’s family home, and apparently his sister lived there with their parents.
And she didn’t remember me. “Nice to meet you,” she had whispered, then kept going on about a cat and yet another person I didn’t know in their town. It had been well over twenty-four hours, and I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me.
It had to be her. It clicked now, the last name and when she talked about visiting her family in her hometown. I always thought she was talking about spending time withher parents, like she lived in the city and they were farther out in the suburbs. I never knew they were so far away in this mountain town.
She talked about her plants, about her job. She told me a little about what made her become a doctor, about Jazmín. But we never spoke about much else. Or at least, nothing too deep or intimate. Because I was just her patient’s brother, and she was that, my sister’s doctor.
We walked through the driveway towards the front door. It was left ajar, and we could hear the conversation from the sidewalk. Daylight was still clinging, holding on tight and never wanting to leave. It was technically nighttime on New Year’s Eve, but it still felt like a long, endless afternoon. I was carrying an impossibly large salad in my hands. Santiago was clutching a bag with a few bottles of wine he had brought in from his hotel that same day.
Apparently, the new year was a big deal in Tres Fuegos. Maybe everyone lived up to the motto ofnew year, new me.
The house was loud with laughter coming from all directions. As soon as we walked in, a toddler came running our way and jumped into Victoria’s arms, her mother following behind with a stern look on her face.
“Oh, it’s you.” She sighed, but then she grunted, and her mouth curved up as she walked in our direction. Victoria switched the small girl to her hip and then hugged her sister-in-law with one arm, hooking it around her neck. “Finally.”
Santiago kissed her on the cheek and kept walkingtowards the back of the house, turning his head and nodding in the direction for me to follow him. The entry hallway dead-ended onto a large doorway, and I could see all the lights on from the front door.
“How many people are here?” I asked Santiago. Between the door being left ajar and the loud noises coming from the back, it had to be a few dozen at least. It was a stark contrast to how I’d spent the past twenty holidays of my life, at least. Either surrounded by people I’d never met before or alone in a dark house because my parents couldn’t bother with me. Since college, I had started spending New Year’s Eve with friends, but other holidays were a little lonely still.
“It’s only our siblings and some close friends.” He smirked and scrunched his nose. “We are a loud bunch.”
We walked into the kitchen and dropped the food and drinks on the island, where someone had laid out a massive spread of food for the guests in the house that evening. I said hello to the few people around the kitchen table who were too engrossed in a conversation about who the best Power Ranger was to be interrupted.
And then we walked out into the backyard. The large tent was gone, and in its place, there were three different seating areas, a larger one closer to the back of the lot around a firepit that was all embers and ashes. Right next to the entrance to the house, they had set up a long table with drinks, so I headed that way while Santiago made his rounds. I could hear squeals coming from inside the house,followed by some laughter and then more high-pitched screaming.
This family was a loud bunch indeed.
I walked towards one of the seating areas farther out into the lot, next to the neighboring house. A few trays with appetizers lined the table, and there was a full bottle of wine in the middle, glasses stacked right next to it. There were a few board games piled on the tabletop, a game of Monopoly mixed in between. I circled the table, drifting my fingers along the edge of the box, completely immersed in my thoughts, then sat down and stared at the bright colors on the board game taking me back to a different moment in time.
It was a quiet night, that one. The nurses’ station was only inhabited by Sonia, the charge nurse, who had learned to ignore me. Although occasionally, I would catch her small smile as I walked by her desk. Lucía wasn’t standing with them that night, but instead I could hear her whispering from down the hall, discussing something with another one of the staff. I looked her way, and almost like she felt my eyes on her, she lifted her head and brightened in return. I winked at her, then turned to head towards my sister’s room. I had texted her in advance to let her know I was coming and to wait for me. Usually, when she was in for her multi-day chemos, she was tired and was not able to stay awake for long periods, but this time, it was different.
“Ey,”I whispered as I walked in, looking into the room to make sure the coast was clear. I was technically allowed into visit her since I was family and our last names matched. It was a common last name, probably so common that my parents had hyphenated mine, combining both of theirs, to make us a little bit more distinguished amongstothers.And I was cautious because I never wanted to bring any extra attention to myself. Somehow everything I did always got back to my father. “¿Cómo te sentís?”
She was smiling with her lids closed, but I could nonetheless picture her eyes rolling at me. Her brown hair was short, finally growing in after the last round of chemo. She reminded me so much of a younger version of myself, except for the eyes. Where mine were brown, like my father’s, she had bright green ones after her mother, Florencia. Someone had to be blind to not realize we were siblings. And for half-siblings, we were too much alike. Because we both took after our father.
“Fine,” she answered, sitting up and leaning against the pillows behind her body. “Did you bring it?”
I snickered as I closed the door quietly behind me, then took off my large backpack and unzipped it at the foot of her bed. I wiggled my eyebrows at her and snatched the box from my bag, doing spirit fingers with the other one. Jazmín clapped her hands and hooted, her loud laugh echoing in the bare room.
“Shhh,” I said in between chuckles. “They’re gonna find us out.”
