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A few others joined us, and we played for a few rounds until people started getting up, walking around the yard, and chatting with the small groups that were huddled around the different seating areas. Santiago was now sitting at the table with me after dragging me inside to grab some food, then bringing it out to the table to eat. Victoria sat on his lap, but her body was turned towards Lucía, who had moved to the other side of the bench at some point during our Monopoly game. They were talking about Victoria and Santiago’s trip to the South of France, how one of the planned excursions fell through, but they were happy about it because they realized they had been overzealous and packed too much into it. Apparently, Santiago hadn’t taken any time off since he moved back to Tres Fuegos for good, so this was a very welcome time off for both of them.
“Maybe you should move the plants here,” Victoria said casually. Lucía eyed me quickly, then went back to her sister-in-law. “It might be easier to have them all in one place instead of going back and forth.”
“Yeah, no,” Lucía said with a smile on her lips. “There’sno way I’m going back and forth tomorrow to grab them all.” She shook her head and took a sip of her wine.
“Just trying to make it easier for you, you know. In case there’s a blackout or if there is a storm, you won’t have to run to the house.”
“Pft,” Lucía replied. “It’s much easier this way. Besides, I have literally nothing to do. I can go at any time.”
“Do you have a green thumb?” I asked, cutting in on their conversation.
Victoria turned to look at me and smiled. “The greenest,” she said, laughing.
“Allegedly,” Lucía added with a wink towards her sister-in-law. “I haven’t taken care of plants since I moved back into town.”
“It’s like riding a bike,” Santiago said in between bites of food, but then laughed and shrugged. “I wouldn’t know because I kill them all. She’s the one that keeps ours alive.” He kissed his wife’s shoulder and draped a hand around her waist, bringing her closer to his body.
“Well,” I drawled, “maybe you can teach me a thing or two?” I smiled at Lucía, hoping… for what? Would she remember me if I brought up things from our shared past?
“Sure.” She shrugged. “I’ll walk you through it.”
12
LUCÍA
Qué te pasa.Valentina was right. There had to be something wrong with me.
I’ll walk you through it?Who the fuck said something like that to a man who belonged very far in their past?
“It’s too hot for a fire right now,” Charlie harrumphed from the other side of the yard, where Jacinto was laying down a few logs in the firepit. “I just can’t with you,” he said, shaking his head back and forth in disagreement.
“Charlie, you are such a party pooper, man,” Jacinto argued back, making a large pile of logs inside the brick circle that would contain the fire. “If it’s too hot, then you don’t have to stand here.”
“Jacinto.” Charlie was standing by the unlit fire, inching towards the pile of logs to start removing them, his face stoic and his fingers on his other hand tapping lightly onhis leg. He sighed, then turned to look at me, his eyes pleading for something. Intervention, probably.
I shrugged and smiled at him, chuckling a little under my breath. He glared at me, then turned back to Jacinto, mumbling something to him and squatting down to the grass to remove a log.
“Dale,man,”Jacinto said, his features tightening at what Charlie was doing. “Just leave it.”
“Shit,” I said and stood from the table quickly. “Be right back.”
I speed-walked towards the firepit, knowing well that this was the beginning of a long-standing fight between them. Charlie was too serious for any of Jacinto’s shenanigans, and Jacinto was usually extremely rowdy at the end of the year, when the nice weather and the long days gave him too much free time with his thoughts.
“Uh-uh, nope.” I looked at both of them and crossed my arms across my chest. “Immediately no.”
“But he—” they both said at the same time, pointing fingers at the other one.
“No,” I said, cutthroat. I looked at Charlie. “You are a grown man, and you don’t live here, and if you think it’s too hot for a fire, then you don’t participate. Period. Go inside with Granny and Grandpa and keep them company. And you.” I pointed at Jacinto. “Dale, you know better.”
“It’s too funny,” he said, chuckling while he added more wood to the firepit. “He gets riled up too easily.”
Charlie glowered at him, then turned around andstomped towards the house, his arms dangling by his sides and moving intentionally with his strides. He had been extra grumpy since the wedding, hiding in the big house and avoiding town at all costs. He had even slept in his old room a few nights instead of walking the six blocks—literally—to his house to spend the night. He was jumpy and jittery, more than usual.
I laughed because it was true. It was easy to get him riled up. But I was the only one allowed to do it. Jacinto drove him absolutely insane, and the age gap between them didn’t help. They were ten years apart and in very different moments of their lives.
“Behave, please.”
“Fine, but I’m telling you, it’s going to get colder later on, and this will be nice.” Jacinto stood next to me, the sudden feel of the warm fire on my bare legs was comforting somehow. Then he turned towards the big house, a cheeky smile on his face.
