AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m okay,” I whisper, lying.
“Oh my baby, come here.” She pulls me closer again and hugs me tight. “I’m making you arroz con gandules. And baked chicken.”
“It smells amazing,” I whisper into her embrace.
“Of course it does,” she answers, and I can’t help the chuckle that escapes. I pull away and she cradles my face in her hands. “Papá will be home soon, he’s so excited to see you.”
I give her a smile before I finally pull away and turn around trying to collect myself. The creams and white colors of the kitchen look just as familiar and welcoming as ever. The organized chaos that resides on surfaces and in cabinets looks just as it always does. My mom isn’t the neatest woman in the world, but she knows where all of her stuff is. The lone paperclip next to the lamp on the living room end table? That’s where she wants it. The tote bag hanging from the closet door knob full of mismatched socks? Don’t even try to touch it. She knows which socks are in there and when she might need them. My dad used to try and tidy up the house, like putting a random notebook into the drawer instead of under their bed. I remember my mom yelling, “Who moved my notebook?!” and then forbade my father from ever attempting to clean again. He didn’t.
“Where is Isa?” I ask, speaking of my baby sister. She isn’t much of a baby as she is a college student now, but she is the baby of the family. Mom has resumed her position in front of the stove adding some sofrito into her pot and mixing it some more.
“She couldn’t come home tonight.” She switches to English. “She has some sort of sporting event she and her friends are going to. Baseball?” my mom guesses.
“Probably football. Baseball isn’t in season right now.”
“Oh yes, that sounds right,” she agrees. “And your brother is coming for dinner. He should be here soon.”
“Oh really?” I say, surprised since he doesn’t make it to family dinners too often. José followed my father’s footsteps as a lawyer and is currently almost done with law school at Columbia. He comes home as often as he can, but his intense workload makes it pretty challenging for him to commute home often.
“Sí. He has the weekend off and he’s spending it home.”
“That’s good. He could use a break,” I say, passing ingredients to my mom as she keeps cooking.
We continue like that, small talk and my half-hearted attempt to help her cook, for about thirty minutes until my dad finally gets home. My mom taught me how to cook and I can make a lot of family recipes, but I just don’t like to do it. I’m sort of a disappointment for my family in that way. Mom would never say that, but it’s true.
“Hola, mí Ana,” my dad says as he comes into the kitchen and pulls me into a crushing hug.
“Hola, Papá,” I say into his chest.
“How was your day?” he asks when he finally releases me and turns to embrace Mom. He stands a few inches taller than me. His dark brown hair is neatly combed and styled, showcasing the gray at his temples. He has deep warm tanned skin, several shades darker than mine and my mother’s.
“It was good. I worked and then I came here,” I say, then turn as I hear the front door opening. My brother closes the door and kicks off his shoes, his pullover sweater slightly wrinkled and stained. His dark and slightly curly hair is a bit longer on the top and shorter on the sides. His handsome and tan face is trained upon me with a smirk as he walks towards me.
“Ew, Sé,” I tell him, looking him up and down. “When was the last time you showered?”
He puts me in a headlock and says, “This morning, sabelotodo.” Smart ass. “I attempted to eat my burrito while riding the train and….well you can see how that went.”
“First of all it's disgusting that you’re eating on the train, what is wrong with you?” I ask, trying to shove his arms off of me. I may be older than him but he is bigger and stronger than me now. I don’t stand a chance.
“I’m a busy man. You do what you gotta do when you’re as successful as me, hermana.” Sister. He finally lets me go with a smirk. I roll my eyes.
“Yeah, okay, pendejo.” Asshole. He chuckles but pulls me in for a real hug and I wrap my arms around his middle.
“How are you, Ana?” he whispers even though he knows the answer.
“The same, Sé,” I admit. I feel him nod and squeeze me tighter.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers again, giving one more squeeze before letting me go and walking towards mom to greet her. She starts going off in Spanish about the state of my brother's clothing and asking him if he has any pride anymore.
It’s a nice evening with my family, as it always is when we’re together, even though we are missing Isabel. We talk and eat, yell and laugh. My parents try to convince me to stay the night but I tell them I am meeting friends in the morning and don’t want to wake up earlier for the longer drive. I’m obviously lying, but they look excited that I am making plans with friends again. I only feel a little guilty for that.
The only plan I have for tomorrow is trying to make it to bedtime, when I can take my medication and pretend for a few hours that the darkness isn’t waiting for me on the other side.
SIX
NOW, SUMMER
Madeline and Elliot just bought a house.
