Emmett stares at the twins, disbelief written all over his face. “You cry at school and soccer practice?”
Mattie’s smile must match mine, but Harry just shrugs his acknowledgement.
“Sometimes you can’t help it,” Mattie says.
“So, what do you do?” Emmett asks, his face screwing into a frown as he looks back and forth between the twins. “Nobody calls you a baby?”
“Who’s calling you a baby?” I ask, but Emmett ignores me. Right now, it’s Harry he needs.
“I keep a pair of sunglasses hooked to my shirt,” my brother says, sounding supremely cool. “If one hits me in class, I put ‘em on. Nobody but Mr. Craddock tells me to take them off, but by the time he does, I’m usually good.”
Emmett whips his head around to me. “Can I get a pair of sunglasses?”
I fight to keep my smile in check. “We’ll hit CVS on the way to school tomorrow.”
His body practically wilts with relief. He turns to Mattie. “Do you have sunglasses?”
Grinning, she shakes her head. “Not for that. I usually just ask to go to the bathroom.”
Emmett frowns. “But I don’t need to go to the bathroom.”
Behind Emmett, I catch Luc stifling his laughter.
“But you need privacy,” Mattie explains.
Emmett aims his confused gaze at me. “Girls cry in the bathroom?”
“Sometimes,” I say with a shrug.
Looking like the secrets of the universe have been revealed to him, his forehead clears. “No wonder they take so long in there.”
Mattie rolls her eyes. “Can we finish the movie?”
Everyone agrees, so we do. It’s a sweet movie, and the ending is both sad and happy.
As the credits roll, Mattie looks at Luc with wet lashes. “Do y’all do that?” she asks, her voice squeaking.
“Do what, Matt?” Luc asks gently.
My sister dabs her eyes with a tissue, her chin trembling. “CelebrateDia de los Muertos?”
“We do,” he says, nodding. “Mami spends days cleaning the house, and we make anofrendawithpan de muertoand a lot of other foods and offerings to honor my grandparents and my Uncle Ernesto, Mami’s older brother.”
Emmett releases me and sits bolt upright. “Do they come visit you?” he asks, looking equally spooked and hopeful.
Les Dimplesstand out as Luc grins. “If you ask Abuela, she’ll say they do.” Then he shrugs. “Alex and I never knew them, but during the holiday… I don’t know...”
Harry says nothing, but he leans in, resting his elbows on his knees. Mattie glances at her twin and then back to Luc.
“What do you mean?” she presses.
Luc shrugs again. “The house feels different onDia de los Muertos.More…open.That’s the best way to explain it. And even though I didn’t know them, my grandparents and my uncle, I think about them. About the stories I’ve heard about them.”
“Can we make one?” Emmett asks, looking at me with huge eyes. “An off-rend-oh?”he asks, butchering the word.
“Ofrenda,”Mattie corrects, her accent sounding pretty close to Luc’s.
“Ofrenda,”he tries again, nailing it. “Can we make one for Mom and Dad?”
