“But she knows she’s always welcome to join us?”
“Yeah. She knows.” Natalie checked her phone again and there was only a response from Mia with a winking emoji blowing a kiss.
“Nat! Did you get Abuelita that calendar?” her youngest sister, Carla, yelled from the other room before flouncing into the room with all energy and no grace. “She’s hugging that thing like it’s her favorite grandchild. Thanks for making the rest of our gifts look like garbage in comparison. You know I’m not good at buying gifts.”
“Yeah, because you buy exactly what you want.”
Carla stuck out her tongue while being adorably cute, because out of all the sisters, she was the one who got everything she ever wanted. Her dark hair hung in glossy curls, and she wore a headband with rhinestone cat ears. “That’s what you’re supposed to do. Haven’t you heard the saying?”
“I don’t think Abuelita wants the newest glitter eye shadow palette. She doesn’t even wear makeup.” Unlike Carla who treated her face like a canvas and did perfect makeup almost every day.
The chip making its way to Carla’s mouth stopped mid-flight. “Did Mari tell you that? Okay, but do you know what she bought? Slippers. Every year she buys Abuelita a pair of slippers.”
“Yeah, because she actually wears them every day and they’re worn out,” Mariana, Natalie’s other sister, said while entering the kitchen and running a hand through her partially shaved head of short dark locks. “Unlike your gift.”
“Abuelita!” Carla yelled through a mouthful of a half-eaten tortilla chip. “I’m going to do your makeup for the party, okay?”
Their grandmother responded but it was unintelligible. Although, to Natalie’s ears, it sounded like a prayer to one saint or another. Regardless, her sister wasn’t discouraged as she grabbed another chip before leaving.
Mariana took a seat beside Natalie. Between all sisters, they were the closest. Mariana, who was an EMT, was only a year younger than Natalie. They were almost equal in temperament and would work out and run summer marathons together. They kept each other steady both physically and emotionally.
Her sister leaned toward her and said, “Did you hear Luis was coming?”
“She’s taking him back?” Natalie pressed her face into her palm. Mariana lifted a hand as if to saywhat can we possibly do.
“Mijas, you need to talk to your sister about Luis. No one listens to me. What do I always tell you?” their mother said.
“Don’t make the same mistake I made?” Natalie replied.
This had been the absolute right advice because Carla also found herself the victim of what was turning out to be the family curse. At least in this case, she’d dated Luis for a whole six months before marrying him, but it still hadn’t mattered. It was later discovered that the man had been married twice already due to his habit of being unfaithful. The last Natalie heard, Carla had poured cooking oil all over his car. It might have been the most Natalie had ever admired her youngest sister. Hearing she was considering taking him back was disappointing. The couple had bounced from in love to out of love more times than she could remember. If this was love, Natalie didn’t want it.
“That’s right. You learn from my life. It is not all love and rainbows. Choose someone wisely,” their mother said.
“I already chose not to choose anyone, so I don’t think you have to worry about me.” Scooting closer to her sister, Natalie asked in a low voice, “How’s everything else going so far?”
“The same ol’, same ol’,” her sister responded with a shrug before digging in the bowl for a tortilla chip. “Dad’s hunkering down in the garage. You know, the usual.”
Natalie was lucky to have one sister she could vent and confide in, especially when it came to their parents’ marriage. Mariana was willing to share the load with her when it came to keeping peace in the house. The situation didn’t bother her as much as it did Natalie, as she was more willing to let it roll off her back and accept the mantra of their mother:It is what it is.But Mariana did whatever was necessary for Natalie’s sake and always brought a calming presence.
It didn’t take long for her mother to start muttering about their father while fiddling with the dishwasher.
“What’s wrong?” Natalie asked.
“I swear that man is no good for anything. I ask and I ask for a new dishwasher, and do I get a new dishwasher? No. Will he fix it? Also, no. I’m just expected to do all this by hand. I cook all the food. He should at least do something around here. You girls, go talk to him. You tell him to buy a new dishwasher. He doesn’t listen to me. This is what I mean when I say you need someone who is actually useful.”
“I’ll go talk to him,” Mariana said, starting to rise, but Natalie stopped her.
“That’s okay. I got this. I’m sure you’ve been playing referee too much already.” She was the eldest, and therefore, it seemed only fair that she’d step in the middle as much as she could.
She made her way to her father’s domain: the garage. Miguel was a mechanic by trade, but there were no cars in here. Instead, her father had it set up as his own personal man cave, complete with recliner, TV, and his own mini fridge. He’d spend all his time in the garage if there was less of a chance of dealing with her mother. Natalie suspected her father sometimes slept in the recliner. Today, Miguel was bundled beneath a large, ratty throw blanket.
“Hey, Dad,” Natalie said, hopping her ass on top of the dryer.
“Ah, mija. Did you just get here?”
“Yup.” If she admitted to spending the first ten minutes visiting her mother in the kitchen, it might cause hurt feelings on her father’s part. Natalie learned early it was better to lie. “As I was coming through to visit you, I heard mom complaining about the dishwasher being broken. I wasn’t sure if you knew or not?”
Her father muttered to himself before saying, “I already told her I’d fix it. She’s the one who’s using it wrong and broke it in the first place. If she wants a dishwasher, she needs to take care of it.”
