“I’ll be inside in a few minutes, Titi,” Leo says, shifting positions in his seat, clearly embarrassed at the way Rose is acting.
“Ay, Leo, I have been texting you. I talked to you about this, you need to come inside. This isn’t the time to play games,” she warns.
“I said I’ll be right there,” he repeats, this time less kind.
She remains standing there with a scowl on her otherwise wrinkle-free face. Rose is much older than my Titi Lana, but you wouldn’t guess with how smooth her olive skin is. Even pissed off at Leo, for whatever reason, she looks so elegant. After another few seconds of silently scolding Leo with her tense stare, she throws her hands up in the air and walks away toward her house, muttering something in Spanish.
I roll the window back up and look to Leo. “I guess we aren’t trick-or-treating tonight,” I joke, reminding myself of what night it is. I was so preoccupied with the tattoos and decoding whatever mood Leo has been in that I almost forgot it was Halloween and Leo’s birthday.
“Yea, guess not,” Leo says, faking a smile.
We both look through my window and see Rose on her porch, waiting for Leo to go inside.
“Okay, looks like you might turn into a pumpkin if you don’t head inside. Fitting for a Halloween birthday boy,” I say, trying to make light of Rose demeanor.
The deafening silence returns, as he does not respond to my attempt at humor. Instead, we both get out of his car, and Leo walks around the front of the car, meeting me on my side.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe we can go grab breakfast at the diner?” I ask as we begin to walk in front of his car.
Leo hesitates and smiles but does not answer as he leans in for a kiss instead.
“So, tomorrow is a yes, then?” I remind him since he glossed over my diner suggestion. He still doesn’t answer my question, so I decide to just drop it, knowing I will more than likely see him tomorrow at some point.
“Don’t forget to put the aftercare on your ribs,” I remind him playfully.
“How can I forget? I’ll have you forever on my skin,” he says as he walks toward me and grabs my face with both hands before kissing me goodnight. I fall right into his kiss and blush, feeling Rose’s eyes still on us.
“Ay, Leo,ahora!” Rose shouts from her porch.
Leo ignores her, still kissing me. His tongue dancing with mine, making me come undone.
“Goodnight, Sen,” he says, releasing my lips from his.
“Goodnight, Leo.”
He locks his car and heads toward his Titi Rose on her porch and I head toward my house. I look back to the porch and see Rose begin to scold him as she guides him with both hands on his shoulders into the house. Just as they pass over the threshold, she looks over her shoulder just like Leo did at the tattoo shop. She quickly scans the street and looks back at me once before slamming the door shut.
I walk slowly over to my front porch while keeping my eyes on Rose’s porch. She turns off the light that was just shining down on the wood door, as well as the light she usually keeps on in her entryway.
Rose’s house fades to dark as I finally make my way into my house. I hear Titi Lana in the kitchen putting away dishes. I debate going to talk to her, but exhaustion begins to creep in, so I instead head upstairs to my room.
Just as I am about to crawl into bed to unwind with a book, I hear my phone vibrate from inside my purse. I sit up on my bed, reaching over to grab my phone seeing that it is a text message from Leo.
Leo: I love you, just know that I am sorry.
Me: I love you, too. What’s wrong?
Leo: I know today is a difficult day for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t more present.
Me: It’s ok. I think our new matching ink makes up for it.
Leo: Do you ever think about that night your parents … you know?
Me: Um I try not to but it’s kind of difficult to forget. Why are you asking?
Leo: Do you ever worry whoever did it will eventually come after you?
Me: Why are you asking me this?
