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29.
GABI’S SENSE OF DÉJÀvu kicked in at five thirty, and she walked up to Aisha’s house to find the front door closed. She didn’t linger in case Nicolás or Aisha’s papa saw her. She wandered back to the workshop confused and sat crossed legged against the wall that bordered the road facing Matías’s house.
Had Aisha told her parents? Had she changed her mind?
She didn’t know which was scarier.
Gabi hadn’t had to tell her dad, because he was never at home long enough for it to make a difference. Nana had known, probably before Gabi had worked out her own body, and had broken the news to him. Nana had hugged her and confirmed Gabi’s thoughts. Love wasn’t defined by rules, it was a gift of the heart, and Gabi was free to love who she wanted to love. Nana had also said that not every girl wanted to be kissed and that next time, Gabi should ask before acting on her feelings. She couldn’t imagine having to have that coming out conversation now, and with parents whose attitudes were a hundred times worse than her dad’s had been. Aisha didn’t have anyone to support her. She hadn’t had anyone to talk to her whole life.
She sighed and looked up and down the road, feeling Aisha’s pain acutely. She wouldn’t blame her if she had changed her mind. Buses passed every half hour, and the people inside stared at her as if she were something out of a freak show. She must have looked it, slumped against a wall crying. She closed her eyes to lose track of time. She would wait for as long as it took, until the morning if she had to.
Seven thirty came and went. At around eight, she stood and strolled a few paces to unstiffen her legs and back, and she massaged her numb bum. Maybe she had to face the fact that Aisha wasn’t coming. She wandered back to her house but stayed twenty feet away. Light filtered through the small window, but the door remained shut. Should she knock just in case Aisha had told them and they’d done something to her? She quashed the ridiculous thought, though part of her wouldn’t put it past them. The door opened, and Aisha’s papa came out of the house. He looked hurried and was heading straight towards her. She ducked for cover, and he walked straight past.
Gabi peered out to see Conchita in the doorway. She could speak to Conchita, couldn’t she? She waited until Aisha’s papa was out of view and ran. “Conchita.”
Conchita backed into the house.
“Please, Conchita. Where’s Aisha?”
Conchita shook her head, keeping the door between her and Gabi.
“Please. Just tell me she’s safe.”
Conchita nodded.
“Look. I’m not going to hurt her, or you, or anyone.”
Conchita shook her head.
Gabi tried to see inside the house.
Conchita inched the door further closed. “She’s not here,” Conchita said.
“Please, where is she? I’m leaving and want to say goodbye.”
“San Juan De Dios hospital,” she said and closed the door.
Gabi’s heart thundered, and her stomach churned. She ran, knowing it would be almost another thirty minutes before a bus was headed into the city.
Her lungs felt like they were going to explode. She slowed to a fast walk and stuck out her thumb to three vehicles that passed. The bus sailed past her heading up the hill, but it would still be a while for it to come down. Hopefully it would stop, though she couldn’t see a stop sign anywhere.
She looked towards the beeping horn and saw a blue van heading towards her. Matías. What a sight for sore eyes.
He pulled the car over and leaned out of the window. “What are you doing still here?”
Gabi ran around to the passenger side and got in the car. “Aisha’s been taken to hospital,” she said. “San Juan.” Before she’d finished the sentence, he’d turned the van around and was heading down the hill.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I was waiting, and she didn’t show up.
He put his foot down, only slowing for the tightest bends and once they hit the city traffic. “Do you want me to wait for you?” he asked, pulling up outside the hospital.
“No, it’s okay. I don’t know how long this will take.”
Gabi headed towards the hospital main entrance and stopped at the sound of her name being called. “Aisha.” She ran to a bench seat in a small recreation area outside the hospital. Tears streaked Aisha’s face, and her eyes looked puffy and sore. Gabi sat next to her and put her arm around her shoulders. “Thank God. I was so worried it was you.”
“She had a heart attack. It’s all my fault.” Aisha sobbed.
