Marco (The Men of Indecent Exposure #1)(17)

"Last I heard you moved to Colorado or something like that." I couldn't  remember where the info came from, but that was the most recent update I  had on her.

She nodded to confirm. "Yeah, you heard right. My job transferred me."

I nodded, checking her out less discreetly than she'd done while looking  at me a moment ago. It was no secret I thought she was fine-then or  now. "So, you're just here in Houston visiting?"

She shook her head. "Actually, no. I'm moving back in a few months, but I  had to fly in the last couple weekends to get some things in order  first."

I nodded as I listened, feeling bold all of a sudden.         

     



 

"We should-"

"Let's get together soon," Elena blurted, beating me to the punch. We both smiled.

"Yeah …  I'd like that."

She licked her lips and gave a small nod. "So would I." Reaching inside  her purse she grabbed her phone and I gave her my number. She sent a  text right away so I'd have hers, too.

"I should be back and settled in a couple months. I'll call." There was a  promise buried beneath the words and I heard it loud and clear.

"All right. Yeah …  you do that."



If I knew my mother as well as I thought I did, she was in the kitchen  dancing to the loud salsa music that greeted me the moment I stepped  onto the porch. My father was likely out working on something in the  garage, the Sunday routine he'd settled into within the past decade.  They'd wake up early Sunday morning, go to Mass, and then he ended up in  the garage while Ma cooked.

Walking in, peering toward the back of the house, I found my mother  doing exactly what I expected-getting her dance on while something  simmered on the stove. She waved and didn't miss a beat. I set the  bananas down on the kitchen table and then washed my hands in the sink.

"Thank you for stopping at the store."

"De nada, Ma. It was on the way."

Turning her music down just a little, my mother came closer. Barely  matching the height of my shoulder, she had to reach up to pinch my  cheek, which made me smile. She patted my arm and danced her way back  over to the stove.

Not wanting to get my good shirt messed up while I cooked, I pulled it  over my head and draped it across the back of a chair. The ribbed tank I  had on underneath was good enough anyway in this blazing, Texas heat.  Cooking big meals was a chore when temperatures got as high as they were  today, especially seeing as how my parents hated turning on the air  conditioner.

Ma took care of the alcapurrias while I cooked and seasoned the rice,  and then one by one my sisters, nieces, and brother in law showed up.  Eventually, my father came in from the garage, too. It was habit for  everyone to come in and head straight for the dining room table. Lucia  set a place for everyone as I brought out the two pitchers of lemonade  my mother made. As soon as I set them down, I scooped up the prettiest  little lady in the room-my niece, Isobel.

"You miss me?" I asked her, pausing to nod at my brother-in-law, Max, when I passed him.

Isobel's head bobbed quickly to express just how much. Right after that,  keeping to our routine, she held her hand out. I looked around,  pretending to be inconspicuous as I dug down inside my pocket. When I  dropped a quarter into the center of her palm, she giggled and hid it in  the pocket on her dress.

"Gracias, Tio," she whispered.

"Te amo, mija," I whispered back. Landing another kiss on her cheek, I set her down in a seat beside her mom.

I was just about to head back into the kitchen when my oldest niece,  Rosalina, nearly tackled me with a hug. "I know I already called to say  thank you for my car, but I wanted to say it again in person. Thank you  soooooo much! I love it!"

I embraced her just as tightly as she had me. "You're welcome. Just take  care of it. And don't drive all crazy, okay? You'll give your mother a  heart attack."

Off to the side, I caught Lucia shaking her head at me. Yeah, she hated  that I did all this behind her and her husband's back, but she couldn't  help but to smile a little, too.

"I won't. I promise," Rosalina chirped, heading back to her seat beside  my father where she immediately got back on her phone, talking a mile a  minute to one of her friends.

I was about to leave the room again and remembered something else.  Doubling back, I leaned down to kiss the top of Marcela's head, sliding a  check into her hand right after. Tuition was due and I wanted to make  sure she got it in on time. She caught my hand as I walked away,  silently mouthing a genuine ‘thank you'.

I gave a small nod and finally made it back to finish helping my mother.  The plan was to tell them all about Brynn and the soon-coming addition  to the family sometime between dinner and dessert. There would likely be  a mixture of feelings in the room, but I didn't care a whole lot about  what they thought. Things happen and, like I said, I was starting to  feel a little excited about it myself.

"Okay, carry the rice for me and we can all eat."

I followed my mother's orders and placed the hot pan on the potholder she set out on the table.

"Alberto," she said, addressing my father, "bless the food, please?"

Nodding once, my father bowed his head and prayed over the meal just like every Sunday.         

     



 

"Amen," everyone said in unison. Right after that, the noise level rose  to the usual volume as our family caught up on everything that had gone  on throughout the week.

"Bel, did you show Abuelita your report card, sweetheart?" Marcela  asked, prompting Isobel to hop out of her seat and rush to her mother's  purse. Fishing out an envelope, she marched back over to the table with a  proud grin on her face.

Forks and knives against porcelain dishes was the only sound now as  everyone gave Bel their undivided attention. Taking her time, tiny hands  pulled a sheet of green paper from inside the envelope. She handed it  over to my mother and waited.

Ma's eyes scanned the sheet and then her smile grew to match Isobel's.  "Ay dios mio, Isobel! You're doing so well! Show this to Papito," Ma  insisted. Isobel happily handed the paper to my father and his eyes  grew, putting on a show to let my niece know how proud he was of her.

"Would you look at this?" he said loudly, almost making me choke on my  food when I laughed. "I think Bel's the smartest person in the room!  Even smarter than you, Lorna!"

My sister rolled her eyes with a laugh, taking the joke from my father  in stride. It was no secret she was the family know-it-all, the one who  tossed her views and opinions around whether we wanted her to or not.

"We're so proud of you," my mother added.

"Now put it back in my purse and come finish your food," Marcela said, still grinning.

As a single mother, I'd seen my baby sister work twice as hard to  provide a good life for my niece. And that hadn't always been easy.  Finding out her junior year of high school that she was expecting took  everyone by surprise, but Marcela was determined to see her dreams  through no matter what. She was all set to take out loans to pay her way  through nursing school, but I wouldn't hear of it. I wanted her to  finish free and clear, able to use her hard earned money to spoil the  hell out of my niece, not worrying about having to pay off that huge  debt.

"So who else has good news for me," Ma said, glancing around the table as she took food onto her fork.

"Uncle Marco got me a car!" Rosalina piped.

My mother glanced up at me, wearing the same look Lucia had the other day when she came to my job to rip me a new one.

"So I heard," Ma replied. "But if you ask me, a young girl doesn't need a  fancy sports car. Those things make you want to speed."

"I don't drive like that, Abuelita. Seriously. I'm a good driver."

Lucia mumbled something under her breath, clearly disagreeing with her daughter.

"Well, I have a plan to make sure she's responsible," Max interjected.  "The first time she comes through my door with a ticket, I'm taking  those keys."

I passed a look toward Rosalina, agreeing wholeheartedly with her father's statement.

"I still say she could've taken the Cutlass," my father chimed in, earning a series of moans and mumbles from around the table.

"No offense, Papito, but that thing's gross," Rosalina replied, speaking her mind. "Not to mention, it's ancient."

My father placed his hand to his chest, pretending to be offended. "I'll  have you know that ‘ancient' car got this family through some pretty  hard times."

"And it looks like it," Rosalina added under her breath. "Ow!" she  yelled out when Lucia pinched her beneath her arm for getting smart.

Isobel laughed at that, showing the food in her mouth in the process.

"You can hold on to the Cutlass for me, Dad. My car's been giving me trouble," Marcela said, sipping lemonade right after.

I cocked my head to the side. "Why didn't you say you were having problems with it? I could've taken care of it for you."