Page 3 of Every Breath

Chapter Two

After Benny leaves,I arrive at the house where I grew up just in time to wake Dyami up and get him ready for school. It’s a crazy situation, with Benny living in one place and me and Dyami in another but given how small Taos is, it’s not really a stretch.

Benny lives in a nice three-bedroom, two-bath condo on Kit Carson Road, close to the Harwood Museum of Art. It’s got everything I could ever ask for except for a backyard. It’s also a condo, something he doesn’t fully own, unlike the house where I live with Nana which has a large garden, a separate casita that Dad uses as his office whenever he’s in town, and even a private well. But maybe that’s why Benny has never popped the question again, not since he did that first time so many years ago. He knows I don’t want to leave Nana alone in the big house, not so soon after Mama died and he’s also too proud to even consider moving in although he stays the night sometimes and Dyami always has a blast. So for now, we stick to our strange arrangement—still together after twelve years but also not.

In the kitchen, Nana is cooking Dyami’s favorite breakfast, a fully packed morning burrito made of scrambled eggs, diced russet potatoes, chorizo, cheese, and green chile sauce. But who am I kidding? It’s everyone’s favorite breakfast—even New York transplant Harlow James—which is why my younger brother Dax still stops by on his way to his workshop to get a few for the road and to take home with him. If Benny didn’t have to leave so early, he’d probably want one, too.

“Where’s Benny?” Nana asks as she assembles the burrito on a large plate.

“He had to fly out to Colorado.”

“I figured they’d call him. I heard it in the news,” she says, tucking the ends of the tortilla and setting it on a plate just as eleven-year-old Dyami walks into the kitchen, his dark hair still wet from the shower and sticking up. “When do you think he’ll be back?”

“He says about four days,” I reply, fixing the collar on Dyami’s shirt. “Good morning, bud.”

“Good morning, Mom,” he says as I kiss him on the cheek. He pulls up a chair and sits down. “Did Dad leave again? Is that what the Colorado thing is about? Does that mean he’s going to miss Valentine’s Day?”

“Oh, you’re right.” Oh wow. I can’t believe I’ve completely forgotten about Valentine’s Day. But then, I was never one to be romantic. I’m too practical that even Benny says I need to let go sometimes.

“Aren’t you and Dad doing anything?” Dyami asks as I prepare to make coffee. To this day, Nana doesn’t own a coffee maker. She still makes coffee in a Moka pot that she sets over the stove.

“Maybe after he gets back. He could be stuck up there depending on the work.”

“Why can’t he fly back here and then fly back? It’s not too far,” he says as Nana hands him his plate, a perfectly wrapped burrito sitting right in the middle complete with a wax paper collar so he can hold it while eating.

“Yeah, but he’s also working, Dyami.”

Dyami takes a bite of his breakfast burrito and chews for a few moments, his brow furrowing. “Do you think we can stop by the store after school? I need to get something.”

“What is it? I can pick it up for you.”

Dyami frowns. “I want to go and pick it out.”

“For what?”

“Is this for Valentine’s Day, mijo?” Nana asks, a playful smile on her face as Dyami’s cheeks turn a bright shade of red. “It’s okay. What’s her name?”

Before Dyami can answer, we hear a truck pull up the driveway. It’s Dax and I know exactly why he’s here. It’s as if news about Nana’s breakfast burritos while she was cooking them somehow made its way all the way outside the city limits to where he lives off the grid because here he is wearing his usual dark t-shirt under a light blue shirt and jeans, his usual attire for work. His workshop used to be in Flagstaff where my parents own a house but ever since he got married, he moved half of the workshop to Taos which cuts down his commute although he still heads to Flagstaff once a month. Thirty years old and eight years younger, he’s got me beat in the marriage department.

“Hey, sis. How ya doing?”

“Did you smell the burritos all the way there?” I ask as Dax ruffles Dyami’s hair when he walks past his chair to give Nana a kiss.

“Buenos dias, mijo,” she says, grinning as she places two perfectly foil-wrapped burritos in a plastic container. “I got your message last night.”

“What message?” Dyami asks, his mouth full as he takes his first bite.

“That I was missing my favorite breakfast burritos, dude. What else?” Dax replies. “And no talking while your mouth is full.”

“How are Harlow and the twins?” I ask as the coffee bubbles in the Moka pot and I pull out a mug from the cupboard.

“Doing great. Those two are gonna be Ironman champs soon, from the way they keep us on our toes. At least, they give us a good workout.” He flexes his biceps dramatically as Dyami laughs. “You and your man doing anything for Valentine’s?”

“If you’re needing someone to babysit, I probably will be up for the job.”

“Dad is working in Colorado,” Dyami replies. “Mom says he’ll be there a few days.”

“That sucks,” Dax says, shaking his head. “But no, no babysitting. Nana will be spending the night there, though, so you’ll have the house to yourself in case your man, you know, is back in town by then.” He winks knowingly and I glare at him.

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