Page 83 of A Dish Best Served Hot

His father, always ready to go toe to toe with Abuelo Papo, didn’t back down. “All I’m saying is that she was raised to think that what she wanted was more important than what anyone else needed and that became more than clear when she used Eva to make her own dream come true and left her other daughters with their father como si fueran confeti de desfile, lo que sobra.”

Saint winced. Thank god Alex wasn’t around to hear Papi call her leftover parade confetti. Deciding that now was as good a time as any to interrupt, Saint cleared his throat. “Con permiso,” he said, bringing himself and Lola closer. “We just wanted to say hi.”

Abuelo Papo’s eyes lit up on seeing Lola standing at his side. “Lolita!” he exclaimed. “¡Que alegría verte!” He came forward and pulled Lola into a hug and kiss.

Lola smiled. “Hi, Don Papo. It’s nice to see you too.”

“Nada de eso ‘Don Papo.’ Call me Papo. Don is for old men.”

Tío Rico laughed. “Then I guess you should just call me Rico.” He held out a hand and Lola shook it. “Good to see you again, Miss León.”

Saint hadn’t known that they’d met before, but he couldn’t say he was surprised considering his uncle’s job and Lola’s habit of bumping heads with authority figures.

“Please, call me Lola,” she told him with a smile, leaving Saint to believe that their previous run-in had at least been amicable.

Saint looked at his parents, who were watching him with considering expressions. He knew that they were both aware of Lola’s place in his life. Rosie had brought her up multiple times in their FaceTime conversations while his parents had been away and they’d both tried to subtly pry information out of him. It was one thing for them to know of her and another for them to meet her. He swallowed. “Mami, Papi, I want to introduce you both to Lola León.”

His papi was the first one to move. He held out a hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Santiago Vega Senior.”

Lola reached out to shake it.

Mami took a different approach. She drew Lola into a half hug and cheek kiss. “Mucho gusto. Yo soy Valeria.”

“So,” Papi began as soon as Lola and Mami finished their embrace, “I hear you’re a Humboldt Park native. How does it feel to be back?”

Saint released a breath of relief. His dad had at least started with something easy.

“I love it,” Lola answered. “I’ve always wanted to come back and am happy I was able to finally make the move.”

“You’re here to take care of your abuelo, right?” That was Mami, who viewed caretaking as one of the most important roles one could provide for their loved ones.

Lola nodded. “Yes. Benny was lonely here all by himself and created a bit of mischief as a result.”

Papi gave Abuelo Papo a significant look. “We know how that goes.”

“Por favor,” Abuelo scoffed. “Si yo soy un angelito.”

They all had a laugh at that.

“Papi, you are about as angelic as one of the fallen,” Tío Rico said.

Abuelo shrugged. “They were still angels.”

Papi ignored Abuelo’s nonsense and continued talking to Lola. “It must be hard, it being just the two of you.”

Lola seemed to bristle at that. “Well, I mean, both of my parents are still alive and I have my brother.”

“Right, but your mom lives far away, no?” At her nod, Papi continued. “And you dad and brother...” He paused, obviously trying to think of a polite way to discuss them. “Well, it’s not like they’re around.”

“No, they are both in prison,” Lola said in her straightforward way. “But Benny talks to them on the phone and he visits them as well.”

“You don’t visit them?” Mami asked.

Lola shrugged. “Prisoners only receive letters, calls, or visits from people they’ve approved, so I haven’t had any contact with them since before I left. But my brother has finally added me to his list of approved contacts. I should be able to see him soon.”

That was the first Saint had heard about Lola visiting her brother, but he did his best not to react to the news. He did not like the idea of Lola walking into a prison. Just the idea of her being surrounded by criminals was enough to cause his heart to race. Forget the fact that her family had probably made a bunch more enemies while inside.

In her small purse, Lola’s phone began to ring. Since he knew for a fact that she’d put it on Do Not Disturb with only two exceptions, he knew it was either Casa del Sol or Yara. He had a strong feeling it was the latter.

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