Page 2 of Ridin' True
Bella had been a waitress at Wyoming’s Rib and Chophouse for the last five years. Occasionally she’d get scheduled over lunch, but she mostly went in for the dinner shift. It worked out, since mami usually got home from her job—cleaning houses—right about the time Bella had to leave for the restaurant. This meant they didn’t have to pay for childcare.
“Nope. It’s your lucky day,” she said with a cheeky grin.
I laughed and started chopping.
“Abuela, I’m here to set the table,” announced Ellie as she joined us. “Can we put some music on?”
“Sure, bonita.” Mami paused and glanced at me from over her shoulder. I didn’t have to look to know her gaze was on me when she said, “Just not so loud as auntie, no?”
Ellie smiled, shifting her eyes up to meet mine, and I winked.
“Mommy?”
“Yeah, I’m on it,” said Bella, pulling out her phone.
She connected to the little Bluetooth speaker they kept on the counter in the corner, and soon the room was filled with the sounds of instrumental guitar—mami’s favorite. I pushed my hips back and tapped the side of hers with the side of mine. While she didn’t look away from her task, I heard her soft laughter and smiled.
Afternoons like this were my favorite. Three generations of Torres women in the kitchen, doing what we loved—making food and sharing it. It was peaceful and delicious.
Peace was a treasured commodity in our house.
Twenty minutes later, we were about ready to sit down at the table when we heard the front door open and slam shut. Bella and I locked eyes instantly, both of us bracing for the arrival of the only person it could have been.
“Mami!” he called as he strode into the room.
“Hey, baby. Your timing is perfect.”
I straightened as I turned to face my brother and caught him kissing mami on the cheek.
He really was a true Casanova. Handsome and suave by nature.
While Isabella had gotten dad’s darker almost black hued hair, Alejandro and I had mami’s rich, deep brown. I lightened mine with caramel balayage, mami’s was going gray at her temples, but Alejo’s—trimmed short on the sides and longer on top—was untouched, matching the stubble he let grow on his face. We also both had mami’s pale brown eyes.
When Alejo smiled at me with his, I knew I was looking at the other half of me—sober and in good spirits.
I smiled back.
“Hey, you,” I murmured.
“Hey, you,” he spoke in return.
“Hermano, I’m starving, you’re too skinny, come sit. Let’s eat!” demanded Bella.
She was right. He was slimming down, something I’d noticed over the last six months, since he got out of jail. He’d been incarcerated for ninety days, and sometimes it felt like we were still getting over the trauma the whole affair had on our family. There was no lawyer who could have done better than I did to get him that lenient deal. He had drugs on his person, and the body cam footage from the cops who arrested him was all the proof anyone needed to believe he’d been as high as a kite. Lucky for all of us, he was carrying less than a gram. None of us could have handled him behind bars for any longer than his time served.
In a way, the Torres women were a little relieved he’d been forced to go somewhere to get clean. It wasn’t exactly rehab, but he came out sober and a good twenty pounds heavier than when he’d gone in. He was never a big guy to begin with. At five-ten, he was lean with muscle and short on fat; but when he wasn’t eating enough, he started to look sickly. His recent weight loss was something to keep an eye on. It meant he was using. How much was unknown, but that afternoon he was sober and hungry, and we’d take that.
His smile, his clear eyes and easy demeanor—I craved it, like my twin healthy and happy was my drug of choice.
Alejo stayed for an hour, helping with dishes after we were finished eating. When he left, he told us he had to get to work. He’d obviously been by mostly to fill his stomach. Who knew what was in his fridge, if anything. We accepted this as our current reality as a family.
“He looked okay,” said Bella, her hip leaned against the dryer as I moved my damp clothes from one machine to the other. “Felix says he’s been contributing to some of the bills. That must mean his job is legit, right?”
We all liked to believe Alejandro was telling the truth about work. As a convicted felon, it took him a little while to find something. For the last four months, he’d been driving for GrubHub. Except, he’d proven himself to be a liar, so we couldn’t know for sure. It sucked to second guess everything that came out of his mouth, but we’d all been burned more than once.
“I hope so.” I closed the door to the dryer but paused before I tossed any more clothes into the wash. “You’ve been talking to Felix?”
Bella shrugged. “He was checking in on his little girl. With school out, his schedule is changing. He wanted to try to take her to lunch or something this week. I mean, we’ll see if he follows through.”
