Page 59 of Sombra
“No. Yes. I don’t know. I think what I want to do is dye my hair.”
I pick up a lock and let it flop on her face, then I tickle her nose with it and she laughs. “What color?”
“I don’t know. Blue or red or green or purple. Something wild. I’ve been talking to Dani about it.”
What would she look like with colored hair? She’s so classic. Adding that edge to her look might make her even more irresistible. But I know from too many fights with MariCarmen about hairstyle not to comment. “This is your chance. No one knows you here. Do what you like. You’d look beautiful no matter what you did.”
A genuine, huge smile stretches her lips. “It’s like that Amish thingie.”
“What is Amish?”
“It’s a religious group in the United States that’s very conservative in dress and the way they live. Most of them don’t use electricityor anything modern. They have a thing called rumspringa, which is a period of time where their youth are allowed to go and explore the modern world and figure out if they want to come back. It’s like they’re allowed to be wild.”
“A gap year.”
“Yes. This is my one chance to get all of this out of my system before I settle down.”
“I don’t know if it’s your only chance. But let’smake the most of it.”
“I’ve only called my parents once since I’ve been here,” she whispers. “Although I have emailed them.”
“That’s a good start.”
We’ve been talking and disregarding the movie, which is still playing. As we settle back against the couch to watch it, she again curls up under my arm. Putting her head against me, she asks, “What about you? Is there anythingyou’ve never done before, Tavo? We should do it.”
I laugh. “I can think of many things I’ve never done before.”
And they all revolve around her.
When the movie finishes,I stroll with Kim back to the main house. While I don’t hold her hand, I’m as closeto her as I can get without touching. I drop her off at her room to study and head back through the kitchen.
Guillermo’s in there drinking Cola Cao. “I’ve been out in the huerta. I think it might be early November for harvest. They’re farther along than we thought.”
“I know. We’ll get it done.” I retrieve a glass from the cabinet.
“It’s a ton of work, Tavo. I’ll help.”
I think about pouring myself a glass of water, but instead I make it wine. “Yeah, yeah. You can help.”
For so long, I’ve been seeing him as my little brother, but he’s getting older. He’s almost as tall as me, and he’s filling out. Maybe it’s from all the “work” he does out in the orchard. We’ve scorned all his talk about taking over the farm because he’s too young, but maybe I cantrain him. He knows most of it, anyway. Just a few things our padre didn’t let him do.
I take another look at him. He is getting older. “What’s up with you and Sonia?” I ask.
“Nothing. I wish there was something.” Instantly, he’s on alert. A vein stands in sharp relief on his skinny neck. His hand shakes.
That’s the kind of reaction I was expecting.
“Tavo. Tell me thetruth. Do you love her?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t know what I’m going to do about her. She doesn’t listen.”
“I heard you, Gustavo. Iheardyou fucking her.”
“I’m not gonna deny that happened—” but there’s a knock at the door. It opens. And Sonia walks in.
Joder.
She spears him with a cutting glare. His face is so impassive, you’d think he was the statuein the middle ofPlaza de Colón. With nothing more than a “Ciao,” he slides out.
