Page 66 of Love Me Back
“His name is Jamie.”
Uncle Mando waved his hand in the air. “Your mother and her American names.” His disgust of my mother was all bluster. He loved her as a little sister.
“We are American.”
“You are Mexican,Yessica. You always will be.”
Addie chuckled at the sink, and I watched her clean her workspace as she cooked. I wondered again why she was in school. She didn’t seem to care much about her studies. But here in this kitchen, she glowed.
The kitchen was not somewhere I wanted to spend my time. No, the kitchen stressed me out. Being responsible for feeding everyone? My body shuddered again.
As if reading my mind, my uncle leaned over and whispered, “Some women were born to lead, while others were born to serve. Both are noble in their own right, and it is not for us to judge what makes a woman feel fulfilled in the life she chooses for herself.”
Twisting around to face my uncle, I explained, “I wasn’t judging. I was actually admiring her. She’s so at peace in this kitchen.” I kept my voice low, even though I was sure she could still hear me. “She moves around as though she loves every minute of her day. Until someone mentions school, that is. Then she loses a little of her light.”
“She is young. She will find her way with no interference from you.” I scowled at my uncle. “Do not look at me that way. I know you,YessicaGarcia—”
“It’s Montoya.”
Now it was my uncle’s turn to scowl. “You may use your grandfather’s name, but you are a Garcia. One day you will leave us behind and take a new surname. An American one to add to your American first name.”
“Then will you pronounce it correctly?”
“Fuck, no.”
I laughed out loud. My uncle didn’t often curse in front of women. He believed himself a gentleman. But my name and that of my siblings were a sore spot for him.
“I would like you to take a walk with me. We have something to discuss.” Uncle Mando stood from the table, and Addie rushed over to take his cup. I followed him outside quietly until we wereaway from the house.
“You know, don’t you?”
“I do,Yessica. It is not good. The answers you asked for will cause great pain to your man and his family.”
Uncle Mando told me everything he found. My heart broke for Grayson. This was a betrayal that could never be forgiven.
I asked Uncle Mando to hold off on saying anything until Sunday. With the extra brothers here now, and with King and the rest coming tomorrow, there was no worry about anything happening to Grayson or Thunder.
We’d tell them over family dinner. I wondered how they would react. How would they feel to know they were betrayed so brutally by a member of their family?
I wandered around the yard, my thoughts running loose in my head.
“Jessie.”
The sound of my brother’s voice brought a smile to my face, and as soon as he stood in front of me, I wrapped my arms around him.
“I’ve missed you so much!” I cried into his chest.
“You could have come home.” At my frown, he added, “At least for a visit.”
“Mexico isn’t my home.”
“It’s not so bad. Justina is seeing someone. One of Uncle’s men.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “He doesn’t know.”
“Of course he doesn’t. Otherwise, the man would be dead.” I laughed, then sobered, quickly realizing that might actually be true.
“How’s Mother?”
“She’s good. She misses you. But she’s happy. She actually loves Mexico. But then she didn’t grow up there like Father did.”
