Page 40 of Chaotic Curse
She shakes her head.“I miss some of it.But I miss parts of it in ways that don’t feel good.There was beauty.But also…danger.”She frowns.“We left because my mom said it was time.She never said why.”
Shocking, I think to myself.Does she know what her uncle is involved in?Her mother no doubt did.
“I think that’s why I paint space,” Juno adds, voice softer now.“There’s so much room up there.So much silence.And I get to decide what fills it.”
Something twists and settles in me at her words.Like I’ve just stepped into one of her canvases and let the dark surround me—not to be swallowed, but to be still.To listen.
Robin breaks the silence with a sigh.“I want to live in your head for a day.Just float around and watch stars be born.”
Juno smirks.“It’s crowded up there.But you’re welcome anytime.”
“You make the cosmos feel intimate,” I say.“Like I’m not just looking at stars.I’m looking at memory.”
Juno meets my eyes.“That’s the idea.”
“I’m from Colombia too,” I say.
“Really?”Juno tilts her head.“You don’t have an accent.”
“I learned English from an American au pair when I was learning Spanish at the same time, so I picked up an American accent.You don’t have an accent either.”
“I continually work at it,” Juno says.“But I’ve been here since I was ten.I can even manage a Texas twang sometimes.”
I smile.“Hawk has a little Texas twang.”
She cocks her head.“Hawk?”
Crap.Why did I say that?Hawk’s twang is barely noticeable most of the time.
I guess he’s just on my mind.
“My brother,” Robin says, staring at me.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he’s a big fan of your work.That’s how I got introduced to you.”
“Oh.How nice.”
“So do you have any relatives still in Colombia?”I ask, desperate to change the subject.
Juno raises an eyebrow.“Why does that matter?”
“Oh.”I think quickly.“Just…I miss home sometimes.I know what it’s like to have part of your life rooted somewhere else, and another part rooted here.”
“Yes,” Robin agrees, “and for me to get to the true nature of you as an artist, we’d like to know what you left behind in Colombia, even if it was long ago.And even if it wasn’t all pretty.”
She frowns.“Well, I’ll spare you any grisly details.But my grandparents lived there until a few years ago when they both passed away.My parents, of course, live here in Texas.”
“Anyone else still in Colombia?”Robin asks.
She clears her throat.“I have an uncle.He’s a senator in the legislature.He does a lot of work for the poor and lower class.”
Right.He’s a corrupt politician at best and a rapist at worst.
“Do you see him often?”I ask, willing my voice not to tremble.
“Yeah, actually.He has a place in Austin, and I just had a visit with him last week.”
