Moreno's (Moreno Brothers Series) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,46

tiny sink.

“And look at the size of the concession window!” His dad pointed proudly at the sliding side window of the truck. “I know the truck is small,” his dad continued, climbing in and motioning for them to follow. “But if I made a homemade cart on wheels work for years on the unpaved roads back home, this is a palace. We gotta start somewhere, right? You have to remember it’s not just the cost of the truck. There are still all the license and permit fees. And don’t get me started on the insurance and LLC along with all the other things I have to pay for to get this business up and running legally. I’m tired of getting shut down and having everything I worked so hard to buy get thrown out by the health inspector assholes. If we’re gonna do this, we’re doing it right. So, if we have to start humble, then humble it is. The important thing is I had a mechanic check it out and it runs well. The last thing I want is mechanical problems. All that matters is how good the food is anyway, right?”

Alej nodded, trying to think positively, but it was hard. They barely fit in there. He couldn’t imagine two or more of them moving fast enough to get orders out as swiftly as possible. He squeezed by his father to get past him as Lucia squeezed in a corner to let his dad by.

His dad noticed the exchange between Alej and his sister. He stopped midstride and crossed his arms in front of him. “Is this not better than what we’ve been working with for the past year?”

Alej and Lucia had no choice but to give him at least that. For the last couple years after making the big move to the U.S, Alej had been helping his dad push and sell food at the local parks on the weekends because he’d finally been able to save enough money to buy a food cart. The one he’d made in Mexico he’d had to sell and split the money with Octavio to help pay for the move. But it wasn’t like in Mexico. His dad couldn’t afford all the permits and licenses required here. So, they’d done it like many of the other vendors at that park—trying to stay under the radar. Only it didn’t always happen, and Alej had been there on the several occasions his dad got fined and was forced to throw all his food out.

Those were low days in the Moreno household, especially because some of those times his dad had used everything in their savings until his next paycheck from the factory, to purchase the food for their vending. They’d been in the US for just over two years now, and in that time, his dad managed to buy the small pushcart they’d used at the park. But not before they were able to settle in the small house they rented because his dad said he wanted to secure that first. His dad had since sold that pushcart to save up for this truck. No matter what this truck looked like, Alej was proud of his dad.

“We’ll make it work,” Alej said finally, smiling as big as he had before he’d seen the truck. “I’ve seen smaller trucks thriving out there. I believe in you, Dad. We’ll fix this up and get this business going already.”

Even Lucia smiled big, as if she too was remembering those somber weekends Alej and their dad had arrived home from the park with little money and stripped of all the food their dad had spent his entire paycheck on. All the food Lucia had worked so hard all morning helping get it prepared for the day, thrown out. Their dad brought them in for a group hug and even got a little teary-eyed.

Then his dad pulled away to look at them both. “Thank you, Alejandro, and you know I’m doing this all for you guys, right? This dream is not just for me. It’s for you guys. And I wouldn’t have so much passion and faith that this will be a success if I didn’t know I had you two believing in this business.”

“It’s gonna happen, Dad,” Alej said feeling a little choked up himself. “Because it’s not just your dream. It’s all of ours. In a few years, Moreno’s won’t just be a dream. It’ll be a reality.”

They went in for another family hug, and as nervous