be bad.
“I don’t want you to go.” She puts her light brown head on my shoulder, chewing on her thumb. “I’ll miss you, Cee-cee.”
“But you’ll have your own room. No more sharing with Lola.”
“I don’t want my own room.” Her little voice is so sad, it tugs at my chest, but I know there’s no turning back from this.
“You’ll love it! You can decorate it however you want. It’ll be special.”
The small room where I spent the past eight years is not special. It’s decorated in the same pale green and pink flowers Valeria put here before I arrived. The twin bed where I slept is covered in a quilt, and the only decorations are my mother’s photos. I have two hung on the walls, but the rest are stored away in albums.
I deposit my little cousin on the bed, and she looks up at me with wide eyes. “Are you scared to live with Uncle Beto?”
Beto’s not her uncle, but I don’t bother correcting her. I’m sure it’s what Valeria told her to call him.
“He’s my brother.” I give her caramel ponytail a gentle tug. “I’m not scared of my brother.”
I am annoyed at being passed around like a football. I wish I’d have gotten a little forewarning about his plans, but that’s not something I can get into with her. I’ve made my choices, and my choices have left me with very few options financially.
“Maybe one day soon I can get my own place.” If I win that award.
“Mamma says girls shouldn’t live alone. She says it’s not safe.” Sofia watches me pack, and I keep my opinions about Valeria’s old-fashioned notions to myself.
Loading my toiletries into a backpack, I heft it onto my shoulder, catching Sofia’s hand and rolling my suitcase to the kitchen. It seems I should have more than one suitcase after eight years, but I grew up simply. I haven’t changed.
“I’ll come back for the rest of my art supplies tomorrow.”
“I’ll bring them over in the morning.” Valeria smiles up at me from where she sits at the table beside her daughter. “Is that all you have?”
“That’s it!” I deposit Sofia into the chair beside them.
My cousin stands, pulling me into a hug. “It’s going to be strange not having you here.”
“I’ll have my own room at last!” Lola bounces in her chair, and Sofia falls back, crossing her arms.
“I will, too.” Her voice is pouty.
I turn to Valeria. “I didn’t know Beto’s arrival would change so many things.”
After our short conversations in his truck, I don’t know what to expect of living in my brother’s house, and while I hope for the best, I don’t know if I should be happy or afraid.
Valeria gives me a tight smile. “Try to remember he only wants what’s best for you… for his family.”
“Apparently what he thinks is best is acting like it’s the 1950s.”
She laughs, light filling her eyes. “You two are so much alike. You’re going to be fine.”
My brother takes the suitcase from my hand, inspecting it with a frown. “That’s all you have?” I shrug, and he waves me to the truck. “We’ll take care of this later.”
Whatever Valeria says, I’m not sure this is going to be fine.
3
Deacon
“Seeing you, sitting there… You’re the spitting image of your father.” My aunt Winnie smiles at me from the head of a long, ranch oak table in the dining room of our family mansion.
She’s wearing a sleek, emerald-green dress, and her straight white hair is swept back in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She’s a stern old broad, an elegant beauty, but she’s always been sweet to me. Dad would say it’s because I’m her only nephew. I’m the only anything, since she never had any children, and they have no other siblings.
A fire is burning in an oversized hearth behind me. She runs the air conditioner so she can have a fire at dinner. It’s pretty much the height of old Texas overindulgence.
“That’s what everybody says. With my grandmother’s eyes.”
She lifts a glass of red wine. “Your visits give me such joy. I’m sure you’ll never know. I’m so glad you’re finished with school. I hope to see you more.”
That last bit is a passive-aggressive dig, but I let it pass. One of my late father’s last requests was I take care of his sister, so I have dinner with her once a week when I’m in town and do my best to tolerate her outdated notions about life