Page 19 of Friendly Skies
“Because it takes a lot of money to open a restaurant,” Darius answered. He nodded to the neighboring houses. The street wasn’t fancy, and people kept their houses up as best they could, but it was still older-model cars parked in front and multiple generations sharing inside. “People here don’t really have that kind of extra cash. Luis’ dad runs a painting crew, and one family business with a feast-or-famine bottom line’s enough to deal with. Rosa works as a healthcare aide to keep a steady income, and Luis and his older sister help out.”
On the table between them, Ricky’s phone vibrated with an alert, but he ignored it.
“You going to get that?” Darius asked.
Ricky shook his head. “Just more of the same.”
Raising an eyebrow, Darius shrugged. “'Kay.”
The phone vibrated again. “Fuck. This is ridiculous.” Ricky picked up the phone and grimaced at what he saw on the screen, then raised a hand to his forehead, where a bruise was still visible. He looked at Darius and shook his head again. “Someone uploaded a video of me getting clocked with that soda can on the flight, and it went viral, but now there are memes, and my friends keep sending them to me.” Ricky turned his phone around so Darius could see.
“Shit,” Darius said. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure it would be funny if it had happened to someone else, but—”
“It wouldn’t. That asshole could have seriously hurt you or another passenger. There’s no excuse for that behavior, and it’s worse because everyone has a phone now. As soon as somethinghappens, they all whip them out, hoping for something like this. No one thinks about the fact that you’re a real person.”
Ricky grimaced, then raised the bottle to his lips and finished off his beer. It was clear he wanted the conversation to move on as he nodded toward the house. “Do you think he’s okay?”
Several minutes had passed since Luis disappeared into the house. “I hope so,” Darius said.
“You want to go check on him?”
“Yeah. You mind?” Darius asked, but he was already standing.
“Go on. I’ll be fine out here with my asshole friends reminding me every five seconds of the most humiliating thing that’s ever happened to me.” Even though his voice was sharp, Ricky was trying to smile. “Go. Take care of Luis.”
Darius hated letting the moment go because it was the first time Ricky had opened up about what was going on for him, but his worry for Luis outweighed his desire to talk to Ricky.
Following Luis’ path into the house, Darius heard him and Rosa arguing as soon as he stepped inside the kitchen. It was rare for Luis to get angry with his mother, even rarer for Rosa to raise her voice. She preferred to use stony silence to let her children know when she didn’t approve of something they’d done. Both of them had their tempers up, and Darius didn’t know whether he should remain where he was, intercede, or go back outside and hope they didn’t notice he’d overheard them. It wasn’t until he heard Andrés’ name that he made up his mind to stay right where he was.
“I raised you to be forgiving,” Rosa said. “Love the sinner, not the sin.”
“Some people don’t deserve forgiveness, Ma.”
“I don’t understand why you don’t like him. If you told me—”
“And I’ve said I don’t want to talk about it.”
“He’s family.”
“Not mine.”
“Luis Roberto Herrera—”
“I am done with this conversation.”
The coldness and venom in Luis’ voice was unlike anything he’d ever heard from his friend. Darius barely registered that Luis was on the move before a door slammed shut, and Rosa returned to the kitchen, muttering rapid-fire Spanish under her breath. She stopped short when she saw him, the tension in her face instantly dissolving into her usual expression of mild amusement, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Whatever had happened between mother and son was still at the forefront of her mind.
“Ay. That one has always been so stubborn,” she said to Darius, trying to make light of what he’d overheard. “Do you know why there’s this thing between him and Andrés?”
Darius shook his head. If Luis hadn’t shared what Andrés had done with his mother, it wasn’t his place to do it. “I think Andrés bullied him when we were younger,” he said, hoping that would appease her. It was the truth, just not the whole truth.
Rosa began cleaning the already spotless kitchen, still muttering under her breath, and it took Darius a moment to realize she wasn’t angry at Luis. She was worried, and that just about killed him because he was worried, too.
“I’m gonna go check on him,” Darius said.
“Please.” Rosa nodded. “He listens to you. See if you can talk some sense into him.”
