Page 7 of Capicú Summer

Not until the urge one day became impossible, and I found myself sneaking around and eavesdropping when Lenny would call his grandma. It feels like I’m waiting forever for them to spill the beans when finally, they do. Delivering his name like a blow that leaves me winded and with the room spinning.

“It’s Yael, and now that you’re here, cuz, I would love it if you could help. With the store and Abuelo.” Ruben lets out a long sigh, dragging his large hand down his face. “It’s a lot on me.”

My aunt flinches at his words. “Pero tú eres un hombre, oye, eso. Dique⁠* too much.” Her words come out playfully, though her message is loud and clear. Her disapproval is evident. Ruben breathes in through his nose, causing his nostrils to flare.

“Ma, no venga con esa vaina.⁠*”

She continues to silence her son with a disapproving wave of her hand. “No, tú no comienzes.⁠* You're the man in the family, act like one. Look at Yael, even him. He’s taken care of everything, all while Lenny…”

The room falls silent then, my cousin drops his gaze at the mention of his name, and my aunt finally backs down, but not before finishing her train of words.

“Don’t make us look bad.” This time she addresses both of us with a stern finger, scolding us as if we were still children. “We can’t let them beat us… not again.”

With that, she leaves, and the air feels lighter the moment she disappears behind the door that leads to the main house.

“You guys been losing?” I ask out of curiosity, my gaze once again falling on the large window that gives me a direct view of Cruz Market.

“For the last couple of years— since Yael took over. We've been getting our ass handed.”

I scan the streets for Yael. Why? Who knows. What I do know is that I burnt that bridge so long ago, so why do I still want to walk across it?

* Presidente, vestida de novia - Presidente is type of beer. Vestida de novia, is dressed in white. Which means the beer is so cold, it's frosty and white.

* Mira quién está aquí… mi niña… - Look who’s here… my girl…

* Tás muy flaca - You’re too thin.

* Asi mismo, tu primo - Sure thing, your cousin

* Pero tú eres un hombre, oye, eso. Dique too much. - But you’re a man. Hear that, too much.

* Ma, no venga con esa vaina. - Ma, don’t come with your crap.

* No, tú no comienzes. - No, you don’t start.

CHAPTER 3

Yael

You know how the saying goes, news always comes in threes. First, it was Lenny’s stupid phone call wanting to mend things, you know we’re cousins and all that jazz. Then the damn fucking flyer with images of tall buildings and chain coffee shops showing us a future of what we could have if we sell our properties.

Now her…

Not that her being back is necessarily bad, but it’s definitely not good either. Not for me or this damn heart that’s forgotten how to beat since the day she left. It took every ounce of willpower to rip my eyes from Adriana. Sure, there’ve been rumors amongst the family that her and my cousin weren’t doing too well and that it was only a matter of time before she came back. My mom tells me almost weekly how Lenny will cheat on her and brag about it to my uncle. The thought alone makes me close my hand into a fist picturing Adri at home waiting around. Oblivious and in love with that mama bicho⁠* who treats her nothing like the queen she is. I hated him for abandoning my grandma when she needed him the most. I hated him for a number of things—the main one being for taking my heart and stealing my future.

In all honesty, I’m just taken aback. I didn’t expect to see her today.

Not after all this time. It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of seeing her. And time has only made her even more beautiful than I remember. My heart thumps wildly inside my chest, my throat dries up, and no matter how much I swallow, I can’t make the pain go away. My knees turn to jelly as I force myself to stride towards the domino table. It takes even more encouragement to sit down. The only consolation is that I have a direct view of the bodega across the street.

The loud clacks of the dominos force me to focus.

My gaze snaps down to the table, the fichas⁠* are all placed over the coqui image I illustrated on it. The green frog blends perfectly with the platano leaves around it. The memory of that day comes to the forefront of my mind. Of course it does. After all, I was with Adri while I sketched it. It was Adri who I played for the very first time, with only the night sky as our witness. A shiver runs through me, causing me to shake off my limbs. I blink and blink. Only for everything to be blurry and out of focus. Even the voices around me sound distant and muffled.

A tile slams into the surface. Loud and deafening. “Pay attention,” Manny grumbles, his gaze drifting to the spot where Adri stands. I force out a smile, and flip him off before staring back down and plucking a two-six, placing it right beneath his six-three. The tension builds on and off the table. It’s so thick… I could choke. I try to focus on the intense game going on, waiting for someone to block it, knowing damn well it won’t be me. I still have too many tiles left in my hand.

“Did you see those flyers about the new construction?” Manny asks, keeping his eyes on the fichas in his hands, which is way less than what I have.

Alex shakes his head, disappointment bleeding into his voice. “Nah, but I don’t know what Lenny is thinking.”