“No, not yet. I guess they had to finish up some stuff on the farm.” Kendall can’t help but stare at the bags under Mrs. Cruz’s eyes. “How are you doing?”
She smiles and shrugs, eyes glistening. “You can imagine, I’m sure.”
Kendall nods, and they stand there, awkwardly looking around the room, nothing else to say. “It was great of you to come.”
Mr. Cruz nods. He looks grayer than ever. “We needed to get out. It was nice to be invited.” He stares off. “I think I’ll go help Mr. Obregon with. . whatever he needs help with.”
“And I promised Carmelita I’d help with serving,” Mrs. Cruz says. “Good seeing you, Kendall.”
Kendall smiles a tight smile and nods. “Yeah, you too.”
From behind Kendall comes a voice. “That was awkward.”
Kendall turns and sees Eli Greenwood. She sighs with relief. “Yeah. . It’s so weird now. It’s like I don’t know what to say to them.”
“It’s the same with Tiffany’s parents.”
“Oh no. Are they here too?”
“No. They said they couldn’t make it.”
“This has to be a hard thing to attend. I’m surprised the Cruzes came. Seeing all of us here. .”
“Yeah, it’s weird.”
They take in the crowd for a moment before Kendall’s eyes stray to the backyard. She watches Jacian at the fire pit. He’s flipping a tortilla in a small cast-iron skillet now. “So, how’s the food?”
“It’s pretty awesome. You need to get some. Here, I’ll help you.” He grins. “Get another plate for myself while I’m at it.”
They load up their plates full of food and snake their way outside to the deck, where there’s room to eat and it’s not so noisy. Hector is outside now too, sitting with Eli’s grandfather. Marlena and the group of sophomore girls stand a dozen feet away, eating, gossiping. Several of them are watching Jacian lustily, and Kendall feels a ridiculous pang of jealousy. She shoves a soft taco into her mouth and glares.
“So, your brother,” one of the girls says to Marlena. The others giggle.
“What about him?”
“He’s so broody and cute.”
“He’s got a girlfriend,” one of the others says. “Get over it.”
Marlena chews wildly and waves at her mouth as if that will make the food go away. She swallows and says, “Nope. He’s single. He broke up with his girlfriend last week.”
The girls gasp loudly enough to make Jacian look. When they break into giggles, he scowls and turns his back again.
Kendall’s jaw drops. She wonders why he didn’t mention that yesterday on the little ride that turned weird. She’s not sure how that makes her feel.
Eli rolls his eyes. “Dammit,” he says. “That guy is not making things easier around here.”
Kendall slips an arm around her friend’s waist. “Aw, don’t worry, honey,” she says. “They’ll get over him eventually, and then you can swoop in and attack.”
Eli laughs. “I’ve done enough swooping. I think I’m going to have to look elsewhere. Too many guys, not enough girls around here.” He shrugs. “Where are you going to college? Do you know yet?”
Kendall sighs. “No. I don’t know. I might just hang around here.”
“Don’t be stupid, Kendall.”
“What? Why?”
“You’re really smart and talented. Get the heck out of here.”
“But what if. .”
Eli looks at her. “What if what? What if Nico comes back and you’re not here? Look. . it’s really hard to say this to you because I know it hurts, but you know that it’s not likely. The chances we’ll ever see him again. . Well, you know the statistics. And even if he does come back, there are lots of ways of finding you to let you know. Maybe you can even get a cell phone once you get out of here.”
Kendall sets her plate on the deck railing. It hurts to hear what he’s saying, but she knows it’s true. The thoughts start whipping through her brain again. “So,” she says, trying to fight them off, “where are you going to college?”
“Vassar.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Tons of women there.”
Kendall laughs. “Good for you. You got accepted?”
“Yep.” Eli looks at his feet and blushes. “Got the letter the other day.”
“That is so cool!” She hugs him tightly. “I’m really glad for you.”
“Thanks. Want to make out?”
Kendall laughs. “No, not since that unfortunate spin the bottle incident in sixth grade in stupid Brandon’s basement.”
“Yeah, I thought you’d say that. But hey, worth a try.” Eli scoops the last bit of salsa from his plate and licks his fingers. “Now for dessert,” he says. “I heard there’s flan. And cookies.” He winks at her.
“Go for it.” Kendall smiles as she watches Eli go back inside, and then she turns back to her plate. She glances at Jacian again, and this time he’s staring intently at her. When he sees her looking, he turns away and roughly shoves charred peppers into a paper bag.
She puts her fork down, suddenly not hungry anymore, and then turns to bring her plate inside.
Inside, people are dancing. Marlena’s still using crutches with her boot, so dancing is out of the question for her. Kendall hangs out on the couch with her and the other girls for a while, but then with a little encouragement, she joins in.
Her adrenaline soars. It feels so good to dance after weeks without it. As the afternoon progresses into evening, the half-drunk adults completely clear the living room of furniture and really start the celebration.
Kendall dances with Hector and with Eli, even though he’s terrible at it and keeps stepping on her feet.
She gets lots of cheers from the partyers. It’s so much fun — she wonders why the little town doesn’t do parties more often. Stupid potatoes.
As it grows late, more people drop out or leave entirely, but Marlena shouts for Kendall to stay, to keep dancing. The other girls get up on the floor with her, and things get a little wild. When one of them spins and trips, Hector turns on a sexy couples song to clear away the singles. It’s perfect for the salsa.
Hector has bowed out of the dancing portion, claiming he’s too old and tired, and none of the boys have a clue how to do it. So Kendall steps to the doorway and watches Mr. and Mrs. Obregon dance. A few other couples join in, but there aren’t many in this town who know the steps.
A moment later Jacian appears inside the house for the first time since the party started. He’s wearing a fresh white T-shirt. He steps into the room and goes up to his parents. “Hey, Mama!” he shouts, a smile on his face. She laughs and waves at him to come. Jacian cuts in on his father, taking his mother by the hand.
The girls in the room go slack-jawed as he moves almost perfectly to the gorgeous dance. When he messes up, he grins wide, and his mother smiles back.
Kendall stares.
Mr. Obregon stands next to her. “He’s not bad, my boy,” he says proudly. Mr. Obregon has a deep accent, deeper than and different from Hector’s. His voice is rich and warm and just a bit more weathered than Jacian’s.
Kendall swallows hard. “How did he learn that?”
“It was a part of his soccer training. All of the soccer, basketball, and football teams at his old school learn to dance. Makes them better players.”
“Impressive,” Kendall says. No wonder he’s so fluid on the field, Kendall thinks. That twinge inside her grows stronger. She feels like she’s drooling. And there, across the room, are Nico’s parents, watching her. Kendall tears her eyes away from Jacian. She weaves through the group of people crowded at the door and slips out, down the hallway and outside to where she can breathe. She takes one last look at
Jacian through the picture window and then walks out into the yard, the chill of evening feeling delicious on
