“And then she tried to make another one, but we didn’t have any more pears because you took them to the community dinner.”
“I didn’t know that!” Sweetie says, her brow raised to the fullest.
“She looked for them for like an hour!”
“Oh, no!” she manages to blurt out between giggles.
“That’s when I learned comemierda! She kept saying it over and over.”
“Stop! Stop!” the gleeful Latina says, doubled over, swatting at the air.
Outlaw’s chuckles dwindle. He places his hand on his chest, feeling his heart pumping overtime.
“I miss mama, and abuela”
“Me too.”
“Uncle Mateo too, but mostly mama.”
Sweetie gasps, “Chacho! That’s mean!”
“What?! I loved Uncle Mateo, but he was kinda a jerk.”
She slants her eyes at him for a moment, before breaking into another fit of giggles.
“Yeah, he was!”
Her brother laughs with her, the siblings reveling in this joyous moment of reminiscing. She shakes her head, composing herself.
“Hey, how come you don’t speak Spanish much anymore?”
“I don’t know, it’s-it’s just not the same without mama and abuela.”
She drops the bucket of strawberries and throws her arms in the air, in a most exaggerated manner.
“Chacho! You got me!”
He rolls his eyes, a grin smacking across him.
“You know what I mean.”
She picks the bucket up, and bumps her shoulder into his.
“I know, but I’m here for whatever you need. You know that.”
“Yeah, I do.”
His gaze falls to the ground, his lips scrunch and curl to the side.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, her brow furrowed curiously.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What, uh, what’s it like to be with someone?”
“You mean me and Ros?”
He gestures confirming her question, but doesn’t speak.
“It’s great, she’s great. I just feel lucky all the time. It’s like-”
She bites her bottom lip, taking a moment.
“It’s like the whole world is bright, like the sun is shining extra. Anything that bothered me before seems, I don’t know, just small. Everything seems worth it just to be with her. I know if I get mad or have a bad day that she’ll be there waiting for me. That she’ll make me feel better, that I will feel better, because I have someone I trust. Someone that shares the same space as me.”
“That sounds nice. I’m happy for you, you know, both of you.”
She bumps into his shoulder again.
“I know. It’s rare to have these days, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find it too. You’re still young chacho, give it time.”
“If I have time.”
“Don’t say that! We all got time, we keep each other safe, we make sure we got time, right?”
He chuckles, cracking a grin.
“Right.”
He watches her for a long moment as she picks more strawberries, and adds them to her bucket.
“You remind me of mama, you know.”
“Oh yeah? How’s that? Loud and swear a lot?” she says, giggling again.
“Well, I mean yeah, but you’re tough, and you care, you just don’t want people to know that you do.” -he turns to the patch next to him, removing one of the sweet fruits- “Mama was stubborn like that too.”
“I think that’s the nicest thing you ever said to me.”
He responds with a playful gesture, his back still to her. A peaceful silence falls them as they pick more of the red, savory fruit. After a long moment a rustling cuts the air, not far from them.
Outlaw turns to where the sound is coming from. He hears it again, something is moving toward them. His attention moves to his sister, who’s gaze is already fixed on him. She moves across the patch, quickly, taking his side. She slowly, and quietly, puts her bucket down, and withdraws her handgun. Outlaw does the same.
The siblings wait, not wanting to make any noise, and realizing it would be unwise to run without knowing exactly what is coming their way. The rustling draws nearer and nearer, morphing from a rustle to the shuffling of feet. It’s low and steady, and sounds like only one.
“Sweetie?” a voice calls out, somewhere out of sight.
A sigh of relief gushes from the sister sibling. Her brother finally exhales the deep breath he’d been holding.
“Over here Ros!”
“Fucking scary asshole!”
Sweetie smacks his arm, but gives him a sly smirk.
"¡Chacho! You’re not wrong, but still, calm down!”
He shoves her away, returning her act of sibling tough love. She smooshes a strawberry against his cheek.
“¡Cabrón!” he says, as he wipes the fruit off his face.
She sticks her tongue out at him. He returns her attack with the throw of a strawberry, bouncing it off her forehead. Her mouth drops, her eyes grow wide.
“You don’t want to start this chacho!”
“You started it!”
She returns fire with a volley of sweet fruits, four of them hurled at him at once. He ducks his head away, throwing his hand up for protection against the juices of war. When her onslaught has ceased, he takes his turn, pegging her torso with a barrage of his own. She yelps, hopping and spinning, a weak, and unsuccessful, attempt to dodge the incoming divot filled missiles.
“So, are we just wasting breakfast now?” Rosaline says, having just pushed through the brush into their view.
“Hey Ros.” Outlaw says, stopping his attack upon hearing her.
“Hey nena!” Sweetie croons as she skips over to companion.
“Hey cutie!” Rosaline replies, a joyous smile upon her.
Rosaline opens her arms to embrace her partner. The two smitten women sway, hugging each other tightly. Sweetie pulls back enough to be face to face with her girlfriend, then leans in and kisses her.
“What’re you doing here?”
Rosaline peers around Sweetie, regarding Outlaw.
“I finished early, so I figured I’d come help.”
“Aww, nena, did you rush just to come see me?”
Rosaline bites her bottom lip, staring longingly at her lover.
“Maaaaaybe.” she replies, grinning from ear to ear.
“How did you ever survive without me?”
“I honestly have no idea.”
Sweetie presses her lips together, her eyes beaming with glee. She leans in again, sharing another kiss with the tender warrior.
“So, are we actually gonna finish picking fruit, or just be lovey dovey all day?”
Sweetie hangs her head back, bringing her
