by JB Dutton
Chapter 5
Dream #16: I’m super happy because Flash has come back. He’s sitting on my lap and purring while I pet him and talk to him in kitty-speak. The end of his tail flicks up and down contentedly. Then I realize that his tail is actually an evil-looking snake. Before I can move, it has bitten me on the arm. Then my arm turns into a snake too and I wake up, terrified.
The holidays are a magical time in New York. There’s snow on the ground, roasted chestnuts on the street trolleys and a feeling of crackling excitement in the air.
In Noon’s absence, Cruz and I had resumed our undefined relationship. We flirted subtly in class, conversed in Spanish two evenings per week (at the café where he used to work) and made out when he walked me back home.
We had even spent Thanksgiving together. I guess they don’t celebrate it in Puerto Rico, but his mother was determined to be as American as possible. So in late November she bought the biggest turkey she could find, cooked a passable pumpkin pie and made a huge spread of yams, winter squash, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, butternut rolls and dumplings that inspired me to refer to it as Carbsgiving as I groaned, clutching my bloated stomach for the rest of the weekend.
Mom and I had made the short, shivering walk from the Warrington to the cramped apartment in the public housing block where Cruz lived with his mother and sisters, carrying what ended up being a totally unneeded box of pastries from the French bakery in Chelsea Market. We rang the doorbell. The chaotic noise of high-pitched Spanish and clattering dishware that we could hear through the front door was abruptly replaced by frantic shushing. We plastered smiles on our faces and waited. The door was flung open by Cruz’s mother.
“Happy Thanksgiving! I’m Dora – come in, come in,” she shrieked, almost pulling us inside.
For the next six hours Mom and I were sucked into a tornado of food, drink, stories, laughter, hugs and more food. I felt like I was watching a crazy 3-D movie called My Big Fat Puerto-Rican Thanksgiving, except that it was me starring in the movie. Cruz interacted politely with Mom, but I could tell that inside he was laughing hysterically at our deer-in-the-headlights expressions.
Dora took Mom aside for half an hour between courses so that she could explain how much she adored me and how wonderful and trustworthy Cruz was. His sisters cornered me and did the same. My phone buzzed. It was Cruz, texting me from the basement, where he’d wisely volunteered to take out the recycling.
Having fun yet? :))))
I managed to discreetly type Best night of my life! in response before returning to Luce and Terri, who were tag-teaming on embarrassing stories from Cruz’s early childhood.
Mom and I were exhausted by midnight, which was when she finally decided that Dora wouldn’t be offended if we made a dignified exit. Cue another barrage of kisses, hugs and stupid amounts of doggie-bagged leftovers. Ay caramba! (I don’t know what that means but I know this is exactly when it should be used.)
Cruz saw us out. Mom discreetly walked on ahead down the hallway and called the elevator so that Cruz and I could say a real goodbye.
He whispered in my ear: “That was hardcore. We should do it again next weekend,” and I burst out laughing.
As we crossed 8th Avenue and the Warrington came into view, my thoughts drifted to Noon. I realized that part of the problem was that Noon’s absence was only physical. I could still feel him, inside my head and inside my heart. To outsiders, it must have looked like Cruz and I were in love. Maybe it even seemed like that to him. But there was always something holding me back from having deeper feelings for Cruz, and that something was Noon.
The other part of the problem was my insatiable curiosity. And one day it dragged Cruz into the mystery.
It was a Wednesday, we had chatted later than usual at the café, and Mom was already on her way home at the same time as me. Cruz and I always had a hot little make-out session outside my building before we said goodbye. As his hands started to go up the back of my shirt, I suddenly got all nervous. I didn’t want Mom to run into us while we were kissing, and suggested we temporarily shift our parting to a block away from the Warrington, where we could continue.
“Why don’t you just go in by the entrance on 9th?” he suggested. “Won’t she have more chance of spotting us if we’re standing on a street corner?”
“I guess.”
“Plus, we’ll freeze our asses off if we don’t get some shelter from this wind.”
“Okay, you win!” I laughed, grabbing his coat sleeve and yanking him with me as I ran across the street. The light changed immediately. He laughed too as we dodged the honking cars and cabs.
We continued running all the way to the entrance. When we got there he took hold of my jacket lapels and pulled me close, first kissing my cheeks and forehead, then pushing my collar down with his face and nuzzling into my neck, whispering near my ear. I was cold, but didn’t care because this was so hot. I closed my eyes as his warm, wet lips met mine. My heart was pounding from a combination of the freezing air, the dash through the traffic, and how frickin amazing this all felt. I could stay in Cruz’s embrace forever.
When I came up for air and opened my eyes, something in my line of sight bugged me.
“Hey – you alright?” queried Cruz, sensing that I’d disconnected. He turned around to see what I’d noticed over his shoulder. “Whatcha looking at?”
“Nothing,” I frowned. “I mean, there used to be something, but it’s gone.”
He followed my gaze. “I don’t get it.”
I took a step toward the entrance, looking up and down the carved stone pillars. The brass Temple of Truth plaque was missing. A ghostly trace of it was left where it had shielded the stone from traffic pollution. I touched the smooth, hard surface.
“There was a plaque here. For the Temple of Truth.”
“The What of What?”
“It’s the organization my mom works for. Or religion or cult or something.”
“Okaaay...”
“Noon was part of it.”
Cruz’s eyes flicked down for a fraction of a second, then back up at me, searching for some kind of emotion in my face. I owed it to him to come clean.
“I’m worried about him, Cruz,” I admitted.
“Why?”
“Because I think there’s something going on. Something he was hiding from me or wanted to tell me, before they took him away.”
He looked incredulous. “What are you talking about? Didn’t his dad get a job in Asia or something?”
“Look, I know it sounds kinda retarded, but I think that Noon and Aranara were involved in a conspiracy or... I don’t know what.”
Hearing myself say those words, I almost felt embarrassed. Then I realized that Cruz wasn’t looking at me as though I was crazy. In fact, at the mention of Aranara, his eyes had widened and his breath that was visible in the frigid evening air had been interrupted for a few seconds.
“You felt something too. Didn’t you?” I wondered aloud.
He shifted his feet nervously. “I dunno. Maybe.”
An idea came to me. Could I risk asking him? Whatevs... I had to give it a shot or I’d be left wondering forever.
“There’s a secret tunnel in this building. In my apartment. And it leads to another apartment where Noon used to live.”
Cruz narrowed his eyes, probably revising his opinion of me as a normal, sane girl.
“I need your help to break through the metal grating covering the tunnel at the other end. Maybe we’ll find some kind of clue about what happened to Noon and Aranara, or where they are now.”
“You want me to help you break into an apartment?” he said in disbelief.
I tried to reassure him. “No! Well, yes. But last time I looked, it seemed to be empty. And we’re not going to steal anything.”
“What kind of tunnel?”
I smiled. He was going to say yes!
“It leads from a cupboard in my kitchen and goes for, oh, I don’t know, maybe a hundred yar
ds and branches off into a couple other tunnels. But the passage I took leads to the apartment where the Temple of Truth was located. It’s like a heating duct or something, and when I got to the far end I saw Noon in a room with a bunch of other people one night.”
Cruz just looked at me with a strange expression.
“And I’m not crazy,” I added, hopefully.
His expression faded and he took my hand. “I know you’re not. It’s just that...” He looked down at the ground.
“What?” I ruffled his dark hair gently. Something was really troubling him. I grasped the back of his neck and pulled him closer until our foreheads were touching. “What is it?”
“I get... I get...” He looked around, then exhaled. “I panic in small spaces. I think my dad might have shut me in a closet or something when I was a kid. Mom told me the story once.”
“Eek. Poor you,” was all I could think of to say. “Forget it, then – I’ll try to figure something out. No biggie.”
He suddenly pulled away from me, his lips taut and his jaw rigid with determination.
“I’m not gonna let you do it on your own, Kari.”
“It’s okay, really,” I protested.
“No way,” he shook his head. “Hey, maybe I need to do this. Maybe you can help me overcome this... this messed-up fear.”
“But I’m worried that – ”
I was interrupted by my phone ringing. It was Mom.
“Take it,” said Cruz.
I sighed and answered. “Hey, Mom!”
She wanted to know what time I was planning to get home.
“Oh, I’m right outside. I’ll be up in two minutes.”
I hung up and looked at Cruz. “Sleep on it, okay?
He grabbed me and lifted me off the ground a little, kissing me while he held me up. I completely melted into his muscular arms and inhaled his smell.
“I’ve made up my mind. Let’s do it tomorrow, before I change it.”
“You’re awesome, Cruz.”
He smiled and raised his collar against the biting wind. As I watched him go back home I felt real... affection for him. Yet everything we were planning to do tomorrow was because of Noon.
