Bright Side

by Rose Fresquez

  “Bianca make it all the time,” Mateo chimed in.

  “She has burritos in the freezer.” Mom bumped Bianca’s shoulder with her own. “We shall send some home with you.”

  “It is good,” Mateo added as he polished off his Chiles Rellenos and reached for the container of tortillas. “I’m going to try burrito now.”

  For the fifth time that evening, Mama thanked Andrew for coaching Daisy.

  “I’m having the best time coaching the kids.” Andrew leaned back, patting his stomach.

  “Bianca says you are very good at soccer.”

  “Really?” He turned his eyes to Bianca, and her fork slid out of her hand, clattering on the linoleum floor. “Did she happen to tell you how terrible my games have gone so far?”

  “You’re awesome!” Daisy chimed in.

  Bianca left and returned to the table with a clean fork just in time to see Andrew blush at Daisy’s praise.

  She kept her gaze on Daisy’s coloring pages and artwork that covered most of the kitchen wall.

  If Andrew had noticed the odd decor, he said nothing. He seemed immersed in Mateo and Mama’s conversations that Bianca had tuned out. Her mind was in La La Land until Carmen mentioned her name.

  She shook her head to clear it, and looked up to find everyone smiling. “What?”

  “Grandma was telling Mr. Drew about when you were little,” Daisy said.

  “You snuck a squirrel in the house to nurse it back to health.”

  Bianca smiled at the memory. By the time Mama had found out about the squirrel that she'd picked up from the side of the street, it was on its way out of the house, recovered from its injuries. She shrugged. “That was a long time ago.”

  She finally remembered her untouched food and forked it, shoving more food in her mouth than she could chew—that should be enough to keep her from talking. She finally rose and began clearing the table.

  Andrew pulled up to help, but Mama put up her hand.

  “I have more manly work for you to do than doing dishes.”

  Oh no! What was Mama up to now? The plates clanked when she dropped them in the sink.

  “I’m at your service,” Andrew said.

  Mama listed all the repair projects that needed a handyman. “The toilet is the most urgent, though.”

  As of yesterday, their toilet tank had stopped filling, and they’d had to fill a bucket of water whenever they needed to flush the toilet.

  “You don’t have to do it,” Bianca said.

  “I want to.” He was already looking around. “Where is the toilet?”

  Mama pointed down the hall.

  “Mama!” Bianca skidded back to her mother, and kept her tone hushed. “What are you doing?”

  “We need a toilet fixed, and we have someone who can do it.” She stared at Mateo. “Isn’t it so, Mijo?”

  Bianca glared at Mateo, daring him to take Mama’s side. He seemed to read her face when he scratched his shaved chin and spoke in Spanish. “I don’t know anything about toilets.”

  Andrew was back in no time, rubbing his hands together. “It was just a minor issue. The flush valve had just gotten tangled on the chain, and now it works. As for the shower, I’ll need to pick up a few items from Home Depot to fix the handle.”

  Mama looked up at Bianca, who was faking a smile. “Aren’t you glad I chased the handyman away?” She turned to Andrew. “Also the microwave needs to be fixed, but that can wait.” She then pointed at the cabinets. “It’s an old house, as you see.”

  “I’ll bring my tools next time I come.”

  Mama patted her dress, as if searching for something, and then looked down at the floor. “Where’s my phone?”

  Daisy left for the bedroom and came back with the phone and handed it to Mama. “I will take your number, in case there's anything else we need fixed.”

  “Mama!” Bianca called, hoping to stop her from whatever demands she was about to make on their guest.

  Carmen ignored Bianca and gave her phone to Andrew so he could enter his number. “I will call you.”

  Bianca shook her head in disbelief. No doubt, she would be calling him. She didn’t remember Mama being like this when she was with John, but then again, she didn't remember too many things, lately. Otherwise, she would have thought twice before inviting Andrew over.

  Mama finally glanced at Bianca. “He doesn’t mind helping.” She shrugged, then turned to Andrew. “Isn’t it so, Mijo?”

  Like he had a choice! The fact that she was already calling him “son” meant Andrew better brace himself for more projects ahead of him.

  Not waiting for Andrew’s response, Bianca returned to the kitchen and pulled the sopapillas from the oven. She needed a distraction from whatever her mother was about to say.

  “I don’t mind helping,” she heard Andrew say again, as he pulled out the chair.

  Bianca picked up one of the sopapillas and, keeping her back to the dining table, she poured more honey than necessary into it and took a big bite of the pastry.

  “Are we going to eat dessert soon?” Daisy came up from behind, and Bianca nodded before pulling out a drawer to get the tongs. She stacked sopapillas on the serving plate and handed them to Daisy to take to the table.

  After washing her hands to get rid of any sticky honey, she uncovered the Mexican wedding cookies, delivering them to the table herself.

  Thirty minutes later, dessert had been eaten and Andrew pushed back his chair. “Thanks again for having me.”

  Mama put up a hand. “Before you go...”

  What now?

  “Can you and Mateo move my dresser from Bianca’s room back to mine?”

  In an attempt to declutter Mama’s room before she came home from Rehab, Bianca had called Ezra for help. While trying to declutter the living room, she’d put most of the things in her own bedroom. He and Mateo had moved Mama’s dresser to her room, and there was no way Andrew was going into her messy bedroom.

  More than anything, she was terrified that Andrew would see his picture on the calendar that hung on the wall across from her bed. Worse yet, it was mid-April and the calendar still showcased January... No thank you.

  “The dresser can wait!” she said sharply as she cleared the dessert plates from the table. She would call Ezra back, hopefully before her mother planned to have Andrew over.

  She rinsed her hands in the sink and then wiped them with a towel. Her gaze collided with Andrew’s, his eyes dancing underneath the light, his face creased in a smile.

  “Let me know when you need me to move it,” Andrew said.

  That was not gonna happen.

  “We could use your strong muscles,” Mama added, then looked Andrew up and down. “It seems good looks run in the family.”

  Andrew gripped the back of his neck. As if Mama didn’t notice his discomfort, she continued to interrogate Andrew. “So, do you have una novia? A girlfriend?”

  Andrew cleared his throat. “Uh, no, ma’am.”

  “What do you think of Bianca?” Mama asked shamelessly. “She is a good cook, no?”

  Speechless, Andrew could only nod his agreement.

  Mama leaned toward him to deliver her next strike. “It’s very important to have a wife who knows how to cook, don’t you think?”

  Bianca’s chest burned with anger. Feeling hot suddenly, she couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Vas a pararlo, Mamá?” she yelled, not caring that her tone was more sharp than intended.

  “Why do you want me to stop asking questions?” Mama shrugged her shoulder. When she asked Andrew how his family had a lot of money even though they were firefighters, Bianca buried her face in her hands and stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

  She sank down on the cement front porch, ignoring the cold that seeped through her dark leggings, embarrassed at how rude she had been to walk out on their guest. But If she’d stayed inside for another second, she might have been tempted to lash out at Mama.

  If there
had been any chance that Andrew liked her, thanks to Mama, that tiny bit of chance was all flushed down the toilet.

  She stared at the darkening sky. It reflected how she felt at the moment—lost hope, as far as her future with Andrew went.

  She had no idea how long she’d endured the cold and kept her hands over her face until she heard a scuffle from the door. She jumped up and the screen door opened, and Andrew came out.

  The fact that Daisy wasn’t tagging along beside him was an indication that Mama had made sure Daisy had said her goodbyes inside. She was on a mission to give Andrew and Bianca alone time.

  “Hey,” Andrew said.

  She brushed off the dust from her dress and tights and started walking toward the street where his truck was parked. It wouldn’t surprise her if Mama was peeking through the window. Mama would rather risk a fall than miss out on seeing what exchange she and Andrew had.

  “Guess I should’ve warned you about my mother.”

  “What does mijo mean?”

  “It means ‘my son.’ She must’ve felt pretty comfortable with you, if you qualified for the title.”

  Andrew laughed, a deep laugh she could listen to all day. He slowed his steps when they neared the sidewalk by his truck. “You’re sure she’s your biological mom?”

  Embarrassed, she buried her face in her hands again to avoid looking at him. “Unfortunately, yes. She’s that bad.”

  He laughed again, and she tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach at the rich sound. “Carmen is wonderful.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and she suddenly felt an igniting spark of fire.

  “Don’t beat yourself up. Like your mom said, I hope you or she can call me if you need any complicated work done around the house.”

  Ezra had always been on top of that, but being an old house, there was always something falling apart.

  She finally looked up at him. “My mom will definitely call you, you don’t have to worry about that.”

  "Good," he said. “I hope you can call me, too.”

  She doubted she would do such a thing. “You’re sure you want to deal with my mom again?”

  “She’s fun, I like her.”

  Is he just being nice? Not many people found Mama’s bluntness a fun quality; that’s why she’d lost several friends over the years. “Really?”

  “Glad to know that the Buchanans are not the only ones known for their bluntness.” He shoved his hands in the pocket of his jeans. If Andrew thought his family blurted things out, that was before he’d met her mom, for sure.

  “My mom...” She chuckled nervously as the night breeze swept over her. “She’s beyond blunt. At times she sounds rude without knowing it.”

  Ignoring her comment, he said, “Bianca.” His voice was more of a whisper when he peered at her, light from their porch and neighbor’s porch illuminating his strong jaw. “I would love to see you again...I mean, not just at Daisy’s soccer practice.” He put his hands back in his pockets, his mouth opening as if he were about to say something else.

  Did he mean a date or something? Her lips parted to ask, but her tongue was numb. She bobbed a nod. “Okay,” she said when she could finally speak.

  They shared a brief silence, and he took a long breath before he nodded. “I would like to ...”

  “Mr. Drew!”

  They both turned at Daisy’s voice. She was plodding through the grass toward them with a bag in one hand and a Tupperware dish in the other. “You forgot your Ranchero Sauce.”

  “Thank you, Daisy!” Andrew took the bowl from her. “I would’ve driven back tonight, just to get this food.”

  Daisy smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t have to do that.”

  He lifted up the brown bag to Bianca. “Thank you!”

  With a final goodbye, Andrew stepped into his truck. Bianca clasped Daisy’s small fingers in hers as they listened to the engine roar to life, then watched Andrew drive off. Only when his truck vanished from their street did Bianca finally let out the breath she’d been holding all evening.

  CHAPTER 11

  Andrew wiped the sweat from his forehead as he gulped water from his thermos. The metallic bottle thumped when he set it on the tiny kitchen counter. He swung open the microwave to warm up his breakfast.

  The morning run with Rocky had conjured up an appetite.

  He salivated at the scent of Ranchero Sauce that filled the shed, and was grateful when the microwave beeped, announcing his food was ready.

  He savored the aroma of the two breakfast burritos he’d smothered with the Ranchero sauce, before he set the plate on the table.

  He could imagine Rocky leaping for his plate if he were inside the house. Thankfully, the dog was content playing in the yard, allowing Andrew to cherish each bite.

  After bowing his head to pray, Andrew cut his first bite. The hot morsel all but melted in his mouth and he closed his eyes as he chewed. If memories could be served in food, all of them took him back to a few days ago at Bianca’s house.

  Her patience with her mom was impressive. It had probably taken all of her self-control not to yell at Carmen, especially when she’d asked Andrew what he thought of Bianca.

  He took another bite and smiled when he pictured Bianca’s gentle and shy smile.

  Totally shouldn't think of Bianca, but it was hard not to.

  He couldn’t stop himself from wondering what the deal was between her and Mateo. He’d wanted to ask, but making a good first impression had been a priority to him, not interfering with family matters.

  Picking up his phone from the table, Andrew browsed through his text messages. Nothing new.

  He then browsed through a sports website to watch the Rockies’ baseball recaps for their opening game of the season.

  He could go to the main house and turn on the TV, but he needed to make his stay with his family as temporary as possible. If he made himself comfortable, he might end up never leaving his childhood home.

  After almost thirty minutes of straining his eyes, he set the phone on the table and stepped into the shower. It was almost nine thirty, and he needed to meet with his realtor in thirty minutes to get a tour of one of the homes that seemed to meet his criteria.

  From there, Andrew was meeting with his siblings at Renee’s house, so they could plan their parents’ thirty-fifth anniversary celebration.

  SEATED AT THE COUNTER-high chair, Andrew rested his hands on the kitchen counter at his sister Renee’s house.

  Jake had bought the house as a fixer-upper and had hired Renee to design it, and their love life had ended up being born in the process of fixing up the house.

  Natural light streamed through the kitchen, which was adjoined to the living room.

  Next to him, Ezra also had his eyes intent on their sister, who stood a few inches from them, attempting to do what seemed like cooking.

  The brothers’ silence was drowned by the snapping of Tupperware lids, as Renee took them off the glass containers and tossed them on the counter. She then poured some white liquid from one container into the pan on the stove top.

  Her heels clicked on the tile when she swung open the stainless steel refrigerator and pulled out a can of Coke.

  “She cooks these days!” Ezra said, breaking the silence.

  Renee rolled her eyes as she pulled down a glass from the cabinet. “I don’t have plastic cups,” Renee said when she set the ice filled glass and a can of soda in front of Ezra. “This is your chance to drink Coke from a real glass.”

  Ezra and Leila believed that Coke tasted better if drunk from a plastic cup.

  “Interesting thing you two have going.” Andrew said.

  “You should try it, if you ever join the Coca Cola fan club.” Ezra popped open the can and tilted it toward the glass. The bubbles fizzled as the soda hit the ice cubes in the glass.

  Renee returned with a glass of water and set it in front of Andrew, then left for the sink where she picked up a bowl and put it in the microwave, punching in the numbers. />
  She looked more domestic than he’d ever seen her. She wore ripped blue jeans and one of Jake’s t-shirts that hung loosely on her petite frame.

  Andrew elbowed Ezra, deliberately whispering loud enough for Renee to hear him. “Please tell me that you know where Jake keeps an extinguisher around here.” He then chuckled.

  “I know, right?” Ezra said. “She usually cooks under Jake’s supervision.”

  Renee spun toward Andrew and Ezra, propping her hand on her hip and with the other hand, swerving a finger between the two of them. “You two yahoos,” she said. “If you're not careful with your loose tongues, I’ll end up eating these crepes right in front you.”

  “Shh!” Andrew put his finger on his lips in a dramatic show of shushing Ezra. “Now that I’m home, Mom’s store bought pre-cooked meals are starting to wear on me.”

  Ezra lifted the glass of soda in a toast toward Andrew. “Then you better keep your mouth shut.”

  Renee rolled her eyes and went back to stirring the steaming creamy liquid on the stove top. “The only reason Jake made the crepes was because you whined about missing your wife’s cooking.” She turned to Ezra and pointed the wooden spoon at him. “He had Leila’s recipe and thought it might be a good idea for us to eat here instead of the restaurant.”

  “Hey.” Ezra lifted a shoulder. “I was sort of complimenting your new and improved culinary skills.”

  “My bad, just never seen you near a stove or microwave before...” Andrew said.

  “That’s what happens when you marry someone who knows his way around the kitchen,” Renee said, then asked, “What fillings would you like?”

  “What you got?” Andrew asked.

  Renee opened a clear container of sliced, orange fruit. “Peaches and cream.” She then opened another container. “I also have mixed berries.”

  “Peaches for me,” he said.

  Ezra asked for the mixed berry filling.

  A few minutes later, they were feasting on the mouthwatering crepes. To his surprise, they were as good as the crepes Leila had made before.

  “How did you both end up with good cooks?” Andrew asked after scraping his fork on his half empty plate.