“Next thing you know we had three trucks. Alejandro and his dad still had just the one, and I think they were struggling. Then suddenly we stopped seeing them at the usual spots they parked, and then they were just gone. So, we had no idea where they ended up.” He shrugged as they walked along the beach. “My dad thinks either they tried their hand in Los Angeles or maybe went to Tijuana. It stays really busy there, but there’s so much competition. There are vendors but not just on every corner. They’re all along the main streets.”
The thought of Alejandro and his dad struggling made Isabella’s heart ache. They were so full of hope about this move. “Why do you think you guys were able to make it and not them? I mean I know his dad and even Alejandro had some really good recipes and he’d even talked about a special seasoning.”
Cido scoffed, shaking his head. “You mean like the one we have? I don’t know. Maybe ours was better. It’s still up in the air whether it was my dad’s or his that created that secret seasoning.”
Staring straight ahead as they continued to walk, Isabella kept her thoughts to herself. She clearly remembered Alej mentioning more than once about his father using most of his grandmother’s recipes, including the special blend of seasonings that had been passed down for generations.
More than once now Cido mentioned the Morenos possibly giving up on the dream of making it in America and going back to Mexico. Yet, something in her heart insisted they wouldn’t have. Maybe it was just stubborn hope.
Capítulo 14
Changes
Alejandro
Alej’s dad had been right about one thing. Getting the truck was probably the easiest thing about getting this thing going. All the red tape to being able to get out there legally had been a pain in the ass. But his father had been bound and determined to get his dream going while he was still young enough to take chances. Like when Isa had explained about her mother wanting to take the chance of a better life in America despite acknowledging Isa would be separated from her soulmate. She’d told Isa to trust that if it were meant to be, they’d be together again one day. Both their parents had only been thinking of them. Alej’s dad had always said parents should always strive to set their kids up for an even better life than they’d lived. He too had been optimistic about Alej and Isa being together again someday. Though after all the time that had passed, Alej could tell even his dad had begun to question whether that would ever be the case. Still, Alej refused to give up hope.
One other thing his dad had gotten right, was that the food really was all that mattered. Within six months of trying different spots, festivals, and swap meets, they were making a name for themselves. The Moreno birria, was by far their most popular, but their tacos, sopes, and burritos with their vast array of fresh meats were getting very popular. The key was the special ingredients in their seasoning. The rapid success didn’t come without its challenges though.
Lucia got married the year prior and now had a small child and another one on the way. Her husband wanted her home with the kids, so they’d lost an employee, yet they’d gotten busier than when she was helping them. Therefore, they’d been forced to bring on more employees. Since they’d upgraded and bought a full-size catering truck, they now had room for several employees to work in it at once.
That’s when he met Carmela. She was one of several people who answered the ad his dad had placed in the classifieds. She was a petite young girl with big dark eyes that instantly reminded Alej of Isa. While there was yet a girl who could come close to holding a candle to all he still felt Isa, his heart had begun to accept that realistically the odds he’d ever see Isa again, were slim. And they were getting slimmer with every year that passed. She could be anywhere in the United States now. Very possibly back in Mexico but where? Still, Alej had begun to save up to hire a detective to track her down. Until he mentioned it to his father, and he’d made a painful but very probable point. He told Alej to just prepare himself for the very real possibility that, like Lucia, she too could be married by now. Alej wasn’t sure he could handle knowing that and had begun to think maybe it was best if he never did.
In the beginning, Alej’s relationship with Carmela was purely professional. Technically, he was her boss. While his dad was the owner of the business, Alej was just as much in charge as his father. But as the time passed, things began to change. Like Isa had been, Carmela was now his closest friend. He had other friends, like Julio, who was also an employee turned friend. But his friendship with Carmela ran a lot deeper since he’d now begun to feel something for her, and he got the distinct impression the feeling was mutual. But even doing something less meaningful than a relationship, felt like a risk. They did work together, and things could get awkward.
“I may have to cut down my hours if it’s possible,” Carmela said as she rushed onto the truck where Alej, his dad, and one other employee were busy working.
Alej turned as she pulled the apron over her head. “Cutting down your hours? Why?”
“My dad just signed the lease for that record store he’s been wanting to open up,” she said, reading the notebook where they wrote the orders down. “He’ll be up and running in a few weeks. I’ll have two jobs now. Working here and there.”
Sliding the open burrito he’d just added meat to in front of her, Alej pulled out another aluminum wrap. “No shit,” he said with a genuine smile. “Good for him.” Alej grabbed his cup of soda and took a sip then lifted the cup toward Carmela. “Here’s to living the dream.”
Carmela smiled as Alej explained which burrito she was dressing so she’d know what else to add to it. “Listen,” he said as he worked quickly to fill two tlacoyos. “This is your family’s business. I know what that’s like. If you need to be there full time, I totally understand. I’ll miss you, but you don’t have to run yourself ragged working two jobs. Your family’s business should come first.”
When she didn’t respond, he glanced up at her, and she was staring at him, smiling strangely. “You’d miss me?” she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
This made Alej smile. “Well, yeah, wouldn’t you miss me?”
“I would,” she admitted without hesitation. “It’s why I wanted to try and do both, but even my parents said I’ll likely end up having to quit this job.”
“You wouldn’t disappear on me, would you?”
The irony of the way he’d worded that without thinking, squeezed at his heart. Already, the most special girl he’d ever met had disappeared from his life. Not that losing Carmela would even touch what he felt about losing Isa. Still, he’d hate to think the first girl who’d made him feel anything since Isa would be gone from his life soon too.
“Of course not.” The twinkle in Carmela’s eyes went even brighter.
No surprise just four weeks later Carmela gave her notice. Alej warned her getting the business off the ground would be a ton of work. He didn’t know much about the record business, but any business in general had to be a lot of work. And after only one week of her trying to do both, she said she couldn’t do it anymore.
At first, it seemed maybe she was going to disappear from his life because he saw and heard very little from her. But as her family’s business began to fall into a rhythm, she finally got a little time for a social life. Once that happened, so did their relationship.
While optimistic about his relationship with Carmela possibly working out, more often than not, he found himself pulling back from letting it get too serious. His heart would never stop hoping he’d once again be reunited with Isa. Pulling back wasn’t hard either. With both of them being super busy, they didn’t see a whole lot of each other. But so far, things had been completely drama-free. The more time they spent together, which would start to increase until he pulled back again, the more he was glad he’d allowed at least this much. It’d been years, and he deserved to have some kind of hope that a romantic life without Isa might be a little satisfying. He was also glad they’d been friends first because he could talk to her about
anything.
He’d even told her about Isa. Though he’d left a lot out. Like how he’d known from the moment he first laid eyes on Isa so long ago that he’d one day marry her. That he’d eventually promised her he would. And when she moved to the states that he vowed to come looking for her when she was of age to make good on that promise. How for years even after he’d lost touch with her, his heart refused to give up on that vow. He especially kept to himself how she’d given herself to him completely before leaving Mexico.
But he had been honest when they got to the inevitable subject of past relationships. He almost didn’t since he knew he wouldn’t be telling her the whole truth. It seemed silly to mention someone from so long ago when they were so young. But after telling her about some of the insignificant flings he’d had in the past couple of years, it felt almost like a betrayal to not mention the only relationship that ever truly mattered to him.
“But that wasn’t an actual relationship then, right? I mean you two were just kids.”
“I’d known her for years, and we did stay in a touch for a while after she moved.”
That’s when he knew maybe he’d said too much because Carmela had eyed him curiously. “So, what happened?”
He’d backpedaled and said they just lost touch and he hadn’t talked or heard anything about her in years. Even added that she was probably married by now for good measure, though just saying it had hurt.
Carmela asked a little more, stopping short of asking if he loved her. Alej was relieved about that because he didn’t think he could betray Isa by saying no. Pathetically, he could say with all certainty that he still was, and he was certain now no amount of time would ever change that. Fortunately, Carmela didn’t ask, and the subject of Isa hadn’t been brought up since.
It’d been Carmela who brought up the reminder of two old friends. She’d showed him the paper with the article about the popularity of the Ochoa’s trucks in and around the San Diego area. Alej read the article, remembering how things had gone down between them over three years ago. At first working with them felt perfect. Like old times. Both knew the job well and it’d worked out great, until the falling out they had, and a few months later Octavio and Cido were working for another truck owner. Moreno’s got word that they were trying to replicate the Moreno special seasoning. They’d even gone as far as advertising that their special secret seasoning for their meats couldn’t be topped by any truck in town.
Luckily for Moreno’s, Alej dad had thought ahead and never actually gave Octavio the full recipe for the seasoning. The truck they’d been working at may’ve had a close imitation seasoning of Moreno’s, but they’d still been missing the key ingredients that made it so good. Alej knew because he’d had a friend buy a few tacos from them and they didn’t even come close.
Then they got word that Octavio’s brothers were in the US now and between all of them they were in the market for their own truck. Octavio took everything Alej’s dad taught him about the business and started his own with his brothers. Alej and his dad soon found out the Ochoas played dirty. They knew Moreno’s had picked up a good following, and wherever they were parked there’d be hungry taco-craving customers. Customers who were sometimes too hungry to wait in the long Moreno’s lines. So anytime Moreno’s found a hot spot to park, they’d park right up the street if not across from them. With Ochoa’s Tacos advertising cheaper prices and their shorter lines, they were making money directly off Moreno’s customers.
Things had gotten heated a few times. Even Alej’s friendship with Cido had taken a blow. While they attempted to keep the friendship going, of course both sided with their own fathers. Ultimately, their friendship had ended. Worse yet, because the Ochoas were several brothers together, they’d been able to upgrade to a bigger newer truck. Then two and three. Alej’s dad was certain they were doing something illegal.
“There’s no way they could afford three trucks that expensive this fast off their mediocre food.”
That might be true, but before long they were pushing Moreno’s out of San Ysidro. With three trucks at that point, they were taking up the three main spots Moreno’s had established as theirs. It was a bully move, but Alej’s dad still had faith and he started looking elsewhere. “I’m thinking we should try the beaches,” his dad said one morning as they set up the truck.
“But don’t they want seafood there?” Alejandro had asked.
“So, we give them both. Our regular stuff and fish and shrimp tacos. Your sister makes a killer ceviche. She can prepare it for us ahead of time. Fuck the Ochoas. I don’t plan on being a street vendor forever anyway.”
“But what about the annual San Diego food truck festival?”
“This may be our last year there,” his dad said without a flinch. “I’m looking to broaden our horizons and I think it’s time.”
That was when they started finding spots on the Pacific and La Jolla beaches. Within weeks, they’d had regulars showing up at the different spots they’d discovered, and Alej fell in love with the beach cities. Someday he was going to live there. He was sure of it. His dad had kept his word about the truck festival. It got bigger every year. Only since this might be their last, they wanted to go out with a bang. They’d now saved enough to start looking into leasing an actual restaurant. Selling the truck would get them money to buy upgraded kitchen equipment and pay for any of the other start up fees. As nervous as this made him, even Alej agreed it was the next step in their now mutual dream.
His father had already told him he’d be loading up and making this year’s truck festival the best one since it was his farewell so to speak to their world of food on the move. Alej sensed that the festival would be special. Or maybe it was just that the coming year was. Life was pretty perfect at the moment, but Alej could feel it. Something big was coming. His mom used to say it when he was a kid. “Sometimes you just feel the future bringing big changes in the air.”
He always wondered if she’d sensed her untimely death in that car accident. Shaking off the bittersweet memories of his mother so long ago, Alej focused on the positive. Changes were coming. Taking a deep breath as he locked up the truck at the commissary he smiled. “Big changes are coming. I feel it.”
Capítulo 15
Forward or Backward?
Three Years,
Ten months,
One week, and
Three days
Since she last heard
From Alejandro
Isabella
Not a day went by still that Isabella didn’t think of Alejandro. Even a day like today when she and her mom were packing to move into the makeshift apartment behind Cido and Octavio’s house. It was originally just an extra storage space above their garage. Octavio and his younger brother had turned into a small living area for his brother and his young bride to live in when they first moved here. But with the success of their catering trucks, they’d since moved into a small home when she became pregnant.
They’d built a tiny bathroom in the apartment with a shower. It was no bigger than a small closet. The toilet was actually in the shower area. But after living in their mobile home for more than nine months Isabella and her mom were no strangers to tiny showers. This would more than suffice.
They’d also be paying less than what they’d been paying at the trailer park. But the best thing about the arrangement is they’d be out of that trailer park where they’d been witness to way too much drama already. Each time Isabella or her mom told Octavio or Cido another story about the trailer park, they mentioned the apartment above their garage being available.
At first, they’d hesitated. Already they felt so indebted to the Ochoas. Octavio had begun to flirt with her mother, and Isabella had been spending so much time with Cido even on her off days. It sometimes felt like old times with the exception of the huge void. Something nagged at her that moving onto their property, even if it was in a separate apartment, might not be the best idea. Already more than once she thought Cido had acted a lit
tle territorial of her. Even Magdalena had noticed.
“He’s got a thing for you, Isa,” she’d said more than once now. “He never acts that way around me.”
Her mom said he was just being protective. She’d been witness to one of the times when a tipsy customer had flirted with her a little too aggressively. Cido snapped at him, telling him to have some respect.
“He’s probably never had a chance to defend Magdalena as fast as that girl is to bite anybody’s head off who crosses her,” her mother had quipped.
But Isabella couldn’t help wondering if he wasn’t feeling a little more entitled now that they were spending so much time together. Their riding out at Border Field whenever they had time off on the same days had sort of become their thing, even if anything remotely romantic had yet to develop. She’d started taking business management classes at the local community college a few months ago. Specifically, a restaurant management certificate program since it’s what she knew best. But it was slow in coming. Because of the hours she needed to put in at work so that they could eventually save up to get out of that trailer park, she could only take one or two classes per semester .
But in the end, after another incident at the trailer park had kept Isabella and her mom up half the night, they decided it was better to be safe. It didn’t mean this was forever. They already had some money saved up for an apartment on their own. Just not enough. So for now, this was their best option.
Cido and his cousin Augustine came over in Cido’s pickup truck to help move their things. Augustine stayed back at their new apartment taking everything up while Cido came back for her and her mom.
“You weren’t kidding about that place,” Cido said, shaking his head as they drove away from the trailer park for good. “There were two guys ready to go to blows when me and Augustine drove out of here earlier.”
“Yes, good riddance,” Isabella’s mom said. “I can admit it now. There were nights I cried myself to sleep feeling like an idiot for having made this move, against my better judgment.”
Moreno's: Moreno Brother's prequel (Moreno Brothers) Page 13
