“Órale, look at them, right? The most handsome couple you’ve ever seen in your life.” She touched the simple frame. “Enrique and Maya knew how to dress, I can tell you that. And he was a genius with cars. He could fix anything. And Maya?” Imelda spread her hand toward the counter. “She could cook anything.”
“Yeah, my mom and dad were the same way. He loved doing upholstery though. I guess his dad was like a… a camisero, you know? What’s the word for guys who make suits?”
“A tailor,” Imelda said. “He would have been a tailor.”
“Yeah, a tailor.” Spider nodded at the picture and looked at another formal portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Rivera that was framed on the wall. “Damn, everything was cool then, you know? The cars. The clothes.” He heard the oldies station playing in the background. “The music.”
“It was cool,” Imelda said. “But harder. In a lot of ways, much harder. And not as many opportunities for us as you kids have now.”
“What about you?” He picked up his coffee. “Did you ever get married or anything?”
“I never wanted to,” Imelda said. “My sister and I came from a big family, and I liked my freedom, you know?”
Spider nodded. “I get that.”
“But after my sister passed?” Imelda looked over her shoulder at the old photograph. “I realized that freedom doesn’t mean much if you don’t have people who love you.”
Spider kept his eyes on the photo, imagining the life that the Riveras had and how quickly it had changed on them.
As fast as a bullet from a gun.
Spider took a sip of his coffee. “They’d be proud of Daisy, I bet. Getting such good grades, going to a big college.”
“Enrique and Maya were proud of both their kids, but mostly that they knew how to work and how to take care of their family, you understand?” She glanced at Spider from the corner of her eye. “That’s what we were taught. Education is important, but getting a diploma in school doesn’t teach you how to take care of people. And that’s one of the most important skills to learn for anyone, don’t you think?”
He turned to her and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
She reached up and patted his cheek. “I’m sure your parents are very proud of you too. I can see how hard you work. Even when you come in to stare at my niece.”
Oh shit. “Tia Imelda—”
“Did I say I minded?” She smiled and wrote a note in a pad by the counter. “She’s not working today. Meeting with her school counselor, I think. They want her to fill out the applications to go away next year.” Imelda blinked. “I don’t know what I’ll do without her. Her mother runs the business so well, but Daisy is the only one who wanted to learn all the old recipes.”
“She won’t forget them; she’s too smart for that.” He had months at most. Months that he could enjoy her smile and see her face. He was going to start drinking way more coffee.
He might have to switch to decaf.
“I guess you’re right.” Imelda walked over and opened the pastry case before she folded a bright pink box and bent over. “You know, a lot of people see Daisy’s accomplishments.” She added two twisted cinnamon breads to the box. “But a person’s accomplishments aren’t who they are. They’re just the things they’ve done.” She added two more flaky turnovers, then straightened and closed the box. “I think you see though.”
“See what?”
She slid the box across the top of the glass case. “You’re not a superficial person, Spider. She needs someone who sees who she is, not just what she’s done.”
Spider opened his mouth, but nothing came out for a long minute. “I don’t think I’m the right—”
“You can take these pastries to Betsy, can’t you? I’d really appreciate it.” The old woman climbed back up on her stool. “With Daisy gone, I have to stay at the register. I’ll throw in your coffee as a delivery fee, yeah?”
Spider gave up. “Sure. And thanks.” He grabbed the box and headed toward the door.
“And Spider?”
“Yeah?”
“Maya’s husband, Enrique?” Her eyes twinkled. “He wasn’t always an angel. How do you think they got the money to start the café?”
Spider’s eyes went wide.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from,” the old woman said. “It matters where you’re going and how you treat people along the way.”
Arrieros somos y en el camino andamos.
It was one of his father’s favorite sayings. He hadn’t thought about that in years.
Spider raised the pastry box. “Thanks for this. I’ll make sure Betsy gets it.”
Chapter 5
Daisy nodded as the guidance counselor droned on about course requirements, grade point averages, and financial aid packages. She idly traced the fading ink on her forearm, which was currently covered by a cardigan to combat the chill in the college’s counseling office.
She wondered if a message to Spider was warranted for boredom.
“Please tell Spider I need him to rescue me from calculus requirements.”
“I’m going to need an intervention to keep me from killing my advanced sociology professor.”
“Let him know that my physics teacher is harassing me. And by harassing, I mean trying to teach me physics.”
She blinked when she heard a hard clap. She blinked and looked up.
“Daisy?” Her counselor, Mr. Talbot, was looking at her with concern. “Are you feeling all right? Should we reschedule?”
“No.” Daisy shook her head. “No, I’m sorry I’m distracted. I had kind of a weird weekend.”
“Well, you should have been having a great one considering your schedule. You’re sailing through your general education. Have you thought any more about where you want to submit your transfer applications?”
Does it matter? All the colleges her parents wanted for her were hundreds of miles from Metlin. “What about Fresno?”
Mr. Talbot looked disappointed. “Daisy, you’ll have your pick of schools. Don’t limit yourself because of geography. You’re going to be eligible for a number of financial aid packages because… Well, you qualify for a lot.”
Because she was the first in her family to attend a university, there were all sorts of financial aid packages available to her. Even though both her parents had very successful businesses. Something about it rubbed Daisy the wrong way.
“Mr. T, what about a gap year?” Maybe she could convince her parents to just let her work for a while. “I’ve been going to school for fifteen years straight. Plus summer programs. When you think about it—”
“I’d think you’d be eager to grab these opportunities.” Mr. Talbot interrupted her. “You’ve grown up here and haven’t traveled much. There are many avenues that are going to open up to you when you’re in the state university system. Travel opportunities, international scholarships, internships once you decide where you want to major.”