Chapter Eight. Julian #2
“Fine!” Julian grabbed his skateboard, his sneakers crunching on the loose gravel. Arguing would be as effective as trying to stop a bulldozer with tissue paper.
Julian and Rio walked side by side, Julian’s thoughts racing faster than his feet. Rio, with his eagle-eyed stare, started interrogating the air like it held criminal secrets.
“Something strange about this place,” Rio muttered, his gaze fixed on an ornate mausoleum they passed.
Julian forced a laugh. “Maybe all the dead people and graves?”
“Julian!” a voice called brightly.
He flinched. Senora Catalina, an abuela in a pink housecoat and curls, waved at him from behind a low headstone, smiling in his direction.
“Your friend is handsome! Is he single? If I still had a pulse, I’d be blushing!” Senora Catalina chortled at her own joke.
Julian panicked. He kept walking, hoping his brother wouldn’t notice.
Rio hummed. “Don’t see a lot of private cemeteries around here,” he said, glancing back at the gate.
Julian rushed for an explanation. “Oh, uh—yeah— It’s like … a family thing. Family cemetery.”
Rio’s dark eyebrow arched. “This is all for one family?”
“Yeah—” Julian started to say before he realized that was dumb. “I mean, no! Damn, Rio, I don’t know!” he barked, hoping if he got annoyed his brother would just drop it. “It’s just a cemetery!”
Rio grunted. “Right.”
This was not how Julian had planned for his morning to go.
Julian’s fingers curled around the grip tape of his skateboard as they neared Yadriel’s house.
The wrought iron fence creaked as they passed through the gate and stepped onto the familiar gravel path leading up to Yadriel’s family home.
The house itself sat tucked between tall, ivy-choked crypts and stone mausoleums, its weathered exterior painted a pale, sun-faded blue.
The porch sagged slightly at the front, wind chimes clinking together in the breeze.
A cluster of votive candles flickered on a small ofrenda just outside the door, the wax pooled and cracked with age.
“This is brutal,” Julian muttered to himself as Rio’s looming presence matched him step for step. Julian’s cool image was shredding faster than knee pads on pavement.
“Quit whining,” Rio grunted.
“It’s embarrassing!” Julian protested, but his plea went ignored. The reluctance in his gut twisted tighter. With each step, Julian felt like he was betraying the already tenuous trust of the brujx.
Rio continued, clearly unbothered by Julian’s discomfort. “I want to properly introduce myself to Yadriel’s family,” he declared, his voice leaving no room for argument.
“All right, all right, all right! Just don’t make me look bad!” Julian hissed, pressing the doorbell before Rio could pound on the door.
The sound had barely faded when the door swung open, revealing Lita in all her matriarchal glory—gray hair knotted back, eyes sharp enough to cut glass.
“Ah, if it isn’t my favorite troublemaker!” she greeted Julian with a warm smile before squinting at Rio. “You’ve got a familiar face! Where do I know you from?”
Julian’s attention snapped to his brother with a frown. What was that about?
Rio shifted, the corner of his mouth twitching as if caught between a scowl and a smile. “Not sure,” he replied, voice void of any telling tone. “I’m Julian’s brother—”
“Ay, I know why you look so familiar!” Lita chuckled, cutting him off. With a flicker of mischief behind her eyes, Lita wagged a finger playfully up at Rio. “You look like one of my past lovers!”
From inside the house came a strangled noise—half screech, half gasp.
Yadriel came skidding into view, horrified. “Lita!” he yelped, his cheeks flushed with mortification.
“Oh, relax, mijo!” Lita chuckled, lazily waving off Yadriel’s humiliation. “Come in, come in!” she said to Julian and Rio, adjusting her hair as she ushered them indoors.
Rio stepped forward, and Yadriel grabbed the back of Julian’s shirt.
“Are we in trouble?” he whispered, alarmed.
“No, he’s just being annoying and tryna embarrass me,” Julian grumped, welcoming his boyfriend with a side hug.
Yadriel leaned in, voice going soft. “Hey … it’s gonna be okay. I promise.”
Something warm loosened in Julian’s chest. Before he could second-guess it, the words slipped out with a breathy laugh, meant only for Yadriel. “Eres mi calma, ?sabes?”
Yadriel froze—just for a heartbeat—eyes widening, the shyest flush blooming across his cheeks. He didn’t seem completely reassured, but Julian loved making his boyfriend blush.
By the way Yadriel watched Rio peruse the living room, Julian thought maybe non-brujx didn’t come over that often. Lita, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem.
“Do you want some food, café de olla?” Lita asked. The smell of home cooking wafted.
Julian’s stomach—meagerly filled with banana, cereal, and orange juice—grumbled wistfully.
“I’m okay, thank you,” Rio replied.
At least he was being polite.
Lita ignored him completely. “I’ll get you something!” she said before disappearing into the kitchen.
Enrique emerged from the back of the house as if he’d been summoned.
“Oh, hello!” he said, clearly surprised but greeting them with an uncertain smile. The poor guy always looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
Julian stood a little straighter. He didn’t know why this part was making him so nervous—maybe because Enrique was quiet and serious and Rio was built like a tank and allergic to subtlety. It felt like introducing a sledgehammer to a stained glass window and hoping for the best.
“This is Rio, Julian’s older brother,” Yadriel introduced, anxiously fiddling with the frayed hem of his black hoodie.
Julian’s shoulders hunched up to his ears under Enrique’s gaze. “Sorry,” he said. He wasn’t sure if he was apologizing for Rio, for himself, or for the absolute disaster this morning had already become. Probably all three.
“Ah, Rio! Of course!” Enrique laughed, self-consciously smoothing down his hair before reaching out to shake Rio’s hand. “Nice of you to come by!”
“Mr. Enrique.” Rio nodded, a respect in his voice that Julian rarely heard. His posture was straight, polite, maybe a little too practiced—was he trying to make a good impression without looking like he was trying?
“Julian’s over here so much, I figured it’d be smart to exchange numbers,” Rio said evenly, but the edge in his voice was impossible to miss. “Just in case he forgets to answer his phone. Again.”
He didn’t roll his eyes, but the pause between sentences said he wanted to.
Julian scowled, heat crawling up his neck. “I don’t forget—I just get distracted!”
“That’s one word for it,” Rio said, not bothering to hide the pointed look he shot Julian’s way.
Julian’s annoyance boiled. This was not how he wanted to look in front of Yadriel’s family—like some kid who needed his big brother to check in on him.
But he behaved himself and instead of snapping at Rio, Julian settled for scowling and shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his dad’s jacket.
Yadriel gave his back a reassuring pat.
“Of course, I appreciate that,” Enrique replied, then glanced toward Yadriel as he dug out his own phone. “Exchanging numbers is a good idea—”
Lita burst back into the living room with fresh pan wrapped in a paper towel.
“Here!” Lita interjected with an eagerness that made Julian laugh and Yadriel cringe.
She stole Rio’s phone—tapping in her number quickly for an old lady who claimed to not know how technology worked—before thrusting it back into his large hand.
“For emergencies,” she confirmed with a mischievous grin, putting the warm bread into Rio’s open hand.
“Or if you want some home-cooked food. Or a date,” she added, tittering gleefully.
“Lita!” Yadriel chided, his cheeks burning red.
“Thank you,” Rio said, even flashing a quick smile.
“I’ll, uh, give you mine, too, just in case,” Enrique said with an apologetic look, and the two exchanged numbers.
Julian didn’t know how his brother managed to keep a straight face. He was barely holding it together, but Rio just nodded politely. “I appreciate it.”
“Why don’t you stay for breakfast?” Lita asked, wiping her hands on her apron. “Or dinner? We always have plenty of food!” Both Enrique and Yadriel looked alarmed, probably for the same reason, but Julian had noticed that sometimes Lita would just override a situation and no one ever stopped her.
Probably out of fear and respect. Maybe heavy on the fear.
“Thanks, but I’ve got another one back home to drop off at work before I start my day,” Rio declined.
“Another one?” Lita balked, her hand pressing to her chest. “How many do you have?”
Rio’s grin was tired. “Depends on the day.”
Lita threw her hands in the air. “Aye yi yi!” She disappeared back into the kitchen.
“Hey, everyone!” Maritza’s voice cut through the tension as she waltzed through the front door, oblivious to the number-swapping fiasco.
Her dark eyes lifted as she saw the packed room.
“Wow! Full house this morning, huh?” she asked with a laugh that quickly died out when she saw the looks on Julian’s and Yadriel’s faces.
In a blink, Lita was back, a huge tinfoil catering tray in her hands. “Here you go!” she said, pushing it into Rio’s hands unceremoniously. His arms shifted under its weight. “Beans, rice, tortillas I made from scratch”—she batted her eyes up at Rio—“steak, and chicken!”
Julian expected Rio to put up a fuss—he didn’t like handouts—but not even he could turn down the alluring smell of Lita’s cooking.
“That’s really nice of you—” Rio started to say.
“Oh, it’s nothing! Just slaving away over the stove since sunrise,” she replied in that way grandmas could humble themselves while expertly fishing for compliments.
Lita slid a warm hand around Rio’s bicep and gave it an approving squeeze, lingering like she’d just discovered her new favorite telenovela lead.
“You come see me whenever you’d like. I’ll keep you fed! ”