Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
KAMILA
“ K amila, Ana, arreglen la mesa, por favor, que ya van a llegar tu tía y tu prima .” Kamila, Ana, please set the table, your aunt and cousin are almost here.
“ ?Ya vamos ma! ” We’ll be right there, Mom!
I bang on Ana’s door, again. “ Ana, mamá quiere que arreglemos la mesa apúrate. Has estado en ese maldito cuarto todo el día y no has ayudado con nada .” Ana, Mom wants us to set the table so hurry up. You’ve been in that damn room all day and you haven’t helped us at all.
“I’ve been busy doing homework. I’ll be down in a minute.”
That’s code for I’m not going down to help anytime soon. Flipping my sister off through the door, I head to the dining room to set up the table on my own.
My mom scowls then looks away, and continues to toss the salad she’s making. “? Dónde está Ana? ” Where’s Ana?
“She’s doing some homework. She’ll be down soon.”
Mom gives me a look that clearly states she’s calling bullshit, but lets it go. She is already stressed about making dinner and her twin sister coming over so there’s no point in adding more.
Thanksgiving in our house usually consists of my aunt, her daughter, who’s four years younger than us, and our core family here in the house. Christmas is a different story. Every year we have a party on Christmas Eve where friends and family come, even relatives from Colombia and Venezuela sometimes. Although with how the airline prices are looking this year, I doubt that’ll be the case. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and Thanksgiving is my aunt’s for some odd reason since Latinos don’t traditionally celebrate it. It’s the only reason my mom puts so much effort into the day.
Her and her sister are very close, closer than Ana and I are by a mile. My aunt helped Mom out after she turned into a single parent, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. Her daughter and my cousin, Valeria, has grown up to be an amazing person, and I look forward to her visits every couple of months.
Once the table is to my liking, I turn around to see how my mom’s doing in the kitchen. The dining room and cooking area are open concept while the living room is on the opposite side of the staircase that serves as a divider between spaces. This small house is the only thing our father left my mom when we were babies, and thank God he did. With the current New York prices, this house is now three times as expensive as it was before. It’s no mansion, but it might as well be for the city. It has two bathrooms and three small bedrooms. Mine is the smallest. However, I managed to make it the coziest.
Rafael and my mom are singing and dancing in place on opposite sides of the kitchen counter to some older salsa music while cooking. The sight warms my heart. Ana and I never felt the need to know anything about our birth father after finding out what had happened before the divorce. We also never harbored any pain due to the fact that he left. We were only a year old when it happened. Rafael has been there for us through the most important years of our lives. He’s also taken great care of our mother and vice versa. Besides that, it helps that he’s a great cook too, just like my mom. We all contribute with holiday dinners. My part is always desserts, which are already done. Ana doesn’t really cook, so it was no surprise when my mom said dinner was up to her and Rafael.
My sister’s been acting weirder than usual the past few weeks. I’m not sure what Ana’s deal is. Sometimes, she’ll be super nice during our calls, and other times, she’ll just start a stupid random argument that’s usually one-sided. I’m not sure if she’s back on the partying bender, and I don’t bother asking my mom about it since she would’ve already told me.
My focus returns to what’s happening in the kitchen, where I see Rafael wrap his arms around Mom and places the knife she was holding down.
“Rafael, we’re running out of time.” She tries to shove him off while smiling.
“ Mi amor , relax. It’s your sister coming, not some celebrity. Baila conmigo .” Dance with me.
He spins her around, and Mom lets out a hearty laugh. I giggle quietly, trying not to distract them from their moment. Turning my back to give them some much-needed privacy, I can’t help but admire their relationship. No matter how many fights and financial issues they’ve had over the years, their spark has never diminished.
I wonder if I’ll ever be ready for something like that.
Clearly, not any time soon, given my history.
Cameron comes to my mind and our awkward encounter in class replays in my head. I hardly looked at him, and we barely spoke. Everything about it felt so…off .
The amount of conflicting thoughts I’ve had over the break have been filtering through my head the past couple of days. It’s been the great cause of multiple migraines and restless sleep.
Our doorbell rings, and I run to answer it, thankful for my aunt’s timing. Mom yells for Ana to get her ass downstairs, and I’m met with a hug from a woman who looks identical to my mother.
The dinner went off without a hitch. We’re all still seated at the table, laughing, eating dessert, and drinking. That is except for Valeria, who has been talking nonstop about her new girlfriend. Her gossiping about her friends from high school reminds me of my time in the past with Cameron.
Stop thinking about him.
My mom and aunt’s laughs pierce my ears. All three adults are tipsy as hell. Rafael is telling them some sort of story about the English teacher and Gym coach at his job, and apparently, it’s hilarious, although I can’t hear a word over Mom and Nancy.
Ana has been engaging in conversation with Valeria and myself as well. It’s been pleasant, that is, until she asks me about my dating life.
“So, Kami, how has the dating scene been at Driscoll? Find a rich guy you’re going to marry yet?” She smiles devilishly.
Say what now? I’ve never mentioned anything about marriage, let alone for money.
Cocking my head, I try to remain calm. “No, Ana. Believe it or not, I didn’t go to Driscoll to find a rich husband.”
“Jeez, learn how to take a joke, hermana.” She picks at her nails. “All I’m saying is that if you’re going to waste your time and drown yourself in loans getting a degree that won’t do anything for your future, you might as well take advantage and get your Mrs. while you’re still there.”
Valeria squeezes my hand, probably out of nerves. She’s not one for confrontation. Closing my eyes, I try to muster up the patience it takes to ignore my sister’s ignorant and hurtful words.
“You have the qualities those types of men are looking for,” she continues. “You know your way around the kitchen, you’re good at cleaning, and you’re submissive. Although, I would recommend working out a little more, it might speed things along. Especially since your dating life has been pretty slow since that last guy you were seeing earlier this year. What was his name? Duncan? Danny?” She taps her fingernails while I clench onto Valeria’s hand. “No, wait, David.”
I slam my palm on the table, and everyone goes quiet.
“Woah,” Valeria whistles and takes her grip off mine.
My heart is working double time from what I can hear in my ear drums. I shoot daggers at Ana. “How dare you speak to me that way. What the hell is the matter with you?”
“What did you say to your sister, Ana?” Mom asks with her no-bullshit tone.
My twin and I glare at each other, waiting to see who fesses up first. She speaks before I can.
“I was just joking around with her, Ma, it’s no big deal. Right, Kami?”
Shaking my head, I refuse to cover for her again. “No, it’s actually a very big deal. But you don’t need to get involved in this, Mom, I got it. All the rude comments Ana’s been making on and off for the past few weeks are just her way of expressing her jealousy and insecurities.”
Ana scoffs. “What fucking jealousy?—”
“Language!” Nancy yells.
Pointing my finger at her, I increase the volume of my voice. “Own up to your feelings, Ana. For once in your goddamn life, admit what you’re fu—freakin’ feeling.”
“If anyone is jealous here, it’s you. You’ve been that way since high school.” She crosses her arms over her chest and purses her lips.
What is she talking about?
“ Ninas ya no mas —” Girls that’s enough? —
Ana continues to speak, “I had the boyfriend, the popularity, and the body that everyone wanted, including you.”
I shake my head again, surprised that she would bring up high school of all things. Any hope I was holding onto about us moving on from the past dissipates.
“Ana, I’m not afraid to admit that I was jealous of you about certain things years ago, but?— ”
“I knew it.” She grins. “You were always around me, wanting me and Cameron’s attention. Mostly Cameron’s, though. I knew you wanted him for yourself.”
My blood feels like it’s about to boil. “All you sound like right now is a pathetic girl who peaked in high school.” My voice is sharp and cold.
That seems to snap something in her because the next thing I know, she’s hovering over me.
“He never would’ve gone for you. You were never his type. Too insecure, no confidence, and way too big. Jordan took pity on you the nights you had together.” I flinch. “Don’t believe for one second I didn’t know how badly you wanted to jump right on his dick?—”
“Enough!” Rafael yells.
How fucking dare she. I slowly rise up from my seat and lower myself close to Ana’s face.
“I would’ve never done anything like that to you. Cameron was my best friend; that line was never crossed. He even told you that himself. I believe he said, and I quote, ‘how dare you question my loyalty to you and my respect towards your sister .’ ” She looks at me, surprised. “Yeah, I overheard everything, hermanita.” I pull away from her a bit. “Let’s not forget who was there for you to pick up the pieces after the bonfire party, Ana. And I would do it all over again because, unlike you, I care about being a good sister.”
“Both of you sit the hell down!” my mom yells at the top of her lungs. “You are sisters and I will not tolerate this behavior in my house.” Ana attempts to walk away as I sit down, but all Mom has to do is snap her fingers and give her a stare before she lowers herself back to her seat.
I dare a glance over the entirety of the table. Guilt and shame creep in when the reality of what we both said in front of them clicks. I never curse when family’s around, let alone yell at anyone in settings such as this. I apologize to each of them, except Ana, who stares at me with nothing but pure disdain in her eyes. It’s not the first time I’m on the receiving end of it, so I just cast my look towards my mother.
“May Valeria and I be excused from the table? I promised her that we could watch a movie in my room tonight.”
Nancy and Mom both nod. “Only because it’s Thanksgiving. Throw away your paper plates and cups before leaving, we’ll talk about this in the morning.” She points at Ana and I before my sister stalks up the stairs, leaving her mess behind.
Valeria throws our plates in the trash, and I clean up Ana’s mess as usual.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” my cousin asks when we reach my room.
“No.” My response is gentle but final. After fights with my twin, I always need time to process them. This one, however, is one of the harshest we’ve had in a long time. Nothing we can’t fix, but it might take a while.
“We never spend any time together. Let’s just relax tonight, we can talk more tomorrow.” I ruffle Valeria’s short hair.
She nods, and we both focus our eyes on the screen while the opening credits to The Princess Diaries start to play. As Anne Hathaway makes an appearance on the small TV, my mind wanders off to what Ana said about Cameron. Even though we were sleeping together not too long ago, we never did anything while they were together. She started the fight out of nowhere for no good reason, and everything she said felt like it had been taken out of a playbook made for high school bullies.
For a moment, I stop feeling guilty over what I’ve done with Cam, making a decision on what I’m going to do once I’m back at Driscoll.