5. Mariana
Mariana
I ’m sitting in one of the green velvet seats at Ink they’ve always talked about moving back one day. I just didn’t think one day would be now. Ay bendito, pobre Anna.
She’s just as close with her parents as I am with mine. I know this is hitting her hard. She used to joke that if they ever moved back, she’d go with them. Wait a minute…
“You’re not moving too, are you??”
Her head snaps up. “No, no. I’m staying.”
Thank God. If she had really wanted to move, I’d support her—wholeheartedly. But selfishly? I don’t want her going anywhere. I’ve lost so much already, and the idea of not having her in the same country as me makes me feel sick.
Reaching over, I grab her hand and squeeze it. “I’m sorry. This sucks. It feels like everything is changing.”
Anna sighs, nodding. “It does. It does suck. And I can’t even be mad at my mom because, of course, she wants to be with her husband. And, of course, my dad wants to be with his mom while she’s sick. It all seems perfectly logical in my head. But in my heart? It feels completely unfair.”
She lets out another breath, then shakes her head. “And to top it off, I dropped my phone in the sink while the water was running and got personally attacked by Libby’s devil cat.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
She deadpans. “Mari, that thing is not a cat. It’s a demon in a fur coat.”
I lost it. Laughter bursts out of me.
Libby’s cat is a nightmare. Anyone who gets too close suffers—one swipe of her claws and you’re marked for life. So we’ve learned to keep our distance. We keep our eyes to ourselves, and she keeps her claws to herself. Well…except for two other people.
If Anna and one other unlucky soul are even in the vicinity of Libby’s cat, she attacks. No warning, No hesitation. Just pure, unprovoked violence.
“What happened?” I ask, already bracing myself.
Anna throws her hands in the air. “So, I see that the devil cat is out, and like a good neighbor, I decide to bring it back to its rightful owner.”
“Anna, you didn’t!”
“I did! I was just trying to help!”
“You know what that cat feels about you!”
She clutches her chest. “I did nothing to her! She’s a psycho! Anyway, I tried to gently coax her to come with me, but in true devil cat fashion, she refused.” She mimics reaching out her hands dramatically, then reenacts the moment with a full-body shudder.
“So, like an idiot, I picked her up. And the SECOND she’s in my arms? She hisses at me and scratches both my arms. I fall. Fall, Mari, to the ground. And then? I watch this little hellspawn scale the tree like freaking Spider-Man. And now here I am.” She waves a hand over herself.
I bite my lip, trying, and failing, not to laugh. “Wait. So… you just left?”
“I sure did. I was not about to get my eyes scratched out, Mari!”
“But what about the cat?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I called her best friend to come get her out. I left as soon as he arrived.” She smirks.
I gasp. “You didn’t!”
“I did! It’s fine, he’ll be okay.” She laughs, then runs a hand through her hair. “Sorry I look like shit. It’s been one hell of a morning.”
I shake my head, smirking. “You literally saw me yesterday with a broken shoe; trust me, there’s zero judgment coming from me. Besides, somos hermanas. You and me until the end, babyyy.”
Since both Anna and I are only children, we’ve always said we’re sisters, not the family we were given, but the family we chose. She’s always been meant to be in my life, which is why it was so hard for me to keep her away when I was in Seattle.
Looking at her now, it’s hard not to think about the girl I used to be.
The one who let herself stay in a relationship where she was constantly choosing someone who never really chose her back.
The one who hid pieces of herself from the people who actually loved her. I don’t want to be that girl anymore.
We both stand and head toward the counter where Hilda is sitting, lost in a book. Her grey hair hangs loosely, framing her soft, round face, and she’s smirking. She must be reading something smutty.
I’ll never forget the book that led to my sexual awakening at fourteen, Forever by Judy Blume. Not exactly smutty, but it was the first time I read about characters having sex.
And the real revelation? The idea that some guys name their penises things like Ralph. That alone had me avoiding boys at school… at least until my sophomore year.
After that, I started smuggling smutty books from Hilda’s shelves, hiding them beneath the loose floorboard in my room. She always left them lying around, and since I basically lived at Ink & Paper, I’d sneak one into my bag, devour it, and swap it for another.
Now, at thirty-two, I can buy my own books, and thank goodness for discreet covers. Because I cannot tell you the number of times I turned tomato-red putting down two handfuls of books with half-naked men on the cover at the checkout.
We reach the counter, and Hilda looks up, closing her book with a knowing smile.
“Hi girls. Anna, you’re here for the books for the kids, right?”
“Hi, Hilda. Yup! They’re getting antsy now that spring is here, and summer break is right around the corner. I’m hoping this will keep them engaged.”
“You got it. Twenty-six copies of Holes by Louis Sachar coming right up.” She stands, making her way to the back room to grab the books.
Leaning against the counter, I glance at Anna. “Holes? I loved that book as a kid. That’s a great pick.”
“Yeah, I want to do an in-class read-along, and then, when we’re finished, I’ll let them watch the movie as a treat.”
I grin. “Okay, world’s greatest teacher, I love that. Remember when we were kids, the rush of excitement when we saw the teacher rolling the TV into the classroom?”
Anna throws her head back, laughing. “The best days! Now, my kids won’t get that, but they will get the excitement of seeing me put the movie on the projector.”
“Not the same, but still iconic.”
Hilda finally returns, balancing a large box of books in her arms. Just as she’s about to hand them to Anna, the doorbell chimes. A little girl runs in, her sneakers skidding against the hardwood floors.
Something about her feels… familiar. I can’t quite place it. Then, I hear footsteps behind her.
A man steps inside. And the second I look up, all the air whooshes from my lungs. My fingers tighten on the counter. A jolt of recognition shoots through me, sharp and unforgiving. My stomach clenches, my heart thudding against my ribs as my brain scrambles to catch up with what my eyes are seeing.
I know that face.
I know that face.
Oh my God.
Sebastian. My first love. My first everything.
He comes strutting into the store like he owns the entire damn world. Broad-shouldered, commanding, and looking even better than the last time I laid eyes on him. Gone is the boy I left behind all those years ago. The Sebastian standing in front of me now is all man.
Six foot four of pure strength and confidence. His tawny brown skin, deep, warm, and smooth as caramel, glows under the soft shop lighting, like the sun has permanently kissed every inch of him.