I’m unlocking the front door when Manuel suddenly appears behind me. His face is flushed and he is out of breath. “Don’t tell me you’re just getting home. If Dad finds out, you’re in deep trouble.”
“I was at Jordan’s.” Manuel mumbles, following me through the hallway and upstairs to my room.
Once the door is closed behind us and I’m certain no one can hear us, I turn to Manuel, raising my voice. “Now you are gonna tell me what the hell you were doing?”
I’m stunned when Manuel sinks onto the edge of his bed, bursting into tears. I haven’t seen him cry since he was a little boy, and for a moment, I’m not sure what to do. Moving to his side, I ask, “What’s going on?”
By now, Manuel is whimpering. He shakes his head, whispering, “Nothing.”
Still, I know something is wrong for him to cry like a baby. Sitting next to him, I place my hand on his shoulder. “Come on, Manuel. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Lifting his head, Manuel looks straight at me, fear in his dark brown eyes. “Is Abuela gonna die?”
Manuel’s question takes me by complete surprise. “I thought you couldn’t stand having her around?”
Bowing his head, Manuel explains, “I know I’ve been mean to her, but I really do love Grandma.”
I want to remind Manuel about his pissy behavior with Abuela ever since she arrived, but his remorse holds me back. “Abuela’s sick, that’s all.”
“Is she going to get better?”
Deciding I should be straight up with him, I explain, “No, she’s not. The doctor said she’s only going to get worse.”
His eyes welling with tears, Manuel looks away for a moment, then asks, “Is Mom going to get sick like Grandma?”
So that’s why Manuel’s been acting like a little punk, I think. All this time he’s not only been worrying about Abuela, but also about Mom. I’ve wondered about that myself—if Mom is going to get Alzheimer’s like Abuela. Only I haven’t wanted to voice it. Swallowing hard, I say, “No, tonto. Mom’s going to be fine.”
Manuel sighs with relief. “It’s nice having Grandma around. It’s just that I get bugged when she gets into my things.”
“Yeah, well you need to lighten up on her, she’s just sick.”
“I will,” Manuel promises softly in a voice I’ve never heard before tonight.
Realizing what a hard-ass I’ve been with Manuel, I say, “Listen, if you want, I can help you with your homework. You’re almost a freshman, and you’ll have to get good grades if you want to go to college.”
Manuel jerks his head up in astonishment. “I thought you didn’t believe in college.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I changed my mind.” All of a sudden, I can’t believe the words that have just come out of my mouth.
“You should study something like nursing. You’d be good at it ‘cause you’re real patient with Grandma.”
“Me a nurse? Guys can’t be nurses.”
A smile brightens Manuel’s face. “That’s not what Mr. Moore said in Health Ed. He said more men are studying to be nurses.”
“Well, that’s not for us Macho Guys,” I say, crossing the room to my bed as Manuel chuckles.
“It’s almost two o’clock,” I say, glancing at my alarm clock. “Time to get some sleep.”
Manuel smiles. “Thanks Rudy. And you can listen to my CDs anytime you want.”
Unable to sleep, I lie awake thinking about my conversation with Manuel. I think back to the woman at the support group meeting who said her son was flunking ninth grade. Tess, the group facilitator, had told her that Alzheimer’s affected the entire family, including the children. Maybe I needed to hang out more with Manuel instead of spending all my free time with Juanita. Besides, Mom’s always saying that Manuel looks up to me since I’m the oldest. I guess I never really thought about it until now.
I finally drift off to sleep, and by the time I wake up the next day, Manuel is already sitting up in bed watching the end of the New Year’s Day Parade. “It’s about time, Sleeping Beauty,” he teases.
“Híjole,” I say, sounding just like Juanita. It’s almost eleven o’clock.
“Don’t sweat it,” Manuel says, reminding me that Mom always lets us sleep in on holidays.
After I’ve showered and dressed, I head downstairs to the kitchen with Manuel. We find a note on the table next to a plate of steamed tamales from Mom saying that they’ve taken Amá with them to visit their compadre Juan. I’m secretly pleased because that way I can spend some time with Manuel.
“You want to play videogames?” I ask Manuel as we sit down to eat.
“Aren’t you going with Juanita?”
“She’s spending the day at Maya’s. Besides, I was with her last night. A guy needs a break.”
Just then, the phone rings, and Manuel hurries to answer it. After a few moments, I hear him explain, “Sorry, Jordan. I can’t. Me and my brother are hanging out today. I’ll call you later.”
Satisfied, I bite into another tamal, wishing it were a cheeseburger instead. As Manuel sits down to finish eating, he says, “That was Jordan. He wanted me to go over, but I told him I couldn’t.”
“You better watch out for that little punk. I hear he’s always getting into trouble.”
For once, Manuel doesn’t get defensive. He shrugs, “Jordan’s okay. He doesn’t do drugs if that’s what you think.”
“How do you know that?”
“Come on, Rudy, everyone at school knows who smokes pot. Jordan’s not like that.”
I want to lecture him on choosing better friends, but I decide to drop it. We go into the living room, and I challenge Manuel to a game of NBA Live. Then we play his new Guitar Madness until I feel like I need some exercise, so I invite Manuel to shoot some real hoops outside.
At the apartment playground, we play several rounds of one-on-one and Manuel ends up beating my butt. “Not bad,” I tell him, catching my breath.
His face beaming, Manuel says, “I want to try out for the junior varsity team next year.”
“Oh, yeah? Bodybuilding is my thing, but anytime you want to shoot around, just let me know. It’s good exercise for my muscles.”
Nodding, Manuel grins as I flex my arm at him.
When we get back to the apartment, Juanita calls from Maya’s house to wish me a Happy New Year. She seems surprised that I hung out with Manuel all day until I tell her about what happened last night. “I’m glad you listened to him,” Juanita compliments me.
“Hey, baby,” I quickly exclaim. “I told you I was a sensitive guy!” I can hear Maya laughing in the background as Juanita repeats my comment to her.