The last time Trino remembered standing so still was when that black snake had crawled out of the old tree trunk behind Mr. Cummins’ trailer. He had been scared stiff. Why would he think of that now? He wasn’t scared, just nervous about this new job he had.
Trino looked at Nick, whose face seemed relaxed. He spotted the tiny beads of sweat across the man’s forehead. Maybe Nick was a little nervous about his new job, too. The guy wasn’t just getting a wife, but gaining four sons, too. Was he ready for the change? Was Trino?
He liked Nick, sure, but Nick could be bossy, especially when it came to washing dishes after supper and doing school work. He also had a thing for reading newspapers, and expected them to listen to articles he read. Trino thought they were boring, and when he told Nick so, Nick said, “Then you must be a boring person ‘cause you never learn anything new.” Nick didn’t like anyone to mess with his tools, and he made Trino stay home on Fridays so he and Trino’s mom could go out. Trino had missed some fun times with his friends because of “Mama’s Night Out,” as Nick called it.
Yet, as Trino stood beside Nick in the small chapel, waiting as best man, he had to admit that having Nick around had its good points. Even though Mr. Epifaño didn’t need Trino, Nick kept him working. The past eight months, Nick had taught him about fixing engines when the truck broke down three times on the way to the city dump. Nick had let Trino drive the truck about five miles when they had gone to Perales to pick up a sofa and chairs from Nick’s brother. And when his mom acted stubborn and unreasonable, Nick was often on Trino’s side. Because of Nick, Trino usually had a couple of dollars in his pocket, he had shoes that didn’t have holes, and now he wouldn’t have to share a bedroom with his brothers anymore. Nick and Trino had remodeled the attic in Nick’s house so Trino could have his own room. Best of all, when they moved into Nick’s house, Trino wouldn’t have to change schools.
“You’re so lucky,” Lisana had told him close to Christmas as they walked home together. They were alone because Jimmy had basketball practice and Lisana’s girlfriends were riding the bus that day. He had taken her hand, and she squeezed his gently while she talked.
“When my mom died, and we had to live with Abby and Earl, I had to change schools and leave all my old friends behind.” Then she turned her face up towards his. She gave him a smile that sent a rush of good feeling through him. “But if I was still at my old school, then I wouldn’t know you, would I? I guess I’m a lucky person, too.”
She stopped walking. Her face had turned very serious. “You know, Trino, I think of you as my very best friend. You know things about me that no one else does. How come I tell you so much?”
“I don’t know, Lisana.” He looked into her brown eyes and thought, You are so pretty. She was smart in school and one of those people that everyone liked. They had met by chance, but she never stopped being friendly to him. Why?
“You know why we’re such good friends?” She seemed to be reading his mind. “You’re a good listener. You just let me talk. You’re not like Jimmy, who thinks most of what I say is dumb. You don’t make fun of me like Hector and Albert do. Janie and Amanda talk so much, I don’t think they ever listen. But you do. I can tell it in your eyes. Every time I talk, I see your eyes on me, and I know you’re listening.”
Trino swallowed. He did listen, but he kept his eyes on Lisana because he loved to look at her pretty face. Okay, so he cared about her, too. It was different from the way he felt about his mom, his brothers, or even Nick. He knew Hector, Jimmy, and Albert were his good friends—they had helped a lot when the trailer had to be cleaned up, and they had fun playing video games together. He had gotten used to Janie, and Amanda was okay most of the time. But Lisana was very special—just because she was Lisana.
“I know what you mean. You are my best friend, too,” Trino said.
As they stood on the sidewalk, holding hands and facing each other with the truth, Trino remembered last night when Nick and his mom talked by the truck. Nick was holding her hand just as Trino held Lisana’s now. Nick had leaned down and kissed Trino’s mom, and she had smiled at him. He had never seen his mom’s face look so happy. Because of Nick, his mom was less angry, and she laughed more often.
Lisana had done the same for Trino. He wanted to show Lisana how much he cared. And that’s when he kissed Lisana for the very first time. He remembered every second, from her surprised gasp to the taste of her cherry lipstick on his lips when it was over.
A gentle poke in the ribs brought Trino back from the past. This memory always left a smile on his face. His smile got bigger as he saw Tía Reenie walking down the middle aisle towards the altar where Nick and Trino stood. Her short yellow dress made her look like a giant duck in spiked gold heels.
But Trino’s mom looked like a white dove in her lace dress. It floated around her legs as she walked down the aisle of the little church in Perales. His little brothers sat in the front row with Tía Sofia and Tío Felipe. Other aunts and uncles, a few cousins, and some of Nick’s family sat in the short wooden pews watching everything. He saw a little wave from Lisana, who sat about five rows back with Jimmy, their big sister Abby, and her husband Earl, who was holding on to little Nelda. The toddler looked like she wanted to come down the aisle, too.
Trino watched his mom walk up to meet Nick. Both of them took their place in front of a short gray-haired preacher named Mr. Sánchez, who had known Nick since he was a boy.
He felt his toes wiggle around in the black boots he had borrowed from Nick. In another year, they’d fit better. He probably looked like a schoolboy dressed in a white shirt, but at least no one asked him to wear a tie. They had just bought Trino new pants, and he had used one of his uncle’s dress shirts. Nick wore a white guayabera shirt because he wanted to keep it simple. Yet, when it came to Trino’s mom, he insisted she get a new white dress “as pretty as you want because I want my bride to be the most beautiful woman in the church.”
His eyes wandered over towards his mom and Nick, then he started to listen to the preacher talk about good times and bad times, sick times and healthy times. Times with no money and times with plenty to eat.
Trino thought, it sounds like my life. Only he had little time to think more about it because the preacher asked for the wedding ring. He extended his hand towards Trino. Nick raised an eyebrow, and his mom chewed on her lip as they looked at the best man.
Trino fumbled with his shirt pocket because his hands shook. The shirt material was slick and his fingers slid around inside the pocket. He felt sweaty by the time he gave the gold ring with two small diamonds to the preacher.
Trino licked his lips and wiped his sweaty hands down his pants legs. Then he relaxed because the most important part of the job was over. He could stand by Nick and his mom now, and just think about the party and all the good food waiting at Nick’s brother’s house. He couldn’t wait to change back to his jeans and T-shirt and feel like himself again.
He listened to the preacher call them man and wife. He saw Nick turn and kiss his mom like he really meant it. Everybody in the chapel laughed, even Trino. And that was the moment Trino decided that if Nick was ready for a change, then he was, too.