Twenty-two

Anna

“Let me help you with that, Mom.” Anna slipped on the oven mitts and stepped in front of the oven to remove the hot baking dish of enchiladas.

“I’m not an invalid,” said her mother. “At least not yet.”

“Even so.” Anna set the dish on the tiled countertop and turned to look at her mother’s face. Flushed from the heat of the stove, her cheeks looked rosy and healthy, but there was fear in her eyes. As if she was bracing herself for the worst.

“That smells yummi-licious,” said Jake as he leaned over the breakfast bar and sniffed loudly. “I haven’t had homemade enchiladas in ages.”

“Doesn’t your mother make them?” asked Anna in surprise. Hardly anything was simpler than enchiladas.

Jake laughed. “My mom only cooks the kind of food that comes prepackaged, canned, or frozen.”

“I’m back from my tour,” said Lelani as she and Gil joined them in the kitchen. “You have a lovely home, Mrs. Mendez.”

“Thank you.” Her mother smiled, but Anna heard the stiffness in her voice.

“Do you need any help in here?” offered Lelani.

“No, everything’s just about ready,” said Anna quickly. “Why don’t you guys go check on Dad, Gil?”

“Yes,” said their mother. “Tell him dinner will be ready in about ten minutes.”

Once again, it was just Anna and her mother in the kitchen. “So, what do you think of Lelani, Mom?” asked Anna.

“She’s a very pretty girl.” Despite this observation, Anna couldn’t help but notice her mother’s frown.

“Yes, I know she’s pretty.” Anna sighed impatiently. “But what do you really think of her?”

“She’s polite.”

“Come on, Mama,” persisted Anna. “Tell me what you really think.”

“I think that Gil is in love with her.” She sighed sadly.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Fine,” she snapped. “You want to know what I know, Anna?”

“What?”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” She glanced over her shoulder as if to see whether anyone was listening.

“What is it?” demanded Anna.

“You must not speak a word. And do not say I told you this.”

“What? What?” Anna was growing extremely curious.

“Well, you know your cousin Brad and his wife, Camille, were expecting a baby, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“And you know that Camille had her baby.”

“Oh, really? What was it?”

“A boy, but that’s not what I’m saying.”

“What are you saying?”

“Camille’s mother was in the restaurant last night. And she mentioned that Camille had seen Gil and Lelani shopping for baby things.”

“So?”

“So?” Her mother’s voice got slightly shrill, and then without warning she started speaking in Spanish. A clue that something was very wrong.

“What are you saying?”

“What more do I need to say, Anna? Gil and Lelani … shopping for—for baby things … together.”

Anna considered this. She knew what her mother was thinking, but she also knew it was ridiculous. “Oh, no, Mom. I don’t think so.”

“But you do not know, do you?”

“Are you suggesting that Gil and Lelani are …” Anna couldn’t even bring herself to say the word.

“An unmarried couple, shopping for baby things. What do you think it means, mi’ja?”

“That they were buying a gift for someone? Camille and Brad maybe?”

“No, they were looking at girl things. Everyone knew that Camille was having a boy.”

“Mom, even if Gil and Lelani are, uh, expecting … how would they know it’s going to be a girl? I mean so soon? And they’ve only been going out a couple of months, so how would they even—”

“Hush!” Anna’s mother tossed her a warning glance.

“Is dinner about ready?” asked Mr. Mendez. His brows were arched slightly as if he’d been listening to their conversation.

“Yes,” snapped Anna’s mother.

Anna gave her dad an empathetic smile, and he just nodded in a sad way. “Go ahead and tell the others.” Anna picked up the hot dish of enchiladas and carried it out to the dining room.

“Your mama,” whispered Dad. “She is so upset.”

“Yes.” Anna nodded. “It’s understandable.”

Dad put his hand on her shoulder. “We’re going to need you, Anna, more than ever.”

“I’m here for you guys,” she assured him. Of course, she wondered what this promise would entail. Would they expect her to move back home now? Maybe it was the right thing to do. Still, Anna felt disappointed to think she might lose her freedom. And then she felt angry at herself for thinking like that. Not to mention guilty.

Soon the six of them were seated at the table, and Anna couldn’t help but stare at Lelani. Was it possible that she was pregnant? And if so, did that mean that she and Gil would be getting married soon? Anna couldn’t imagine Gil not wanting to do the honorable thing. Still, Anna felt sure that her mother must be wrong. It just seemed impossible. Unthinkable.

So much was going through Anna’s mind as they sat around the large dining table, all attempting to make small talk and get to know each other better, or at least appearing to try. But the conversation seemed strained and unnatural. She knew that she and Gil and Dad were distracted and concerned about their mother’s condition, whereas Lelani and Jake were oblivious. Consequently, it seemed the two of them were bolstering most of the chitchat. Right now they were discussing Lelani’s home in Maui. And since Jake had been there once, a surprise to Anna, it seemed he thought he was an expert. It also seemed that Lelani was being overly nice to him, putting up with his presumptions and even laughing at his rather lame attempts to remember how to pronounce some tricky Hawaiian words.

As they ate dessert and drank coffee, Anna couldn’t help but notice that Jake was paying way too much attention to Lelani. At first, she had assumed he was simply being polite. And she even appreciated that he’d kept the conversation moving along while she and her family silently suffered. But now she felt worried. Why was Jake so interested in Lelani? Was it her looks that captivated him? And if so, what did that say about Jake?

She didn’t want to, but she started comparing Jake to Edmond—and she wasn’t too pleased with what she saw. In some ways, she felt like she was reliving a blast from the past. A bad blast. Edmond had spent plenty of time with and around Lelani, but never once had he acted like this. And even around Kendall, a consummate flirt, Edmond had simply been polite. He somehow managed to keep a safe distance, and it seemed his attention was primarily focused on Anna. Why hadn’t she noticed this before?

Or maybe she was being too harsh on Jake. Maybe Lelani was encouraging him. Maybe she was enjoying all this attention. And there was Gil … hardly taking notice. He had taken the news of his mother’s health even worse than Anna.

“I can’t believe you don’t want to go home for Christmas,” Jake said loudly to Lelani. “Man, if I had parents in Maui, I’d be on the next flight out of here.”

Lelani laughed. “Maybe you would. But not me. I think it’s that old grass-is-greener thing. You always seem to want what you can’t have.”

Jake grinned. “Like forbidden fruit.”

Gil cleared his throat. “That was a great meal, Mama. Can I help you clean up?” Before she could protest, Gil was using his one good hand to clear the table. And Anna jumped up to help him.

“Let me help too,” said Lelani, but Gil stopped her.

“You’re a guest,” he said firmly.

“Yes, but you’ve got a bad wrist,” she pointed out.

“It’s actually feeling a lot better.”

“Still, you’re not supposed to use it,” Lelani reminded him.

“And I’m not, see.” He balanced a small stack of plates with one hand. “Really, Lelani, we don’t allow guests to help. Especially on their first visit.”

“That’s right,” said Anna. “We’ll hurry and get this cleared up, then maybe we can play a game of pool.” She smiled at Jake. “Jake’s been begging to get beaten.”

“I’m sure I can beat him with one hand tied behind my back,” teased Gil.

“That’s a good idea,” said their mother in a tired voice. “You kids go downstairs and play some billiards. And the old folks will go put their feet up.”

“And Lelani and I can go warm up the pool table,” suggested Jake.

“Great,” said Gil.

Anna wasn’t sure it was so great as she watched Jake tugging Lelani toward the stairs. Then once she and Gil were alone, she turned to face him. “What is going on with Lelani tonight?” she demanded.

“What do you mean?” Gil looked surprised.

“Why is she coming on to Jake like that?”

“Lelani coming on to Jake?” Gil shook his head as he put a plate in the dishwasher. “I don’t think so.”

“Because you’re oblivious.”

“If anyone is doing the coming on thing, it’s Jake.”

Anna just frowned. Okay, part of her agreed with him.

“I don’t know why you’re back together with him,” continued Gil.

Anna didn’t say anything.

“Edmond was a nice—”

“Yes. Fine. Edmond was a nice guy. He is a nice guy. Whatever. It’s over, okay?”

“Just saying.”

“Like it’s any of your business.”

“I happen to like Edmond.”

“Great. It seems everyone does.”

“Why are you so angry, Anna?”

She tossed her towel onto the counter. “Why? Well, for starters, my boyfriend seems to think your girlfriend is hot. And then there’s the fact that our mother has cancer. And I think our father expects me to move back home to take care of her. And, oh yeah, Mom’s worried that you and Lelani are expecting a baby.”

“What?” Gil’s eyes grew huge. “Why?”

So Anna told him what Camille’s mother had told her, and Gil seemed relieved. “Oh, is that all?” he said.

“Well, you have to admit it’s a little suspicious that you guys went out shopping for baby things together.”

“We were doing Christmas shopping. Lelani has nieces, you know.”

Anna nodded. “Yeah, I forgot.”

“So, do I need to speak to Mom?” Gil looked truly worried now. “And what do I say? ‘By the way, Mom, I’m not about to become a daddy’?”

“Maybe we can talk to her together,” offered Anna.

“Thanks.” Then Gil put an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s not forget we’re family, Anna. We’re in this thing together.”

Anna frowned. “What about Jake and Lelani? Do you suppose he’s down there throwing himself at her?”

“Maybe we should go check.”

So without finishing the kitchen cleanup, they went down to the basement to find that Jake was shamelessly flirting with Lelani. And while she looked uncomfortable, it was hard to tell whether it was because Anna and Gil popped in on them or what.

“You know,” said Gil slowly. “There’s something going on with my, uh, our parents tonight. And Anna and I just really need to sit down together to talk to—”

“You want us out of your hair?” asked Jake a little too eagerly.

“Well, not exactly,” said Gil. He seemed to be eyeing Lelani with some uncertainty now. “But we—”

“How about I drop Lelani home?” offered Jake. “And we’ll catch up with you guys later.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” asked Gil.

“Not at all,” said Jake. “I have an early morning meeting anyway. Might as well call it a night.”

So they all went upstairs, where Lelani and Jake thanked and said good-bye to everyone. Then it was just the four Mendezes sitting in the living room.

“Jake seems to be fond of Lelani,” observed their mother.

“Jake likes beautiful women,” said Anna in what she knew was a sour tone.

“You are a beautiful woman,” said her father with a genuine smile. Of course he thought she was beautiful. She was his little girl. What else could he think? Or say?

“Thanks, Dad,” she said.

“I encouraged them to leave together,” said Gil, “so we could have some privacy. We need to talk. As a family.”

“No, no, no,” said their mother, holding up her hands to stop him. “That is not what I had planned for tonight. I do not wish to discuss my illness or—”

“Not just that, Mom,” said Gil. “Anna told me that you think Lelani is pregnant.”

Mrs. Mendez looked surprised, but simply nodded.

“She isn’t pregnant.”

“But why were you—”

And so Gil told her the same thing that he’d told Anna.

“Still,” said their mother. “It was suspicious.”

“Lelani loves children,” he assured her. “She adores her nieces and nephews. And you should’ve heard her encouraging Camille about her baby. She sounded just like a real doctor.”

Anna could hear the pride in her brother’s voice, and she could see the love in his eyes. Then she remembered how Lelani and Jake had left together, how they were together right now, and her stomach twisted. What a mistake.

“She is also very beautiful,” said their mother sadly.

“You keep saying that as if it’s a defect,” said Gil.

“Beautiful women can be dangerous.”

“But Dad just said I was beautiful,” said Anna. “And I know he thinks you’re beautiful too, Mama.”

“Yes, but ours is a different kind of beauty—deeper.”

“You’re saying Lelani isn’t beautiful on the inside?” challenged Gil.

“I’m saying she might break your heart.”

“How can you know that?” demanded Gil. “You’ve barely met her.”

“Yes … and where is she now, Gil? Why is she not here?”

“Because we needed to talk,” he insisted. “Just the four of us.”

But their mother was not going to cooperate. Instead she continued to jab Gil about his choice in women. And as she did this, Anna couldn’t help but feel that much of what her mother said was meant for her as well. Still, she didn’t want to argue. And neither did Gil. So they both just sat there and listened to her pontificate about what makes for a good spouse, a good marriage, good children … and in the meantime their father fell sound asleep.