Prelude to a Storm

by Cecily Magnon

zebras.”

  “What?!”

  “Hahaha! Yeah, they’re great. They’re supposed to be everywhere; pulling around these colorful carts and stuff. Hopefully, it won’t take us long to find one,” she replied as she looked out her window.

  The taxi started to slow and pulled over next to a crowded sidewalk. “Avenida Revolución,” the driver spit out.

  Sam slid out of the car quickly and onto the sidewalk while Sarah paid for their fare. “Gracias, Señor,” she said politely before exiting the backseat.

  The driver turned quickly and grabbed Sarah’s arm, his dark eyes penetrating her. “Ten cuidado, Señorita. Hay cosas malas que andan por estas calles.” Be careful. There are bad things walking these streets. His stare softened as he released her arm.

  Sarah stared back at the man. Her brows furrowed in confusion. She hesitated leaving the cab, wanting to ask the driver some questions.

  “Sarah, hurry up already!” Sam whined impatiently.

  The driver nodded at Sarah and smiled tightly. “Ten cuidado.” Be careful. He turned around to face away from Sarah.

  She slipped out and stood next to Sam, watching the taxi pull out into traffic.

  “That was weird,” she said under her breath.

  “Hmm, what?” Sam asked.

  She shook her head, her eyes still trailing the taxi. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

  The morning at the Avenida went by quickly and both Sarah and Sam were famished from hours of shopping. Shopping had been uneventful, much to her relief. She’d felt paranoid the entire time, watching over their shoulders and looking for anything suspicious.

  She felt tired and wanted a break. The afternoon sun was beating down; the glaring rays making it feel hotter than it was. Sarah shielded her eyes with her hand as she looked around. The crowd was thinning out, everyone seeming to migrate towards areas of shade. That meant the restaurants with air-conditioning would be packed with people.

  She looked to her friend. Sam had been quiet for a while; a sure sign that she was tired and hungry. They both needed a break.

  “Let’s go over there.” Sarah pointed toward a block with a row of faded pastel buildings.

  Sam shrugged her agreement and followed behind her.

  They crossed the steaming streets out of the Avenida and toward a two story faded blue building. The building wavered from Sarah’s sight. She rubbed her eyes. “This heat is getting bad. Come on, let’s hurry and get inside.” She pulled at her friend’s arm. “Come on, you can make it,” she coaxed.

  “Uugh! It is sooo hot!”

  They ran to the front of the building. An aged wooden sign hung haphazardly above the door. It looked ready to fall, but somehow held on with the remaining strength of the rusted nails poking out of the corners. They crossed the threshold, Sarah looking up, hoping that the “Restaurante” sign wouldn’t fall on their heads.

  She breathed a sigh of relief as cool air hit her body. They walked tentatively inside the small restaurant and sat down at the only available table.

  It felt like paradise inside the restaurant and she immediately relaxed. She looked around and appreciated the age of the space. It was old and felt full of history. At the far end of the restaurant was a beautiful wooden counter that looked hand hewn with intricate carvings on the bar’s curved lip and on its wide front panels. Atop the counter was an old fashioned cash register, the kind with an ornate brass metal casing and big round ebony buttons.

  Sarah could easily imagine old time vaqueros coming in to the building and leaning on that counter to wait for a drink after a hard day of herding cattle. She looked closer at the carvings gracing the bar and wondered what era it was from. It looked really old.

  She started rummaging inside her backpack looking for a pamphlet she’d picked up at the Cultural Center. They’d wanted to take a break from shopping this morning, and the museum seemed like a good place to go. “Sam, do you have that flyer from the museum?”

  “No, I didn’t keep it. Why?”

  “That counter.” She jutted her chin toward the bar. “It’s beautiful. I just thought the carvings looked similar to the Olmec exhibit we looked at. Remember the one with the big heads?”

  Sam shrugged, uninterested. “I’m starving,” she groaned.

  She set down her backpack and started looking at the pinkish walls of the restaurant. She was starving, too. Her stomach felt like it was eating itself from lack of food. They should have eaten before they left, but they’d been too excited and wanted to get out before Sam’s parents started asking questions.

  Sam had been tapping her fingers on the table impatiently when a voluptuous woman with honey colored skin and bright red lips came out from a darkened room behind the counter. The woman had her black hair pulled into a tight bun with a bright red, silk flower tucked behind her ear. The woman cooled herself with an accordion fan as she approached them. She looked annoyed that she had been disturbed from whatever she might have been doing.

  The woman waddled to their table and closed her fan with a snap of her wrist. She stood next to the small table, her heavy presence looming over them. She eyed them both, pulled out a note pad and pencil from her apron pocket and waited for the girls to place their order.

  “¿Qué se les ofrece?” the woman asked, irritated.

  The girls looked at the woman in confusion.

  “Menu?” Sam asked.

  The woman rolled her eyes before letting out a frustrated sigh. Her red lips puckered to the side. “Weelyam!” the woman bellowed in the air.

  They looked at each other, two pairs of eyes growing wide in unison as they tried to stifle nervous giggles.

  The woman scowled at them. “Weelyam!” she yelled out again. Her shrill voice making the hairs on Sarah’s arm stand up in attention.

  The girls immediately quieted down when a handsome young man with chin length dark hair and piercing silvery-blue eyes came running to their table. He didn’t look that much older than them, but he carried an air of maturity about him. He pushed one side of his hair behind his ears before flashing a smile that should have been illegal.

  Sarah was captivated.

  “Buenas tardes, Señoritas. How may I help you?”

  He spoke perfect English -- no accent. Sarah wondered how he came to be there. It was clear that he worked at the restaurant. He had a dish rag thrown over his shoulder and a small apron tied around his waist. Was the woman his mother? Maybe he looked more like his father?

  “Um, we don’t know what to order. We didn’t get menus,” Sam whispered loudly. She looked guardedly at the woman scowling at them from behind the counter.

  ‘Weelyam’ chuckled and placed a hand over his tight abdomen. “Be careful, she’s got ears like a bat. She hears everything!” he whispered back to Sam.

  Sam gulped and looked nervously at Sarah who’d been gazing at the dark haired boy before her.

  Sarah couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. There was something about his presence that drew her attention and made her notice every detail of his face, his smile, his hair, his voice, his eyes…

  He looked at her.

  She held her breath as he locked onto her eyes and held them. She felt her face warm with a blush, as images of him invaded her mind.

  Eres hermosa, mi angel. My beautiful angel. Her whole body warmed and her heart pounded wildly. Did he say that out loud? No, Sam had been talking to him this entire time; but it felt so real. She thought she felt his breath next to her ear.

  “Sarah!” Sam called out. “Yoohoo, Earth to Sarah!”

  “Oh, umm…” Sarah stammered realizing that she had been staring at him this whole time.

  He looked to her and smiled, showing off deep dimples that just multiplied his level of hotness. “I would recommend the tacos. They’re delicious,” he said politely.

  “That sounds great! We’ll have two orders and two sodas,” Sam chimed in.

  “Great choice. I’ll be right back.” Sam beamed at ‘Weelyam,’ w
atching him walk to the room behind the counter.

  “You are totally into him!” Sam snickered.

  “What? Nooo. No, I’m not,” she lied.

  “He’s super fine! Tall, dark, and smoldering. Did you see the guns on those arms?!” Sam said loudly. “Ooh. You should invite him to help us find a zonkey. It’s the last thing on my list. And then, I can get lost for a while, and you can get all sweet with him.” Sam was chuckling.

  “Shhh. He’ll hear you.” She was trying to quiet her friend, but Sam was in a teasing mood now. Sarah cupped her face, feeling her cheeks burn under her fingers. She was trying to ignore Sam’s kissy noises and didn’t notice him come back to their table. She almost fell out of her chair to hear his voice.

  “Are you ok?” he asked. “I have your sodas…” he was hesitating, “…would you like some water or ice?”

  Across the table, Sam was shaking her head no, mouthing, “Don’t drink the water.”

  Sarah could feel him staring at her. She could feel his eyes drilling into her, making her insides flutter. She finally turned to look at him and their gaze met. He looked truly concerned.

  Sarah felt absorbed by him, his eyes peeling away layers of her soul to see what was inside. She felt crazy. That wasn’t possible, but his eyes made her feel like he understood her, understood her dreams, her aspirations, and her quirks.

  “I’m ok. Just hot,” she said softly. She looked at Sam, who was mouthing “hot, hot, hot,” fanning herself, and sneaking mischievous looks at ‘Weelyam.’

  “I’m glad you’re ok.” He nodded slightly. “The food will