* * *
The car rental line was long, and the guy working the front desk looked like he hadn’t slept in two days at least. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face every few minutes and seemed to be annoyed by every customer that stepped up to the counter. Riley had left all of the details of this trip up to Ana, so she found a seat with a view of the parking lot and sat down with their luggage. She dozed until she heard Ana’s voice.
“No, I reserved a standard.” Ana held up her printout. “Nissan Altima or similar, see?”
The man at the counter shrugged. “We have the reservation for an economy, Ms. Potrero. I can show you my screen. That’s the Kia Rio. You can pick the color. We have red or silver.” He took off his glasses again and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “What would you like, ma’am?”
“A Nissan Altima or similar. I don’t care what your screen says,” Ana said, her volume increasing. She shoved the paper across the counter and jabbed her finger onto the page. “This is my reservation. You need to figure out a way to make this work.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but as you can see, we have had a number of reservations. We’ve been very busy. The only car I can offer for that price right now is the Kia. You can pick the color. The red is very nice.”
“I would like to speak with your manager, please.”
Riley didn’t need to look at the expression on the man’s face. Ana’s tone had changed, and her volume had dropped suddenly. Riley had heard that change in her voice before and knew well enough that the man at the counter wasn’t going to get anywhere if he tried another of his standard placating lines. She couldn’t see Ana’s expression, however. The man at the counter tapped his pen against the edge of the keyboard and then turned to head into the back room. He was gone for no more than two minutes when he reappeared with another man. “This is my manager, ma’am.”
“We have no Nissans at this location,” the manager said.
Ana nodded. “Or similar.”
The men exchanged a glance before the manager said, “Well, I do have a Dodge Charger available, but there is an additional fee, of course.”
“No additional fee. I’ll take the Charger for the quoted price.”
“Ms. Potrero, the Charger is a full-size vehicle,” replied the guy with the glasses.
Everyone in the line seemed to be glued to the scene at the counter. No one was checking their cell phones or shifting their feet with irritation at the wait. Ana stared at the manager. He shifted his eyes from Ana to the computer screen and to the line of waiting customers. Finally, he stepped up to the computer screen. A moment later, he handed Ana the paperwork and a set of keys. “Brian will be happy to show you where the Charger is parked.”
“I’m sure he will,” Ana said.
Riley cringed at the tone. She wanted to explain to Brian that it had nothing to do with him or the car. She picked up their two bags and didn’t make eye contact with Brian. Ana was two steps ahead.
Riley waited until they had pulled onto the highway before glancing over at Ana. “You want to talk?”
“About what?”
“I don’t know, the weather?” Riley took off her ball cap and ran her fingers through her hair. She stared out the window. Ana had been in Atlanta for the work week. She’d been in Denver less than twelve hours before their flight to Sacramento. Riley had picked her up at the airport after work late on Friday night. They had said barely two sentences to each other before they were back at the airport the next morning.
Ana swerved into the fast lane. “What is it?”
“What do you have against Kias?”
“The car? Have you driven the model they wanted to pass off on me?” She didn’t wait for Riley’s answer. “I have. There’s no room in the trunk or the back seat. Anyway, I’m a platinum member with them, and I’ve never had to deal with crap like that. That guy needs to be fired.”
“We have two little bags. What are you planning on doing with all of the room in this car’s back seat?”
“I don’t know. Any ideas?” Ana shook her head. “You have no idea how many rental cars I’ve driven. The point was, I’ve given them a lot of business and I expect certain things from them or they are going to lose me as a customer. At several of the airports I don’t even have to wait in their damn line. That guy had no clue.”
“You know, forget about it. I don’t want to talk about rental cars,” Riley said. “I want to talk about what we aren’t talking about.”
“You’re going to have to give me a little more to go on there. What aren’t we talking about?”
“Why didn’t you want to tell your sisters that you were bringing someone for Easter? I can understand not wanting to tell your mom, but why not anyone else in the family?”
“If I tell one, I tell them all. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. They’ll figure out I’m with a woman, and we can skip the conversation. Let’s drop this.”
“You are about to come out to your family, and you don’t want to talk about it at all?”
“Not really.” Ana glanced at Riley, then eyed her rearview mirror. “So? What do you want me to say?”
Riley switched on the radio and found a station playing pop songs. Ana reached over and turned up the volume.
They drove another twenty miles before Ana said, “I haven’t thought about anything else all week. I texted you every night I was in Atlanta to say that I had changed my mind and wanted to skip Easter after all. I even found a hot springs resort two hours from Denver and made a reservation for us. Of course I never sent the texts. I canceled the hot springs reservation yesterday afternoon.”
“Regretting that decision?”
Ana nearly smiled. “So, the truth?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’m scared.”
“What are they going to do?”
“On Easter? Probably nothing. They will wait a few days. I bet my mom will latch on to you right away. She’ll try and feed you everything. Don’t let her get you drunk. And I guarantee she won’t say a word to me about the fact that I’m with a woman.”
“Good. We can skip a big family fight then.”
“She probably won’t talk to me at all. Which is worse than a slap on the face, at least in her mind. But she will get shit-faced drunk. Isabel, on the other hand, is going to say something later. She likes drama. She also likes to drink. And Sabrina would usually be on my side, but she will probably be too pregnant to give a damn about anything. Her due date is May tenth. And her baby-daddy, Johnny, is supposedly out of jail, so he’ll probably make an appearance. Rick, Isabel’s husband, hates Johnny. Something happened between Johnny and Isabel years ago and Rick won’t let it go…so, that will be interesting. And there will be four kids running around on sugar highs from Easter candy.”
“And how close is the hotel to your mom’s house?”
“Don’t even think about bailing,” Ana replied. “Aren’t you glad I waited to tell you all of this until now?”
“Maybe no one will care that you are with a woman. Maybe they will all have more important things to be thinking about like the coming baby. Or staying out of jail. Or Easter egg hunts.”
Ana laughed. “Did I mention we all have to go to Mass together on Sunday? And the priest knows us by our first names. My mother will introduce you. Count on it.”
“You’re worth it.”
Ana glanced at Riley. She started to say something and then seemed to change her mind. The radio disc jockey’s voice came on and as soon as the ads started, Riley switched the station. She found another station playing more of the pop songs Ana liked.
“I am scared of what they will say. And I’m more scared of what they won’t say. Then again, part of me doesn’t give a damn what they think. But I really want them to know I’ve found someone. Anyway, whatever.” Ana wiped her eyes before the tears fell. She focused on the highway. Several minutes later, she said, “I can’t believe I’m really putting you through this. I’m going to o
we you after this. If I survive, that is.”
“I’m sure you will think of some way to make it up to me.”
Ana shook her head. “Don’t count on it this weekend.”
* * *
Ana called her mother late Saturday night after they had gone to dinner at the restaurant by the hotel and watched a movie in their room. She told her mother that her flight had arrived late and she wanted to skip the early morning Easter egg hunt. She planned to meet up with everyone at the church instead. Riley could tell from Ana’s end of the conversation that her mother wasn’t happy with the change in plans. Ana ended the call quickly and without mentioning that she wasn’t alone. She had spoken barely a word to Riley since they’d arrived in Lodi.
Ana slept in, or pretended to, Riley suspected, on Sunday morning. Riley went to the hotel gym, which was little more than an air-conditioned room with no windows, a rack of weights, a stationary bike and a treadmill. She worked out for over an hour only because she had nothing better to do. Ana was still in bed when she returned to the room to shower.
Riley had brought the blue linen pants that her mother had insisted she wear to a cousin’s wedding years ago. She ironed her white dress shirt and slipped it on, then tried the pants. They still fit, though the butt felt a little snug. She blamed that on the muscles she developed in the weight lifting class and decided not to tuck in her shirt. Finally dressed, she sat down on the edge of the bed. Ana didn’t move when she rested her hand on her shoulder. “Do you want to get breakfast before we go meet everyone?”
Ana shook her head.
“Well, I’m hungry. I’m going to take a walk and see if I can find anything.”
Ana opened her eyes halfway. “Take the car. The keys are on the dresser.”
“You want me to pick you up anything? Bananas are easy on even a nervous stomach.”
“I’m not nervous.”
“Clearly,” Riley said, getting up to grab the keys. “I’ll get one anyway, in case you change your mind.”
Riley returned a half hour later and found Ana in the shower. Ana ate one bite of the banana and then set it aside. Still naked, she started drying her hair and was so much in her own world that she didn’t hear her phone ringing. Or decided, perhaps, to ignore it entirely. Riley picked up the phone and went over to where she stood, staring at the bathroom mirror. She held out the phone. Ana glanced at the screen and shook her head. Isabel’s name was on the screen. The call finally went to voice mail. Riley set the phone on the counter by Ana. She had learned to give Ana at least an hour to get ready if they were going out and she doubted today would be any different.
Riley turned on the television and ate the yogurt and granola bar she’d bought at the gas station down the road. When she’d asked about a place to get breakfast, the hotel clerk had given directions that included a description of every place within five miles. Riley hadn’t paid close enough attention at the beginning of his spiel and didn’t want to hear the directions to the closest place twice, so she’d driven around until she found a gas station with a food mart.
When Riley volunteered to drive to the church, Ana only nodded. She gave monosyllabic directions or simply pointed the way. Riley parked in the lot behind the church and reached for the door handle, hesitating when she realized Ana’s seat belt was still fastened. “Still want to do this? I’m fine going back to the hotel and watching movies. You can pretend you came alone.”
“There’s my mom’s car,” Ana said. She pointed to a faded green Ford Focus one row away. “She’s probably already inside doing her rosary. She likes appearances more than anything else.” Her sisters pulled into the lot one after the other, and Ana pointed first to Sabrina’s car and then to Isabel’s minivan. She named each person as he or she climbed out, including all four of the children.
Once everyone had disappeared into the church, Ana unbuckled her belt and opened the door. Riley followed her inside the church. The pews were already crowded and there were more than a dozen people standing at the back. Ana dipped her finger in a bowl of holy water, touched her forehead and made the sign of the cross. Riley’s family had never gone to church. She’d been inside more than a few, but only when she had traveled abroad and then only to admire the stained glass, a certain statue or the architecture of the building.
Riley hoped they’d stand in the back, but Ana made her way along the side of the pews until she was midway to the front and had found the pew where her family was sitting. Room was quickly made for Ana next to her pregnant sister by pushing the four children closer together. Riley sat down on her other side, conscious that the eyes of everyone in the pew were on her as she did so.
The Mass was difficult to follow. Riley only paid attention when people stood up or kneeled. She followed suit, keeping her eyes on Ana’s folded hands the rest of the time. When the rest of her family filed out of the pew to get the flat circles of bread and a sip of wine, Ana stayed behind with Riley; they had to step out of the way as everyone returned to the pew.
It wasn’t hard to pick out Ana’s mother. Neither Isabel nor Sabrina looked anything like Ana. But Ana’s mother shared many of Ana’s features. They had the same shape to their nose and lips and the same shade of amber brown eyes. When she passed in front of Riley on returning to her seat, she smiled and it was Ana’s smile. Her mother also had the unmistakable air of someone who had been quite beautiful in her day. She carried herself as if each of the three hundred or so parishioners was looking directly at her.
When Mass was over, everyone filed out of the church behind the priest and the altar boys. The procession ended in a garden area in the front of the church. Folks quickly dispersed on the lawn there, milling about the front door or queuing up in a haphazard line to shake hands with the priest. Ana’s mother came right up to Riley and extended her hand. “I’m Mrs. Potrero, Ana’s mother.”
“I’m Riley. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Ana never brings anyone. What a wonderful surprise.” She leaned toward Ana and kissed her cheek. Without missing a beat, she then directed their group over to the priest.
Ana shook hands with the priest right after her mother, as if she hoped to get the task over as soon as possible, then moved off to the side of the courtyard. Ana’s mother introduced Riley. The priest squeezed her hand but seemed to look right through her. Riley went over to where Ana stood, though not close enough to draw attention. Ana was silent, watching her mother closely and fidgeting with the loose ring on her index finger.
Next Ana’s mother introduced Johnny to the priest. He had tattoos from the edge of his collared shirt up to his ear lobes. Riley found herself staring at the ones on his lobes, trying to turn the letters into a coherent word or even code and failing, partly because Johnny kept glancing over his shoulder as if he thought someone was tailing him.
Sabrina followed behind Johnny, letting the priest brush his hand in blessing across her swollen belly and barely managing a smile in return to his murmured words. Isabel filed her four children by in a line then, wiping noses and straightening bows before each one was paraded past for a head pat. Lastly, Isabel and Rick passed in front of the priest. He smiled and took their hands in his and spoke a few words with a bowed head.
When the priest had finished with their group and moved on to the next family, Ana’s mother leveled her gaze on Ana. Riley felt her straighten. The wordless exchange between Ana and her mother made Riley long to be anywhere but between the two women.
Ana turned to Isabel and quickly introduced Riley, then, when Sabrina came up to their group, finished the brief introductions. Johnny was standing off to the side by himself and scarcely looked their direction. Ana hadn’t called Riley her girlfriend. She hadn’t specified any term, actually—friend or otherwise. She’d only said her name. Judging by their expressions, Riley guessed that each sister had questions on the tip of her tongue, but no one said anything.
Isabel turned to her mother and said, “The kids will be running in traffic in a
bout five minutes if I don’t get them back into the van. I’ll see you at home.” She called to each of the kids and then set her husband after the boy who was a hundred yards away from the rest of the pack.
Sabrina was standing next to Johnny, bracing the underside of her belly with one hand and staring at Ana. Johnny had his cell phone out and was staring at it. Riley was wondering what silent conversation was going on between Ana and Sabrina when Sabrina stepped forward and said, “It’s so nice to see my sister bring someone. Did she warn you about holidays with our family?”
Riley glanced at Ana. Before she could answer, Ana’s mother said, “Why would Ana need to warn anyone about having Easter with her family?”
“No reason, Mama.” Sabrina winked at Riley and said, “If I weren’t feeling like my belly was going to pop, I’d give you a hug.” She smiled at Ana and then reached for Johnny’s arm. “Anyway, I have to pee. We’ll meet you at home?”
Sabrina led Johnny back into the church with an urgency that made him finally pocket the cell phone. Ana cleared her throat, and her mother’s gaze turned back to her.
“Can we pick anything up from the store?” Ana asked. “Do you need anything else for the meal? Or drinks or anything?”
“It’s Easter,” Mrs. Potrero replied.
“I know it’s Easter, but the stores are still open.”
She waved her hand. “Riley, do you know that Ana hasn’t been able to come here to see her niece or nephews since Christmas? And she had to miss the Easter egg hunt when she could have spent time with them. She’s a busy businesswoman, I know. Always working hard and staying so busy. And now she wants to go shopping on Easter.” She leaned close to Riley and said, “I don’t know how much time she spends with you, but I can guess you’d like to see more of her, wouldn’t you?”
Sweet, Sweet Wine Page 25