by Ines Saint
The kids laughed. “Yes. La brigada de locos.” Veronica pumped her fist. Johnny didn’t need a translation for that one.
Marissa followed Johnny out the door. She was dying to know what had happened in Johnny’s office. “What did you say to Javier?” she asked.
“Did he apologize to you and Aleksandra in a serious manner?”
Marissa nodded.
“Then I guess what I said worked.”
“But did you talk to him about hurting other people’s feelings and about saying discriminatory things and about respecting—”
“Did you talk to him about all those things?” Johnny interrupted her.
“Of course I did.”
“Then why did he end up in my office?” he asked.
“Because he wouldn’t listen.”
“Exactly.”
Marissa gave him an imploring look. “Can you just answer my questions? These are my kids. I want to know what happened.”
Johnny’s lips twitched. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to exasperate you, I promise. Now, unwrinkle your nose, unpout your lips, and listen to me. I didn’t even try to talk to him about all that because I knew he was already set against listening to it. I have to earn his trust and respect first. You’re already well on your way to earning it. I know because I could tell he was mad that he’d upset you. Soon he’ll want to earn our trust and respect. And then, he’ll be more willing to listen.”
She looked back to make sure no one else was nearby. “Is that why you asked him to help out next Saturday? You should’ve seen him. He came in acting very important.”
“Is that what he said? That I asked him to help?” Johnny chuckled. “Let’s just say Javier and I came to an agreement. But because I need him to trust me, I think it’s better if the agreement stays between him and me.”
Marissa’s shoulders sagged with relief. Johnny was clearly thinking much further ahead than she had been. She needed to forget about the puppies turning into Saint Bernards. “Agreed,” she said. “You know, sometimes I wish I could get into their brains somehow and just”—she made an evil genius face, lifted her hands to her head, and pretended to poke and prod with her fingers—“tweak and adjust their teenage moods.”
Johnny laughed. “You look slightly unstable when you do that.”
She shrugged and turned to go back into her classroom. When she reached the door, she looked back. “Maybe I am slightly unstable—I can’t wait till next Saturday!” She then walked into her now-noisy classroom and excused everyone for lunch. They shuffled out while she tidied her desk and took out her lunch bag. It was another sunny day and she longed to be out under the expansive blue sky, but there would be time enough for that later. Plans for the musical were going so well, she wanted to finish filling out the grant application so Amy could look it over.
Veronica stayed behind and came up to her desk when everyone else had left. Her eyes were all lit up. “Usted y el señor. A harían una linda pareja. ¿No le gusta?”
Marissa gave Veronica a repressive look and answered in English, knowing Veronica knew enough to understand her answer. “Mr. Amador is just a coworker, Veronica. I have a fiancé. Novio.” She smiled at her then. “So don’t get silly ideas into your head, okay? You’re here to learn, I’m here to teach, and he’s here to support.”
“But Mr. A so handsome,” Veronica tried in English. “You no like him?”
Why was matchmaking such an irresistible hobby for people of all ages? And was it matchmaking? Marissa searched Veronica’s face, looking for any hint of improper admiration for Johnny. She couldn’t find any. Her remark had only been an observation. Johnny was handsome, after all.
But he was also funny, understanding, caring, and helpful. And cocky. So many kids needed the former in their lives. It would be so easy for one of these girls to think she was in love with him. Marissa wished she could get rid of that worry. It was like post-traumatic stress disorder or something. The slightest thing brought back thoughts of Ana Maria. It wasn’t healthy. “I like him as a coworker. He’s a good one.”
Marissa suddenly remembered that she and Brian would be looking at houses the Saturday that the Amador boys and the kids would be working on the school. Would he mind postponing that and spending the day with the loco brigade? Johnny might welcome having an old friend on hand to help out.
When she stopped by the office to get her mail from her in-box that evening, she saw Johnny’s long shadow spilling out onto the hallway from his office. She knew he’d been painting, and part of her wanted to stop by and see how it had turned out, but she didn’t want to be alone with him. Why didn’t she want to be alone with him? She shook her head. Because after everything that had happened, it was still awkward. It would get easier with time.
She must’ve made some noise, because he stepped out just as she reached for her mail. “Hey. You still here, too?” He smiled. He was wearing a faded, paint-splattered Reds T-shirt and an equally old and splattered pair of jeans. His sleeves were rolled up.
“Come see.” He motioned with his head. She walked over and took a quick peek inside. Between the piled-up chairs, the desk, the paint supplies, and the freshly painted walls, there was barely room for one person, let alone two. No way was she going in.
“I love the color. It’s very serene.” She popped back into the hallway. He was standing close behind, so she slid along the wall, in the most subtle way possible, until she was a good eight or so feet away.
“Before you leave, I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something . . .”
“Mhm?” Her eyes quickly flitted between a paint splatter on his biceps and his face.
“Marissa?”
“Yes?”
“My eyes are up here.”
Marissa shot him a look before rolling her eyes. “I know—I was looking at an interesting paint splatter on your arm.”
“Hmm. This feels like a more interesting version of Rorschach’s inkblot test. What do you think you see? I’m trained to interpret it for you, you know.” He flexed his bicep and she gave him her stern teacher look.
She was about to call him out on his unprofessional behavior, when something in his expression caught her attention. He was being his usual merry and teasing self, but there was something behind his eyes. Was he nervous and uncomfortable, too? She remembered all the turmoil in his home growing up, how Marty used to say Johnny bent over backward to keep the peace.
Humor was Johnny’s shield and armor, and maybe it was better that way—for now. Johnny felt far more dangerous when he was being serious. She glanced at her watch. “I don’t have time for this, Brian is about to call.” And with that, she left. She power-walked down the hall, through the double doors, and down the steps toward the staff parking lot.
“Marissa, wait,” Johnny walked out of the building, too. “I’m sorry. I wanted to ask you about Melinda, but I got sidetracked. You do that to me, and I know I need to work on that.” He looked into her eyes before gazing out into the distance. He was being serious now, but it was all so uncomfortable. When would it get better?
She knew she should tell him not to say things like that to her, but at that moment she was having trouble separating the Johnny she’d known her whole life from the prince in the elevator and Mr. A. The same thing was probably happening to him. In time, she could learn to reconcile Johnny with Mr. A. But there was absolutely no room in her life for the prince in the elevator. They needed to sort that whole mix-up out now and put it behind them for good.
“Did you talk to her? Is she okay?” he asked.
She swallowed. “Yes. I talked to her last night.”
“Does she know it was you?”
“I—I think she suspects it, but I also think she’s already put the whole thing behind her.” She had a hard time talking to him about this, and her gaze kept flitting between him and the double doors.
“Do you know why she was so hurt in the first place? I hate to ask you, but there are some things I’ve been
trying to understand so I can put this behind me too, and wait your mom, Rosa, and Marty out. I think they’ll come around eventually.”
It sounded as if they were on the same page. But it felt more as if they were both putting a dream to rest. “They’ll come around. Abuela already misses you, I can tell. And I’m trying to help. You just caught my family at a bad time. Melinda’s kind of”—she searched for words that wouldn’t betray her sister—“trying to find herself right now, and Mom is worried.”
Johnny nodded, as if he understood. “The other thing I’ve been wondering about is why Rosa didn’t mention you were at the masquerade party that night, too.” He gave her a comical, long-suffering look. “It would’ve saved me a world of trouble if I’d known you were there.”
“Because it was my first year teaching, and I was so busy I hadn’t come down to visit in a while, and they were on my back about it. You know how they can be. And then the masquerade party came up, and not only was it a chance to catch up with an old friend and relax, but Melinda was thinking about starting college, and I thought it would be a good chance for her to explore campus life. I got her an invitation and she agreed not to mention I’d be there. We knew they’d be upset if I told them I finally had some free time but that I’d be spending it at a party and not here.” She looked into his eyes for the first time since he’d followed her out.
He shifted his gaze to meet hers and the fiery golden specks in his eyes flashed so bright, they now drowned the green in his hazel eyes. “Well, thanks for trying to help, although I think we should keep you out of it. We wouldn’t want your errant knight knowing you kissed a real prince, now, would we?”
Heat and anger bubbled and sparked all over. “Stop saying things like that! You said you’d keep things professional!”
“I am. Have I done anything unprofessional at all during work hours? No,” he answered his own question. “We’re old friends, you and me, and I’m only teasing, same as I’ve always done. But I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you all hot and bothered over it.”
“You’re an overgrown, cocky child who never even noticed me until I sprouted boobs! You do not possess the ability to heat or bother me in any way.”
“I noticed you all right. I’ve never forgotten your happy smile or the way your eyes lit up every time you’d run to the corner to meet me. There’s a reason I held on to that memory—I just didn’t understand it until recently.”
Marissa marched off. Why did he keep saying things like that? Brian was his friend. Didn’t that mean anything to him? Johnny had never been a cruel or insensitive person, yet he kept crossing this particular line. Why?
It wasn’t like she was Helen of Troy. She was not the type to inspire fights. Something must’ve happened the night of the masquerade party to addle his brain. Maybe it had been Snow White’s slap. Or maybe someone had spiked his drink with some serious love potion.
The first thing she did when she got to her car was to leave Brian a message, begging him to come down that Friday. Somehow she had to get Johnny to stop his stupid innuendos. They inspired a fight-or-flight response that was undesirable, uncomfortable, and unwanted.
When Johnny got home that evening, his mom was waiting for him. “Have you been avoiding me?” were the first words out of her mouth. Marianne Amador had been a good enough mom, a terrible stepmom, and a devoted but misguided wife. Somehow, everything always seemed to revolve around her. But she was his mom and he loved her, so he tried his best to navigate peace, while never negotiating his own sense of loyalty to what was right. That usually meant taking Dan’s side against his mom’s and doing his best to rein in the storm that followed.
“No. I’m sorry I’ve missed you. I’ve been crazy busy, that’s all,” he said, and kissed her cheek.
“So I’ve heard.” She frowned.
“Well, you heard it from me, first. I always told you what I wanted to do with my life.” He smiled and shrugged as if he didn’t know how deeply disappointed she was that he wasn’t going to open a prominent private practice with a big ol’ sign that said DR. JONATHON AMADOR.
Marianne stiffened. “Why can’t you be more of a mercenary, like Dan?”
Johnny stifled a sigh. And why can’t you learn this line of reasoning never ends well? he wanted to shout. But he kept his tone light and even. “Mercenaries only care about making money, Ma, and Dan didn’t let Sam pay him for months, so I think you mean you wish I was more merciful, like Dan. And I will be. I promise.”
Marianne got up. “You always choose to misunderstand me, and then you make a big joke about it, as if you didn’t just insult me. You know what I mean. He didn’t throw his law degree away, and he does well. I want you to do well. I want all of you to do well. I meant it as a compliment.”
“I will do well. I’ll be fine.”
“And what about all this garbage I’m hearing about you making a cake of yourself on Saturday night at the Medinas? And this crazy rumor about buying the Cursed Lover? What’s been going on with you, Jonathon?”
Johnny sat down and put his head in his hands a moment to regroup. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to go check on his house and pick up the puppies from Cassie’s office. She and Holly were tag-team babysitting them during the day.
But his mom truly was worried about him. It looked like it was going to be a long evening.
Melinda opted not to go to Huffy’s with the rest of the Medina clan that night. Her excuse was that Marty didn’t have anything healthy on the menu. Marissa wondered if it was because she’d skipped the appointment with the guidance counselor at Wright Sate and didn’t want to be asked about it.
But as she laughed and talked with her family over wings, fries, and pizza, Marissa had to admit Melinda was right. The food was delicious, but she could practically feel her veins clogging up with fat. No wonder her mom and grandmother still packed lunch and dinner for Marty, even though his friends and employees teased him mercilessly about it.
Marty sat with them awhile and told them about his plans for buying another family-friendly tavern in a town farther north. Michelle Medina reached over to grab her husband’s arm. “Do you hear that? Our son is on his way to becoming a mogul!”
Marty laughed. “Hardly a mogul, but I’m definitely planning on building a mini-empire of neighborhood hangouts. Come Monday, I’ll own two and be on my way.”
“You’re that far ahead in your plans! Why didn’t you tell us before?” Her mom looked hurt.
“Uh, Dad knew I was thinking about it, but I didn’t make the final decision till today.”
Michelle turned to glare at her husband. “You knew but you didn’t tell me?”
“You’ve been distracted and I didn’t want to add anything else to your plate when Marty wasn’t even sure himself. He only wanted my opinion,” Roberto said, looking suitably chagrined. It was a practiced look.
“Exactly. And I’m telling you both about my final decision now,” Marty was quick to point out. Though he sounded relaxed, his eyes kept flitting over to a table full of regulars.
Roberto sent his son a knowing look. “You keep looking over at your usual table and we can all see someone’s missing tonight. Does your best friend know your news?”
Both Marty and Michelle rolled their eyes and Marissa put down her half-eaten wing. Why couldn’t she go one hour without having him somehow invade her peace? He was like a tick, latching on and making her itch.
“Are you trying to get on my bad side tonight? Because you’re doing a great job of it.” Her mother folded her arms across her chest.
Marissa took a quick breath and let it out. Tick or not, she’d promised herself she’d try to help Johnny with her family. Her mother was notoriously unreasonable when it came to her children, so that would take a while. But she couldn’t understand the stubborn look in Marty’s eyes. “I’m with Dad. I don’t understand why Marty is still mad. Your bromance is the stuff of legends. It sounds like Johnny made a mistake, but we all know he did
n’t mean any harm.”
Marty smirked at her. “Exactly. He never does. And right now, I’m sick of it. I asked him if he was sure, Marissa, and he said he was, and then he goes and hurts my little sister when she’s at her lowest point. I just don’t get him sometimes, and right now, I’m tired of trying.”
Michelle wagged a fry at Marissa. “I’ve had enough, too. I’ve treated him like another son, even though he’s been getting your brother in trouble for years, ever since they were in kindergarten.”
“Kindergarten?” Marty drew his eyebrows together.
“Yes. Don’t you remember he convinced you to help him use spray paint to paint the teacher’s car pink? She’d said it was her favorite color, and she wished cars came in pink, and you and Johnny managed to ruin two doors before they found you two. We had to split the cost of a new paint job with the Amadors, and Marianne Amador blamed you!”
“Hey, at least she didn’t blame Dan that time.” Marty said, and Marissa saw the hint of a smile. Marianne was Dan’s stepmom and the way she treated Dan was often a topic of conversation at their house. Her parents knew it was why the Amador boys ran wild over town, because none of them wanted to be home. The Medina home had always welcomed all three of them, and despite their reputation, they were always helpful and polite. In many ways, they’d felt like her older brothers, too. Sam had helped her build a birdhouse once, and Dan had helped her with homework more than a few times.
“Then there was the sound system prank in grade school, the toilet paper thing in middle school, the goat incident in high school . . .” her mother mused.
“Toilet paper thing?” Marissa asked. She didn’t remember that one.
Roberto chuckled. “Well, one of the new teachers insulted a kid by using him as an example for a vocabulary word—gauche, I think it was. The principal wouldn’t listen to the kid’s complaint, and none of the kids liked the teacher, so they decided to get revenge by TP-ing the teacher’s house.”