Quince Clash

by Malín Alegría

  Santiago looked down the alley in the direction the Salinas brothers went. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle them.”

  “Santiago —” Her voice cracked, revealing her anxiety. “I know it’s none of my business, but I’m really worried about you. You’ve been lucky so far, but this can’t go on. I’m serious.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Santiago snapped. Fabi jumped. “Don’t you see me trying to change? I’ve been going to school and helping at the restaurant. I told those guys that I don’t want to be involved in any more of their business. But you saw them,” he said, gesturing down the alley. “They just won’t let me be.”

  “But why don’t you tell someone?” Fabi pleaded. “What about Officer Sanchez? Maybe he can help. Maybe he can get a restraining order or lock them up.”

  “That crap don’t work. If I snitch on those guys, then they’ll really come after me. Those fools know where I live.” He kicked the dirt angrily. “It’s not me that I’m worried about. I’d put my mom and all you in danger.”

  Santiago laughed, giving Fabi one of his signature “everything is cool” smiles. He turned over a milk crate and sat down, studying the ground. “You know what really sucks?”

  “What?” Fabi grabbed another milk crate and sat next to him.

  “When I was stuck in that mafioso’s closet, I prayed. And you know me. I never pray. I prayed to La Virgen. I swore that if she got me out of that mess, I would change. And for a while it was going good. I’ve got this new cute English teacher from Chicago. I’m never late for her class.” He chuckled softly. “My mom’s even proud of me, you know?” He blew a curly lock from his face. “I used to think that if I made a lot of money, she could quit her job and be happy. But she was happier seeing me all dressed up like a stupid schoolboy, imagine that. She even got me some community college brochures. Ha! But it was all a dream, a lie. I guess I was just kidding myself. I’m a screwup, Fabi, and I’ll always be one.”

  Fabi reached out to him, but was interrupted by a coughing sound. She looked up and saw Grace Cooper standing in the alley entrance. Grace smiled awkwardly.

  “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting.”

  Santiago licked his lips, stood up, and brushed his pants. “Hey, you’re the TV lady!” He’d switched on the charm as if nothing had just happened. Fabi didn’t know how he could do that. “You’re here to do a show on Fabiola. Ain’t that right?”

  Grace smiled brightly. “Why, yes, I am. Are you family?”

  “Well, I don’t like to brag,” Santiago said, straightening up. “But I am her best-looking cousin.”

  Fabi smirked and swatted him on the stomach.

  “What?” he said, pretending to be surprised. “It’s true.”

  Grace smiled, enjoying the banter. “So will you be in the quince party?”

  “For sure,” Santiago said, breaking out into a little dance. “I’ve got moves.”

  Grace laughed at Santiago’s antics. Then she looked at Fabi and the light dimmed in her eyes. She pulled out a manila envelope from her large leather handbag. “I’m really sorry to have to do this, but my boss really wants you to sign these documents.”

  “No problem,” Fabi said, walking over to her.

  “It’s just some legal documents giving us permission to tape you at home and …” Her face fell completely, and Fabi became nervous. This couldn’t be good. “There’s no delicate way to say this. My boss wants permission to film you if you get sick.”

  Santiago shot Fabi a surprised look.

  Fabi shrugged back at him. “Okay,” she said.

  “I’m really sorry. But he really wants to tape everything, you know.”

  This conversation was getting stranger and stranger. What was she talking about? But instead of asking, Fabi just nodded.

  Grace let out a sigh of relief and smiled sadly. “Oh, Fabi, you’re such a good sport. I really appreciate you letting us do this. You’re a brave girl.” She glanced at her watch. “Great! I’ve got to go. We want to get some shots of the town before the light goes. See you tomorrow.” Grace waved and headed down the alley.

  Santiago turned to her. “What was that all about?”

  “Beats me,” Fabi said, shaking her head in confusion. Something was up, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that things were going seriously wrong. “But I know who does, and I’m getting to the bottom of it right now.”

  Fabi and Santiago entered the restaurant from the back. A Johnny Cash classic was playing on the old jukebox and customers were chattering excitedly. The usual clanging of pots came from the kitchen, where her father was busy preparing meals. Chuy was rushing between the comal and the counter, filling orders for more flour tortillas.

  Chuy saw them and called out in Spanish, “Where you guys been? That TV lady was here looking for you.”

  “I saw her out back,” Fabi said, gesturing to the alley.

  Chuy nodded, then turned to Santiago. “Hey, those dishes aren’t going to wash themselves.”

  Santiago grabbed Fabi’s elbow and said, “Promise me you won’t mention what you saw back there, you know, with the Salinas brothers. I meant it when I said I’d take care of it. I don’t want you to worry about it, okay?”

  “But, Santi —” Fabi protested.

  He pinched her cheek softly. “You just focus on being amazing for the cameras. Okay, guapa?”

  “Fine,” she agreed. “Promise me you won’t do anything crazy without talking to me first?”

  Santiago smiled just as Mr. Garza repeated Chuy’s request for him to wash the dishes. “Got to go. Boss man wants his dishes clean.”

  Fabi shook her head as Santiago hurried into the kitchen. She couldn’t help but worry about her cousin. But this wasn’t the time. Fabi looked across the room at her grandma Trini and Alexis. They were flipping through some fashion magazine and ripping out pictures they liked. She marched over to them to get some answers.

  “Hey,” Alexis said with a big smile, “what do you think of this dress? I like off the shoulders, but Grandma Trini wants a mermaid-style dama dress.”

  “I have to show off what God gave me,” Grandma Trini said, gesturing to her bosom. “You know, before they go down to my knees.” Alexis started to giggle. But Fabi wasn’t laughing.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “What’s the matter?” Fabi cried. “What’s the matter?” The customers nearest her stopped eating to see what was going on.

  Grandma Trini smiled with a pained expression and pulled Fabi down into the chair next to her. The crowd lost interest and went back to socializing. “Who stuck a burr under your saddle?” Trini asked curtly. “This show is called Quince Dreams, not Quince Malcriada. We do all this for you and then we get yelled at like children.”

  Fabi was not going to let her grandmother bulldoze her into feeling guilty about something she didn’t even do. Not now, when what she really needed were answers.

  “Fine. I will not act like a brat. But you guys need to tell me what’s really going on here. Why did Grace Cooper just give me a stack of release forms for when I get sick? And why does she keep saying that I’m a brave girl? What exactly did you guys say in that application?”

  Grandma Trini and Alexis shared a glance. Then they both blushed as if caught in a lie. The hairs on Fabi’s arms shot up. Was this all a lie?

  “I want to see the letter you guys wrote,” she said.

  Alexis sighed. “Oh, what does it matter what we said? The important thing is that it’s happening. In just two weeks you are going to have the biggest, coolest quinceañera in the Valley. People will be talking about it for years!”

  Now Fabi knew she had reason to be really worried. “The letter!” she demanded, holding out her hand.

  Alexis turned to Grandma Trini, who frowned as she reached into her bosom and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “It’s only the rough draft,” she said. “I kept it as a memento.”

  Fabi reached for it. But her grandmother wouldn�
�t let it go. They tugged back and forth for a minute until Grandma Trini finally surrendered. “Fine. But we only did it because we love you. And we wanted you to have the quinceañera you deserve.”

  Fabi didn’t want to hear the excuses. She wanted the facts. What exactly had her family gotten her into? Her hands started to shake as she unfolded the letter that was stained with Jean Naté perfume. Fabi bit her lower lip as she read. She noticed her sister’s small handwriting.

  Dear Quince Dreams,

  My name is Fabiola Garza. I am fifteen years old and my dream is to have a quinceañera.

  Okay, she thought. This doesn’t sound too bad. She continued to read.

  For my whole life, I’ve taken care of others. I care for my little sister and brother like a mother, because my parents work real hard and don’t have time. I care for my ailing grandmothers, who’re very sick and can’t take care of themselves. I take care of my cousin, who is a gang member and trying to get out of the thug life.

  Okay, so that’s stretching the truth a bit. But not horrible …

  But I have a secret that my family doesn’t know about. A secret that really scares me because I know that it will bring them much pain and difficulty. I am dying.

  “Dying?!”

  Alexis and Grandma Trini squirmed under Fabi’s rage.

  “We had to make it good!” Alexis cried.

  I have a rare disease that the doctors don’t know how to cure and they’ve only given me a month to live.

  Fabi dropped the letter. She couldn’t read any more. It disgusted her. How could they? How could they lie like that? But then the fog in her head cleared. The pieces fit into place. Grace’s comment, the legal documents — it all made sense now. Grace thought that she was dying, and she wanted to give Fabi her last dying wish.

  Her stomach knotted up and she balled her hands into tight fists. It was all a lie.

  “Guys!” she cried, beside herself. “How could you do this? This is … this is … I don’t know what this is, but it’s wrong — so wrong. I can’t believe you lied. Lied to Quince Dreams! When they find out …”

  “How are they going to find out?” Alexis said. Her voice was light and indifferent. “We told them it was a secret. They won’t mention anything to Mom and Dad, I know it.”

  “Mija.” Grandma Trini grabbed Fabi’s hand. “You saw the show. They want drama. That’s how TV works. We just gave them what they wanted. They get their show. We get our quinceañera. Everyone is happy.”

  “But what happens when I don’t die?” Fabi demanded. “Huh? Tell me that! What happens when they find out that it was all a lie?” She looked at her sister’s and grandmother’s blank faces. Fabi couldn’t do this. She stood up. The letter stared up at her from the table. She felt sick just looking at it. Fabi crumbled the letter in her hands and stormed out of the restaurant.

  Fabi waited until she’d walked down two blocks to let out a scream. She didn’t care what people in the street thought. Right now, she was so upset at her sister and Grandma Trini that she wanted to rip out someone’s hair. Her whole family had a knack for stirring up trouble. Fabi had to get away.

  She turned onto one of the residential roads. Small houses with colorful wildflowers lined the block; bright sunflowers and tall bluebonnets adorned the metal gates. She breathed in the perfume of all the flowers, and a tear jerked from her eye. This had to be the worst nightmare of her entire life. Fabi watched a squirrel run up the trunk of a Mexican olive tree. She wished she could scurry up after it and hide forever in the trees. Her feet kept moving. How could she go back? How could she face Grace Cooper and everyone at school? What would she tell Daniel?

  Fabi stormed into the park at the end of the street. Kids were playing in the playground. A group of men had gathered in the field to play baseball. Fabi found a bench that overlooked the field and sat down. She couldn’t believe how low her grandmother and sister could go! Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She thought about all the kids on TV commercials with shaved heads who were really dying. It wasn’t something to joke about. Fabi covered her face with her hands. What was she going to do?

  Just then a baseball came toward her. She picked it up. One of the guys who’d been playing came over to retrieve it.

  “Fabi,” he said, surprised.

  She wiped her nose and looked up at Daniel.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  The concern on his face made her crumble. She couldn’t hold back as tears sprang from her eyes. Daniel gently took the ball from her and passed it off to his friends, who continued the game without him. Then Daniel put his arms around her. Fabi was too frazzled by all the events to object and surrendered into the embrace.

  When he released her, they sat down on the bench. Fabi didn’t know what to say. She felt like an idiot, breaking down in front of Daniel like that.

  “Hey,” Daniel finally said, nudging her shoulder. “My mom always says that talking about your problems makes you feel better.”

  Fabi nodded, looking down at the crumpled paper still in her hand. She was just going to tell Daniel about the letter. But she found herself telling him everything. She started at the beginning, with her original plan to go to NYC with Georgia Rae. But when Alexis broke cur-few a few weeks before, their dad had held Fabi responsible and forbade her to go anywhere. Then there was Melodee and the bet. Finally, she revealed the truth about Quince Dreams and how her sister and grandmother lied to get her on the show. When Fabi finished, she actually felt a lot better. He was right. It did feel better to tell someone.

  Daniel stared out at the field, soaking in all the information. He didn’t say a word. His silence made Fabi nervous. Did he think she was a creep? “Wow,” he finally said. “So you lied to get on that show, huh?”

  Fabi nodded. “Do you think I’m an evil person?”

  “You? No way. I don’t think any of this is your fault. It’s just … sometimes people do things that they think are right at the time because … because it’s what they think they want.”

  “I know, I know,” Fabi sighed, the weight of the situation barreling down on her. “I know Alexis and Grandma Trini didn’t mean to hurt me. In their own way, they thought they were helping me. My mom and dad could never afford a fancy quinceañera. The restaurant is just barely making it, and if they didn’t work so hard every day, we could lose everything. This whole situation is just … hard.”

  “Maybe if you explained it to the TV people, they’d understand.”

  “I doubt it.” Fabi shook her head. “You should have seen Grace’s face when she gave me the legal documents to sign. They think I’m dying from some terminal illness. They want a tear-jerking soap opera. They’re not interested in my story. I’m just some girl from a small town, a loser.”

  Daniel reached out for Fabi’s hand and squeezed it. The tender gesture took Fabi’s breath away. His touch was warm and full of support. She’d never met anyone like him before.

  “You’re not a loser,” he said with conviction. “And I don’t ever want to hear you call yourself that. I’m the loser.”

  Fabi was shocked. She released his hand. What was he talking about? Daniel was the coolest guy she’d ever met — and the cutest, too. “What are you talking about?”

  Daniel took a deep breath and continued to stare at the field. He was about to tell her something, but then changed his mind. “It’s nothing. Forget about it.”

  Fabi stared at him. What was he about to say? Her mind started to race. Daniel turned to her and smiled.

  “It’s nothing,” he repeated, trying to assure her. “I think you need to explain things to the show. Hey, maybe they’ll do the show anyway. They’re already here and they’ve spent all that money for the hall and the invitations. That woman still has to do a show, right?”

  “Well, I guess that’s all I can do,” Fabi said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. She took a deep breath. The air was sweet. Fabi smiled at Daniel. No more lies. It was time to tell
the truth and accept the consequences.

  Fabi tried to talk to Grace several times throughout that next week. But Grace was in McAllen a lot, setting up logistics and the celebrity assistants. The fashion designer was very demanding of Fabi’s time. She was a humorless perfectionist, changing Fabi’s dress designs more times than the wind changed directions.

  When the dance instructor called for the first practice session, Fabi welcomed the break. She missed her old life, missed serving her grandpa Frank and listening to his stories about the war, missed the smell of her dad’s cooking and all the gossip that spun from her abuelita Alpha’s lips. But the party was only a week away, and Fabi half hoped that maybe the longer she waited, the more likely Grace would let her have the party — despite the lie.

  They were supposed to meet the dance instructor in the Dos Rios High gymnasium after school. The principal was more than happy to let them use the space for free. Alexis, Grandma Trini, and Fabi arrived early. When Georgia Rae walked through the door, it was like a breath of fresh air. It felt like years since they’d hung out. Fabi had tried to tell Georgia Rae about the lie and her mixed feelings about going along with rehearsals on the phone, but Georgia Rae was too excited to share Fabi’s concern. A chance to be on national TV was an opportunity that only came once in a lifetime, she cheered.

  “I’m here,” Georgia Rae exclaimed, walking into the gymnasium with a brand-new hair-style. She’d blow-dried her hair super straight and added red highlights. “You like?” she asked, striking a pose in her new ’do.

  “Ay, mija,” Grandma Trini admired. “You look so fancy, just like a real pop singer on the TV.”

  Fabi had to agree Georgia Rae looked good. Fabi wondered if maybe it was time for her to get a new look, too.

  They all turned when they heard boisterous laughter coming from the hallway. Fabi held her breath as Santiago and Daniel walked in with an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and a short goatee. The man, holding a fancy boom box, had to be the choreographer, she thought. But who were the three girls trailing behind them? Then she recognized Violet, Noelia, and Mona. What are they doing here? Her body stiffened. Fabi hadn’t invited them to be in her quince; she technically didn’t invite anyone, but now she felt her ears burn. Would they be upset?