“Okay, we’re ready to go.” She nodded. “Half of everything goes in the blender, except the rum.”
“Wait, you mean we aren’t getting drunk off our asses?” Cora asked, a teasing note in her voice.
“Not that drunk,” Elena clarified. “I’d like to survive the night, so we’re not putting a half gallon of rum in a gallon of coquito. We’d die if we did.”
“Fair enough, even if that’s a little bit of quitter talk.” Cora shrugged and started dumping the various cans of coconut product into the blender. Elena measured out and dumped a tablespoon of vanilla and a half tablespoon of cinnamon into the mixture.
“Isn’t it funny-“ Cora was cut off by the sound of the blender whirring to life and waited for it to finish combining the mixture into what would be coquito. When it was done blending, Elena turned it off.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?” She asked, bustling to get the mixture into the four glasses on the counter.
“I was saying, wasn’t it funny that Adriana thought we were dating?” Cora asked with a smile. Elena’s back was to her, but Cora thought she saw it stiffen ever so slightly, and she began to backpedal. “Not that I wouldn’t date you, I mean - wow that came out really wrong. Hang on.”
Taking a deep breath, Cora tried again.
“I guess I didn’t expect your family to be so cool about it?” Cora said, though Elena still wasn’t looking at her. “My cousins are mostly the “we’ll ignore it and pretend we’re okay till we have to deal with it” type of Methodists. I figured yours would be the same.”
Elena turned around, and her face was tighter than it had been but not as bad as Cora feared it would be.
“Grab two cups and stick them in the fridge,” she commanded, and Cora obeyed. “My family’s mostly okay with it. They’re not as religious as my abuela was. My cousins are more accepting of me being a lesbian than my tía’s, mostly - I think it’s a generational thing.”
“Oh, and I guess we did walk out of your bedroom holding hands. I suppose it isn’t the weirdest assumption to make.”
“Yeah…” Elena said as she watched Cora’s face from the corner of her eye. “I also kind of told them about you.”
“Oh? What did you tell them about me?” Cora raised an eyebrow. “Good things I hope?”
“I’ll tell you after we’ve had a few drinks,” Elena said with a dramatic wink. “Help me clean up, wouldja?”
“You’re not mad, right?” Cora said worriedly, but still grabbing a can to toss into the garbage. “I didn’t upset you? You seemed a little upset.”
“Nah,” Elena smiled, and her posture was as relaxed as it had been all night. “We’re all good.”
Cora smiled back. The two girls cleaned the kitchen together in companionable silence, each feeling that everything was just right, waiting for the coquito to be cold enough to drink.
They stood together until, seemingly out of nowhere, Elena gasped and dove toward the freezer. Cora jumped a little where she stood leaning against the counter.
“You okay, El?” she asked worriedly.
“I just remembered you bought drumsticks!” Elena exclaimed happily. “Yessss! I’m so happy.”
Cora watched, her shock melting into a soft smile as Elena did a happy dance.
“I didn’t know you liked these so much,” Cora said with a smile. Elena handed her one of the packages and began to unwrap her own with relish.
“Mamá would always let us have these as a treat after church on Sundays, and then on really bad days, to cheer us up,” Elena explained, tossing the plastic wrapper in the trash. “They are my very favorite comfort food in the world.”
Cora unwrapped her own as well. Elena took a big bite of the nut- and chocolate-dipped vanilla ice cream cone and moaned.
“This is exactly what I needed. God, that makes almost everything better. What it can’t fix, I know the coquito can! It should be cool enough to drink now. Grab a glass and a spoon and stir it up!”
She followed her own instructions with delight and wandered over to her couch, which was more or less where it had been before the Puerto Rican twin monstrosities had shown up. Both women settled into opposite ends of the couch, their feet almost touching at the couch’s seams.
Elena took a long sip and sighed.
“Sweet merciful silence, how I love thee,” she said reverently. Cora smiled at the darker skinned woman over her own drink. “I love the quiet. I get so little of it, between classes and studying.”
“And me,” Cora pointed out. “I’ve always got music playing.”
Elena waved her hand and shook her head.
“I’d put up with more than just music playing to spend time with you. You’re worth it to me.” Becoming abruptly less serious, she squinted across the couch and added, “For now.”
“For now, huh?” Cora laughed. “What, does my friendship expire after Christmas?”
“Don’t be silly!” Elena lightly nudged her friend with her foot, her face looking slightly tense. “You aren’t getting rid of me yet. I was actually about to invite you to the family Christmas party?”
Elena’s voice lilted up at the end, making it a question.
“Of course I’ll come to your Christmas party, you nerd.” Cora laughed and nudged her friend back. Elena’s mouth twisted into a small smile, and her face relaxed around it. “How else would I find out what you told your family about me?”
“I should have known not to tell you that.” Elena rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna be thinking about that for weeks, aren’t you?”
“Unless you tell me what you told them!” Cora batted her eyelashes at Elena with a laugh that wrinkled her nose.
“I swear it was all nice stuff,” she said once Cora’s giggles had subsided. “I told them about your plans to write a book, and how you’re working your way through school by freelancing. I may have also told them you’re adorable and distractible as fuck.”
Cora froze. A moment later, she asked in a soft voice “Did you tell them I was ADHD?”
Her voice may have been soft, but her eyes were hard, and somehow pleading. “I mean, it’s not a bad thing, but I don’t usually tell people that until they’ve known me a while?”
Elena cocked her head and took a slurp of her coquito, swallowing before she answered.
“You told me the first day we studied in the library that you were ADHD, Cora. I didn’t think it would be a problem since I told them a lot of other things about you.” She moved her legs off the couch and sat up straight, her body still turned towards Cora.
“Sorry.” Cora rubbed the bridge of her nose, clearly calming herself down. “I’m not mad. It’s okay. People just have a bad reaction a lot when I tell them I’m ADHD. I usually hide it unless I absolutely have to say something, and just… I don’t know, let them think I’m not listening to them ‘cause they’re boring.”
“I’m sorry, Cora. I should have asked you before I said anything to them,” Elena’s face wrinkled apologetically, and she spoke softly. “I didn’t want them to meet you and be surprised and be accidental douchebags, you know. My family’s pretty cool about most things, but learning disabilities are things they can be weird about when they don’t know about it.“
Elena rolled her glass of coquito, nearly empty now, between her hands, not looking at Cora. She hated that she’d made her upset, and was mad at herself for it.
“I like you, Cora.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I really like you. I want them to like you almost as much as I do. I’m sorry I didn’t ask first.”
Cora set her glass on the end table next to her and maneuvered her body so that she was sitting parallel to Elena, who still wasn’t meeting her eyes. She scooted closer and wrapped an arm around Elena’s warm, broad shoulders.
“Hey,” Cora whispered, using her free hand to move Elena’s hair away from her face. “It’s okay. I’m not mad. I do wish you’d asked first, but you didn’t, and we’ll deal with it. They’d have found out e
ventually if this goes where I think it’s going. If it helps, I really like you, too, Elena.”
Hearing Cora say that she really liked her warmed Elena through, despite the chill of the coquito in her hand.
Elena finally looked sideways at Cora and smiled a tight-lipped smile.
“That does help,” Elena said. “I’m still sorry, though.”
“That’s why it’s okay.” Cora smiled back. “Now come hug me, you mess.”
And so she did.
Chapter 5
On the afternoon of the party, Elena had planned to meet Cora at the three bedroom apartment she shared with her roommates. Elena had rid herself of her own temporary roommates again, having pawned them off on her mother so they could help prepare for the party.
Cora’s roommates, Jacqueline and Ebony, were rarely home - they preferred to spend their time at their boyfriends’ houses when they weren’t cramming like the rest of the college students. That was not the case this afternoon, though.
Elena could hear them talking before she knocked on the door. Rapping three times, they quieted and Ebony answered the door.
“Oh hey, girl! How’s it goin’?” she asked with a smile, her teeth bright against her olive-toned brown skin.
“Hey! Nice to see you, Ebony!” Elena smiled back. “It’s going pretty well - I’m here to help Cora get ready for the family Christmas party! How’ve you been?”
“I’ve been good! Ready for this stressful as hell semester to be over, that’s for sure.” Ebony sighed.
“Amen to that,” Elena exclaimed. “I’m tired of doing all this mess.”
“I feel you,” Ebony agreed. “Though, you’re the one who picked law school. You had to expect at least a little bit of this.”
“So says the med student!” Cora poked her head out of her bedroom door and piped in with a laugh. “Both of y’all are overachievers.”
Elena and Ebony looked at each other and nodded.
“Worth it,” Ebony shrugged and began to walk back to where Jacqueline sat watching tv in the living room, her natural cloud of hair bouncing with every step. Elena and Jacqueline had never really gotten to know each other. Jacqueline, though another Latina, didn’t seem at all inclined to change that, so Elena shrugged it off.
“C’mon, Elena.” Cora gestured to her. “I have no idea what to wear to a Puerto Rican Christmas party.”
“I think I can help with that,” Elena said with a mischievous smile. “It’s weirdly formal.”
Elena and Cora arrived at Elena’s mother’s house several hours later, wearing beautiful dresses of different styles.
Cora’s was an emerald green satin A-line dress that suited her pale coloring. The cut of the dress flattered her willowy figure. A pale golden mesh and a pair of matching sequined flats glittered, bookending the outfit. Elena wore a burgundy wrap gown that accentuated her many curves and complimented her warm skin tone.
“I look okay, right?” Cora asked nervously, patting the sides of her hair. She had puffed her blonde curls up a little bit and put mousse in them to keep them where she wanted them.
Cora noticed that Elena hadn’t styled her dark, curly hair into an updo for once - she’d chosen to lean into her natural waves, and had used a decorative comb to sweep all of her hair to one side.
“Don’t be silly, Cor,” Elena laughed. “You look fantastic. They’re all gonna love you.”
“Except your cousins,” Cora muttered, her cheeks warming at the nickname. “They probably told everyone how bitchy I am.”
“Eh.” Elena waved off the concern. “They know I like you, and they like me better than Adriana, at least. Camila is sweet when she can get out from under Adri’s shadow. You’ll see.”
“If you say so.”
She could see that Cora was still chewing on the inside of her lip.
“I do say so,” Elena said decisively and held out her hand. Cora took it with a grateful smile, and they walked up the driveway together towards Elena’s mother’s house.
Before they reached the door, it swung open, pouring light, sound, and warmth into the cold, dark evening.
“Welcome!” A tall, stocky man exclaimed from the doorway. “Elena! It is so good to see you, mi vida!”
After stepping onto the porch, Elena dropped Cora’s hand to hug the man.
“Papi, it’s good to see you too! They have you on door duty this year?”
“Ay, it was my turn, sadly.” He shrugged, but still smiled a wide smile that reminded Cora of Elena’s. “But it means I get to see you first, and meet your lovely friend!”
“Hi,” Cora ventured nervously, sticking her hand out for a handshake. “I’m Cora.”
Elena’s father grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a tight hug. His large arms wrapped around her waist.
“Merry Christmas, Cora!” He exclaimed, using his arms to swing her through the door to the party that awaited.
The large home Cora found herself in was awash with Christmas decorations in a way that was almost overwhelming. From their first step inside the door, Cora and Elena could see two full-sized Christmas trees, and garlands with lights and ornaments hung throughout the room. Cora was stunned at the beauty of the decorations.
As she took a few more steps into the room, she noticed there was a village and a running train underneath the Christmas tree that could be seen by the window. She could feel her jaw drop. It was all so beautiful.
“This is your Christmas party every year?” Cora whispered in astonishment as Elena stepped up beside her. “I wish I could paint this, but no one would believe it.”
Elena was grinning. Cora could see her tongue where it was sitting between her teeth. It was adorable.
“Welcome to the Mendez version of Christmas, Cora,” Elena announced. “Come meet the family!”
As if Elena had summoned her family, Cora was immediately surrounded, with each of them introducing themselves in a blur. She recognized a few of the men from the pictures in Elena’s apartment, and she spotted the twins standing off to the side of the room texting.
“Don’t worry — there’s no test later,” Elena’s eldest brother Anton joked. At least she thought it was a joke. Cora felt relieved anyway. There were just way too many people for her to remember all of their names, especially with the sensory overload that this room was even without them in it. It was like being in a human, Christmas-scented whirlwind.
One of the children had become glued to Elena within a half-hour of their arrival. Her oldest niece, Sofía, was attached to her hip. Literally. The sight of the girl sitting on Elena’s hip, her head on her shoulder, made Cora’s heart ache in a way she couldn’t quite explain.
Sofía informed Cora that she was four years old — and Elena’s favorite. The beaming smile on Elena’s face said that this wasn’t untrue. Elena was happy here, surrounded by her family.
“Sofía, can you go hang out with your Papa?” Elena asked sweetly while setting the girl down. “Cora hasn’t met your Grandmamá yet, and she’ll get very offended if we don’t go say hey soon.”
“Okay, but as soon as Grandmamá is done, come find me, okay?” Sofía didn’t wait for an answer, scampering off towards the rest of the house. Elena turned her thousand watt smile to Cora.
“You ready?”
Cora ran her fingers along the seam of her dress, adjusting her shrug so it looked just right. She was more than a little intimidated by the woman she’d met while herding teenagers out of Elena’s apartment.
“Okay.” She nodded. “I think I’m ready to meet your mother for real.”
Taking a deep breath, she held out her hand to Elena, who was completely relaxed despite the crowds and the noise. Elena took it and deftly led her to the kitchen.
Elena’s mother stood in the middle of the kitchen wielding a spatula like a scepter. The fat, elegant woman was wearing a “What’s Cooking, Good Looking?” apron over a sapphire blue gown. The entire room revolved around her.
Then she turned
around and locked eyes with Cora. It felt to Cora like everyone in the room slammed to a halt to stare at her as well, but really they’d just glanced her way and gone back to whatever they were doing.
María’s skin was darker and more wrinkled than her daughter’s, but her eyes were the same honeyed brown. They were as full of warmth and care as Elena’s as well.
“You must be Cora! I’m María, but you may also call me Mama,” she proclaimed in a thicker Puerto Rican accent than Elena’s, but a warmer voice than the last time they’d met. “Welcome to our home!”
She untied the apron from around her and hung it on the nearest cabinet doorknob. The next thing Cora knew, she was wrapped up in a hug that smelled like all of Christmas in one human, with a hint of floral perfume.
“Thank you for all you do for my girl,” she whispered in Cora’s ear. “She needed a friend like you.”
“I needed a friend like her, too,” Cora whispered back with eyes that were suddenly threatening to spill tears. “She is truly a gift.”
María pulled her head back and released Cora from her embrace after taking a long look at the pale girl’s face. She then turned the full force of her attention on her daughter.
“Have you eaten yet, my love?” she demanded, rather than asked. “I worry about you all alone in that apartment with no one to make you eat properly.”
“Mama, I live half an hour away from you. I’m hardly all alone.” Elena rolled her eyes, but her mouth showed the love with a wide smile. “But I will definitely eat.”
María raised a hand to say something else, but Elena cut her off with raised eyebrows.
“And I will take leftovers home. But right now, the real dinner isn’t even on the table.” María looked slightly embarrassed as if ashamed that she was so predictable. “I know the rules of the kitchen — no kids in the kitchen till dinner’s done. We’re gonna go socialize, okay?”
The Learning Curves Omnibus Page 5