The weaker Jairo became, the more he saw me as a threat to his place in the home. Mostly I could switch off from all the hassle he directed at me. But the afternoon Alberto took off in that Dodge, as I worried about my friend and even what I had missed out on, my uncle got right under my skin.
âThe way you run away from your responsibilities, Sonny, itâs an insult to the family name.â That was what he said, almost spitting the words over my plate. I looked up, found him picking his ear. âYouâre so like your father, I guess thatâs no surprise.â
I didnât know what he meant, but I still kicked back my chair and reminded him that he had no right to speak like that here.
âThis was my house first!â I snapped, squaring up to him now. âIt doesnât matter how long youâve been here, youâll always be the uninvited guest!â
For, a second Jairo looked stunned, even when he climbed to his feet. I just stood there and let him rise over me, amazed that I had silenced anyone, if only for a moment. Then I took a punch to the side of the head and ran for the door before he could see how much it had hurt.
Alberto was the only person who never judged me. When some of the kids in the
barrio
once dared to suggest my mother scratched a living by selling her body to businessmen, he straightened them out right away. It didnât matter that he sounded like Mickey Mouse with a bad attitude. It was his presence that persuaded people to leave it alone.
âYou got something to say to my friend,â was all he had to say. âFirst you clear it with me.â
Alberto had issues of his own at home, but nobody poked fun at his family. I felt safe being with him, and wished he was around as I headed out into the heat. I was mad with my uncle, but I couldnât go back inside now. Not until my mother was home to keep the peace between us.
It wasnât the first time Jairo had hit me. My uncle liked to use his fists when words failed him, which they often did when his lungs let him down. I took a whack from him most days, but this was the first time I had earned it by standing my ground. It left me feeling shaken but surprised at myself. Just like when Alberto and I had left Galán with a body in the back room.
I drifted for a long while, wishing my ear would stop stinging. Eventually I wound up watching the game going on in the cage behind the pool hall, and that took my mind off things. The cage was supposed to be for basketball, but the hoops had been stolen long ago. It wasnât that great for soccer, either, what with clumps of weeds in the cracks, but the high fencing made up for that. A lot of guys from the market liked to come out here when they could, which meant a never-ending game took place with players coming and going all the time.
Nobody asked me to join in, of course. I couldâve shown them a trick or two had they given me a chance, but to them I was just a kid: some nobody on the wrong side of the fence, chewing at his thumbnails and kicking up grit. Alberto would know to look for me here, but after an hour I grew tired of waiting. I figured Galán would know where he was, but as I reached his store I found I couldnât bring myself to enter. One glimpse through that door was enough to spook me, and I walked on by with my head down.
I was cross at myself when this happened, and all the more determined to make my mark on the day. Thatâs why I decided to make sure I had some money in my pocket before I looked for my friend again. It wasnât hard to earn a few pesos, no matter how bad things got around here, especially if you had a skill. Like most boys my age, I knew how to strip a motorbike for spare parts. It was just a question of asking around at the market, and making a nuisance of myself until I got the work I wanted. My hands were filthy by the time I tracked down Alberto, but I had some coins in my pocket to show for
Megan Hart, Saranna DeWylde, Lauren Hawkeye