Say When by Tara West Read Free Book Online Page B

choose a response that will add a bit of color to her cheeks.
    “The day after my birthday?” I bat my lashes, feigning stupidity.
    She plants both fists on her hips while rolling her eyes. “Don’t be so selfish.” Her tone drips with guilt, a technique that is second nature to her. “We’re going your father’s grave. “
    I push off the door and fold my arms across my chest. This can’t be happening. The man plagued me in life. Is it too much to ask that I not have to put up with his bullshit now that he’s dead?
    “Mom, you know I hate cemeteries,” I say, regretting the whine that slips into my voice. Whining never works on my mom. If anything, it makes her more determined to get her way.
    “I don’t care. You’re going.” Her eyes bulge but the rest of the tight skin on her face barely moves, making her look more frightened than angry. “All of the sacrifices he made for you, the least you could do is show him this little bit of respect now that he’s dead.” Her lips twist into a scowl, and I wince because I know what’s coming next. “Considering how you treated him when he was alive,” she adds.
    Brava, Mother . Nothing like a heaping spoonful of cream and a few cherries to go on top of that guilt-trip sundae.
    “Fine.” I brush past her and march upstairs to my room.
    “Take a shower,” she calls. “You smell like booze.”
    I imagine her words are a verbal knife, and she’s having a fun time twisting the blade into my back as I walk away.

    * * *

    “Andrés, what are you doing here on your day off?”
    Andrés sets his toolbox down and smiles at his auntie as she wraps him in a tight hug. He still can’t get over how much she’s changed during the four years he’d spent overseas. After a lifetime raising four boys, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of everyone but herself, she’s finally put some of the family money to good use and hired a housekeeper and a personal trainer. She’s had a bit of surgery, too, though Andrés pretends not to notice. She’s had the lines around her eyes minimized and the loose skin beneath her chin tucked up a bit. Not so much she looks like a piece of warped plastic, like some of the other wealthy older women he’s seen.
    Still, whenever she smiles up at him and cups his chin in her hand, he’s reminded she is the same sweet auntie, or Tia, as he likes to call her. This woman has been more than just an aunt to Andrés. She’s been his mother, too, having raised him after his own mother died of a drug overdose when he was only six. Though he’s never known his father, Tio has been more than a father to him. Andrés couldn’t have asked for a better family and a better childhood, which is why he still feels guilt over his rebellious teenage stage. This is why he has to do whatever it takes to make it up to his family , considering all the sacrifices they’ve made for him.
    Andrés kisses his auntie on the cheek and then picks up his toolbox. “Tio said your shower isn’t working.”
    She wags a finger and clucks her tongue. “You worked twelve-hour shifts all week. You must take a break.”
    Andrés represses a groan. Ever since he’s gotten home, his family has been coddling him, thinking if they push him too hard, he’ll need to go back to that military shrink. What they don’t understand is when he stays busy, he doesn’t have time to dwell on the past.
    He shrugs, trying his best to plaster on an impassive expression. “I don’t mind. Besides, I’ve got nothing else to do.” For some strange reason, an image of Christina’s pretty green eyes flashes through his mind. He would have had something to do if she’d stayed. Damn. He has the feeling he’ll be thinking about her all day. He struggles to put memories of her out of his mind. He’ll probably never see her again, anyway, so no use dwelling on the past. She’s just another one of life’s casualties.
    “Come on,” his aunt says. “Tio was supposed to fix it weeks