Page 32 of The Infinite Light of Dust

“What?” Gloria looked down at me as she poured a hefty amount of liquor into a cup with ice and what I assumed was Gatorade. “Why are you smiling at me like that?” She petted my head, and my smile grew.

“I really like being around you,” I admitted. A bubble of panic rose through my buzzed brain as I realized how weird that probably sounded. I tried to cover it up with more words, hoping she wouldn’t regret befriending me. “Sorry—that was so weird. I meant like. I—” Gloria’s hand gently covered my mouth, ending my fumbling words.

“I really like being around you, too, Karina,” she said, a warm, genuine smile spreading across her beautiful face.

Chapter Seventeen

Karina

Eventually, we rejoined the boys in the living room. Kael was more relaxed, pulling me onto his lap on the couch. I sank into the warmth of his body; the couch felt like a cloud.

“You guys are coming over for Halloween this year, right?” Mendoza asked Kael and me.

He had finally switched from tequila to water and Gatorade mixed. Gloria explained that Gatorade as a chaser was their secret to never having a hangover.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Kael told him in a way that only Kael could without sounding rude.

“Come on! It’ll be a good time. No drama,” Mendoza promised.

I turned my head slightly to look at Kael’s face against my neck.

“We can’t guarantee that,” Gloria corrected, moving to sit on her husband’s lap. “But Phillips is not invited, so we can promise no one will get shot,” she said, and smiled as Kael gave her a harsh look. I knew he’d done it for my sake only. This was their usual.

“I want to come,” I volunteered. Of course, I’d love if Kael came, but the invite sounded open to both of us, not only him.

He squeezed his arms around my waist a little more tightly. I leaned into him. “Of course you do,” he said.

“Sure do. Is it a costume thing? Or a regular party?” I asked, realizing I had never been to a Halloween party in my life.

My mom loved Halloween and, until she left, I had spent it with her at home passing out candy to kids as she scared them. I vaguely remembered trick-or-treating a few times, but I’d had more fun with her, so while Austin ran the streets with his friends, filling his pillowcase full of candy, I spent time with my mother on her favorite day.

“Costumes are optional but encouraged,” Gloria replied.

What on earth would I dress up as? I hadn’t worn a costume in years. Most women my age dressed as a sexy version of something, a sexy nurse, a sexy witch—even sexy bumblebees were a thing.

“What are you going to dress up as?” I asked them.

“We’re going as the Addams family. All of us,” she said as the front door opened and noisy children burst through. They climbed onto the couch and life filled the room. Laughter and random noises ensued as they climbed all over us like ants on a tree. “And our adult time is up.” Gloria smiled, kissing her husband on the cheek, and embraced her children.

I wasn’t sure what to do, so I copied Kael and awkwardly tried to tickle and poke them back. It felt weird at first, but once Julien started laughing and climbed onto my lap, the thought process behind how to play with a child left my brain and some instinct kicked in.

“I want candy now!” Vi told her parents.

“Not yet. You have to save it for Halloween.”

“What are you going to be for Halloween?” Julien, the youngest one, asked me.

I don’t know where the answer came from, but I responded, “A demon?”

“A demon?” Kael laughed, eyeing me. “Really?”

I nodded. “Yep. I love demons.” I squared my shoulders.

“You love demons?” Kael was grinning from ear to ear, noticing how not good at this whole family thing I was.

I nodded again, more confidently this time. “Always have.”

“Cooool. I wish I could be a demon, but my mom is making us dress up as a family,” Manny complained.

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