Page 67 of Love me, Maddie Mendoza

We moved in our sleep, and unconscious Zeek was a bold bastard. When I removed my hands from her, my fingers came dangerously close to a place I had no business touching. Tortured, I looked down at her sleeping form. Her slightly opened mouth, her chest moving at a steady pace.

The voices coming from downstairs grew louder. It could only mean the family was here. They weren’t above hiring a small bus just to be sure they’d arrive all at the same time. I moved Maddie’s leg to the side, trying to get up without disturbing her, and she moaned in her sleep.

God help me. Maybe she was having a bad dream or waking up because of the incessant noise downstairs. Whatever the reason, her little moan went straight to my groin.

I was a pig. Yep, I knew it.

She moved on me, her tits pressing on my chest, and I thanked myself for at least keeping the jeans. Made me sleep like shit, sure, but I was sporting a blunt morning wood and it was difficult enough to hide from her as it was.

“What the hell?” She sounded confused. Maddie woke up, moving beside me, oblivious of my need to put distance between us.

I said nothing and looked to the ceiling, thinking of math. And counting sheep. Or counting sheep was only to fall asleep? What I needed was a cold shower.

People downstairs broke into a loud laugh. Maddie jumped to sit up, raking a hand through her hair. Her eyes widened. “What the hell?”

Her eyes traced the bedroom like she was going to find the responsible for the noise right there with us. I placed a hand on her arm. “Relax.”

Maddie turned to me in confusion, still barely awake. “Is the whole damn family there?”

When I didn’t reply straight away, she leaped out of bed. Her movements were graceful as she was scared to alert them to our presence. I chuckled. Maddie cracked the door open and all our questions were answered. It was impossible to miss. The many voices jabbering in Spanish left no room for doubt. With a panicked groan, Maddie closed the door again in a soft thud.

“They want to be with her before the surgery.” I tried.

“I know, but…” She huffed. “All of them? At once? I love my family but they’re a lot.”

I nodded. She sat on the bed again. “And it’s worse. Abuelita doesn’t know. Mom doesn’t want to worry her.”

So the relatives were unleashed without supervision. Xiomara had three sisters. All three loving and caring as much as they were loud and overbearing.

Maddie rubbed her forehead. “You know they can’t be in the hospital. They will yell and bring the roseries and…”

I pushed my arm under my head. “Oh yeah, I remember when Dolores fractured her little toe.”

To a kid, it was fun to see a bunch of adults making a show of themselves in a hospital because of a little toe. As we grew up, we learned the fearless protectiveness of Maddie’s family came at a price. Having to go through it all and babysit her aunties was the last thing Maddie wanted to do.

I shook my head. “I will get mom on board and she’ll control everyone. It’s fine, I promise.”

If Maddie was skeptical of my mother’s power over her family, she didn’t show it. Instead, she bobbed her head, probably satisfied with the prospect of tipping the balance to the sane side of the scales.

They were just three small Mexican women. What the hell could they do?

It turned out; plenty.

The minions of chaos were three short women fanning over their middle sister. Silvia, the oldest, known for the best food you’ll ever have. Carmen, the youngest, and also the one that got shit done in their branch of the family. And finally, Elena, who was prone to criticize without offering a solution.

They cried, cooked and rearranged the house. They were doing what they thought was the best; I kept reminding myself every five minutes. People reacted all sorts of ways when something scary happened. I wasn’t here to judge. Who knew what kind of hell my dad’s siblings would raise if they were in their shoes?

If the delicious food wasn’t enough to pay for all the headache, distracting Maddie was also a plus. She had no time to Google the mortality rate of colectomy surgery when we needed to spend ten minutes just to find where the cutlery was. Even the living room was completely flipped.

“Where’s your dad?” I asked, watching everywhere for André.

Maddie raised her hand and let it fall to her thigh in a slap. “Dang it!” She lost the man. I cracked a smile. André saved himself. We should all follow his lead.

Silvia’s mole filled the air with fragrance. The cooking hadn’t stopped since they arrived in the morning. I walked to Maddie. She was still looking around like her dad was hiding somewhere ready to shout “surprise”!

I twirled her around to face me. “Breathe, Mad Max, breathe.”

She wouldn’t do it. I took her face into my palms. “Come on, breathe.” I ordered again. Distraction was welcomed, but I didn’t want Maddie to hyperventilate.

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