Page 32 of Sugar Coated Secrets

He drops his hands. “What are you going to do? Go to Mick’s bar and drown your sorrows in some pussy?”

“No, asshole. I’m going to keep asking until she gives me a chance.”

I catch a glimpse of something in his eyes. Something that almost seems like…fear? What does he have to be scared of?

He looks away, but I catch the same look before he slides into his car and fires it up.

After he drives off, I sit in mine, idling. The race is forgotten. Something happened after I left. Something I missed.

I should’ve never let her leave my car without telling her. I could have told her how I felt and what my plans were. She wouldn’t have left because of her grandmother, but we could have had something. I could have had something to live for,waiting at the finish line. If I could go back and change that moment, I would.

I called the number she gave me that day, but it was disconnected, or maybe she changed it. Either way, I wasn’t supposed to call. That was the point of me leaving.

I press the call button on the steering wheel. “Call Derek,” I say to the Bluetooth.

The phone rings for a few seconds. “What’s up? Everything good with the delivery?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not calling about that. I need a favor.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you still have that contact at Tiffany and Co?” I ask.

“Yeah?”

“I need you to get me something and deliver it to this address.”

“You’re not going soft on me, are you?”

“I sent you the picture of what I need.”

“Fine, when do you need it by?”

“As soon as possible.”

11

DULCE

“Do you think it’s too much, Grandma?”

She looks up from the trashy romance novel she’s reading and gives me a once-over with a critical eye. I’m nervous. I’ve never been on a date before, but she doesn’t know that. I’m wearing a yellow bohemian summer dress that stops mid-thigh. It was hers when she was in high school. I bought the espadrille platform wedges with a raffia braid wrapped ankle ties on clearance at Mrs. Wilk’s boutique shop at the end of the strip mall.

“You look gorgeous,” she says. “Mary, come in here.”

“I’m coming,” Mary calls out from the kitchen.

Grandma coughs, and my heart breaks from the guilt of leaving her to go out. She takes a deep breath, catching her breath. Mary walks in, adjusting the oxygen and checking her O2 level. When she is done, my grandmother continues, “Take a look at Dulce.”

“Mary comes into the room from the kitchen. Her eyes light up when she looks at me. “Oh my. You’ll give that young man a heart attack when he looks at you.”

“Are you sure I look okay?” I ask worriedly.

I’ve seen the other women my age around town. They dress differently. More chic and some more provocative. They get their hair done at the salon. I wish I could apply more makeup, but I’m on a budget. The best I could do is a tweezer for my brows and lip gloss from the health and beauty aisle at the pharmacy while waiting for Grandma’s medication.

“You look beautiful, Dulce.” Mary smiles warmly. “Turn around in a circle so I can get a good look at you.” I turn around like a little girl in a princess costume like I used to do for my mom when I was little. My long dark brown hair whips around my shoulders.

“Did you wear it?” Mary says naughtily with a knowing smile.

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