Page 34 of Ms. V's Hot Girl Summer

“So, did you sleep okay?” I asked her, eager to erase the awkwardness settling between us. It was a long drive; we didn’t need to be uncomfortable for all these hours.

“I didn’t, but it’s hard for me to settle in a new bed at first.” She fidgeted with her purse strap while talking. Right now, she was full of shit. But I wasn’t going to call her out on that. She could have slept really well after I put her to bed after a few sessions, which only our bodies were required to attend.

“Good, good.” Shit, this was going to be awkward, wasn’t it? Just as I got on the highway toward Jacksonville, my phone rang in my pocket. I connected the call to Bluetooth, clutching the steering wheel tight, bracing for whatever was coming.

“Yo, Orlando, you good? Listen, I don’t know, man. I’m trying, but Mom’s tripping. You said she has to take those pills at night, but she didn’t want to take them last night. Today she acting a little funny. Should I give them to her now, or wait? I don’t remember what you said,” Camilo said, not stopping to hear if I was good or not. Typical.

“I’m alright, man. Listen, I left you all the notes in your notes app. What happened?”

“Shit, my bad, I erased that; I figured I got this. She’s my mom too, you know; I try to pay attention. But yeah, I don’t have it.”

Thank God for the clear road. Trinidad’s stare nudged me, but I stayed put, holding it all in. The urge to punch the steering wheel was intense, but it subsided as I counted my way from thirty to one.

“Man, you there? I need to know what to do?”

“You can’t give her the meds now, not those. Make sure she takes the morning dose, and she’ll be okay. She needs to go outside today, no fussing. The sun helps her to stay regulated. A walk won’t hurt. And if she’s being stubborn, make her mashed potatoes and fried chicken tonight and hide the meds in the potatoes… . It works like a charm. Alright, I gotta go; I’m taking Ms. V to the airport,” I said. No point in getting mad at him, for what? Camilo would just brush my anger off, which wouldn’t solve anything.

“Ohhh fine ass Ms.—”

Sometimes, hanging up a call was all you could do.

The quiet in the car grew intense until I started my road trip playlist. The nudging hadn’t stopped, but keeping my eyes on the road was very, very important. Super important.

“I don’t know what to say first…” Trinidad finally broke the silence. “I mean. First of all, how old is your brother?”

“Camilo is twenty, about to be twenty-one,” I explained.

“Huh…”

Silence again. But now, the curiosity wouldn’t let me focus on the road the way I was before.

“Huh?” I stole a glance at Trinidad, and she was sitting facing me completely, her expression contemplative.

“It is not my business at all, but at twenty, what were you doing for your siblings and mother?”

The road widened in front of me. The sun shined a little brighter, and the music suddenly sounded clearer. Then it all dulled again, and I stole another look at Trinidad.

“When I was twenty, I finally convinced Mom to be more diligent about her medications. I was in college and making sure my brothers were good. Apparently, I was also creating life without even knowing it.” I chuckled.

“Mm-hmm. I think you know what I mean but you don’t want to face it yet, and I respect that. I only wanted to point it out.”

These were all thoughts I had before. My brothers could be more responsible; I had to be—I had no choice, but why rob them of theirs? They were allowed to be teenagers and young adults now; it was the right thing to do. If I had to carry the burden for them to have regular lives, then…that was the hand I was dealt. Miles Morales didn’t complain when the mantle of responsibility fell on him. Why would I complain now?

“Nah, it’s okay; I can thug it out.”

You know when Latine moms disagree on something but are trying to stay quiet? That loud disapproval hovering all over, the passive-aggressiveness choking everyone out? Yeah, Trinidad was damn good at that.

“If you say so…” Trinidad was about to say more, but her phone rang. She immediately started miming to it and answered as she kept mouthing a name. It took me a second, but I quickly picked up it was Delilah.

“Hello! How you doing?” Trinidad said, animated.

“Yes! I am here with him,” she answered after a brief pause. “Can I put you on speaker? Great!”

“So first, the good news, Orlando, we found a bakery we think your girl used to work at. We are not certain, but you can go and visit it today! It’s on the old part of Ofele. It’s called The House of Sweets. They should probably be able to help you some!”

Damn, that had been quick and effective. My heart tripped at the news; I was one step closer to meeting my daughter.

“…news is that there are no flights today that would cost you less than $3,000 and two stops to get to NY. I even looked for Newark. I guess summer travel is back. Also… I kept looking just in case; Saturday has very similar pricing. It drops on Sunday.”

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