Page 29 of Finding Basil
“Yeah, you remembered!”
Herb couldn’t believe she was fifteen. “She’s lovely. I’d be honored to come.”
“Then you come as my date,” Basil said, “which I was going to ask you anyway, before my big-mouth brother did.”
“Sorry,hermana. Ask the guy! The same day? You suck at this.”
The others laughed as they waved and told Herb goodbye. Basil said in a low voice, “I didn’t know if you’d want to come.”
“I like your family. They’re amazing people. What do I wear?”
“A suit, but one you can dance in. A lot of dancing, and Carla begged her dad for a band. It’s costing him a fortune, but he did it. She’s his little girl.”
“Okay, a suit I can dance in, and a gift!”
“I’ll bring you a card, and you can put a little money in it. That’s the best for these things, unless you get something from the registry, but I think everything she added has been taken.”
“Wow, okay, well, good. I can do money.”
“Not too much,” Basil warned. “She’s a kid. She doesn’t need you to go overboard to impress her.”
Herb laughed and said, “Was it that obvious that that was what I was thinking?”
“Yeah. You don’t hide things well.”
Herb took his time going through his closet. He had suits, an entire rack of them. He was suddenly glad he hadn’t burned them like he’d planned once he moved.
Something that wasn’t overly expensive, so he didn’t look like he was looking down on anyone, but something that still showed off what had been called in the past, the perfect peach ass he had.
The tan with the lavender shirt that best fit it. Then the tie, a silk dark purple and the pocket square to match. He didn’t tell many people, but that was his favorite color, the color that somehow instilled confidence in him. When he saw purple, he smiled. It was automatic.
He found his best tan loafers, that were thankfully comfortable, and he could dance easily in them. After checking himself in the mirror half a dozen times, playing with his sandy hair until it looked styled but casual too, he was ready and waited in the living room for Basil.
When Basil arrived, he was wearing a dark suit, navy blue, and his white shirt was gleaming white. He was smiling and greeted Herb with a little kiss.
“Hey, you look…wow,” he said, and Herb’s confidence rose further.
“Back atcha. You are beautiful.”
“Yeah? Thanks.”
“Okay, on the ride, you are tasked with telling me about the traditions and things to do and not to do. I would die if I offended someone.”
“You got it.”
Once they got into the twenty-year-old Chrysler Pacifica with the silver paint chipped in places, Basil started down the road and began Herb’s education in the coming-out party of a fifteen-year-old girl.
“It’s like a debutante party, but much more fun. The girl wears an expensive, beautiful gown, and the entire night, she’s treated like a princess, because she is. We believe our girls are exactly that. They are the future mothers of the next generation, and they’re protected as much as possible.”
“I like that. I like that very much.”
Basil spoke with his chin up in pride over the traditions of his family. “My family throws great parties, as you know, but it’s not just us. My people, from the time before the Spanish took over, loved to celebrate life. Even the Day of the Dead is a celebration of the lives of those who came before us. Life is fleeting and hard, so we believe in having celebrations to enjoy as much of it as we can.”
“I really love that. My family gets together out of, I don’t know, obligation it seems. I’ve never met two cousins because my father didn’t get along with his brother. My mother’s side is about the same, but they get together once or twice a year to take pictures for the Christmas cards.”
“That’s really sad.”
“I never thought of it before, to be truthful. I guess you don’t miss what you never had.” He took the hand Basil had stretched over the console and squeezed it. “Okay, so is there anything I shouldn’t do?”
