Page 27 of Keep It Together

“New guy pays,” he repeated, like it was a real rule, and not something I’d made up on the spot. “New guy pays.” He turned and repeated it a little louder to the rest of the group.

Uncle G clapped me on the shoulder. “All right. That’s very sensitive of you, Isaac. I love it.”

When we reached the front of the line, the lady I’d been warned about peered up at us with unguarded contempt from the table where she was sitting with a money box and stacks of bingo cards. A man I assumed was her security guard stood behind her, but I doubted there was a thief alive who would cross this woman and live to tell about it.

“Cash only,” she said, eyeing Don like he might be a chronic check bouncer. “There are no child or senior discounts. No student discounts. No refunds will be given. No swapping out bingo cards.”

“No fun allowed,” Uncle G murmured.

She glared up at him and kept going. “No guarantees of winning. No cheating will be tolerated. No…” She paused, as if trying to think up more rules, and I quickly pulled out my wallet and dropped two twenties.

“I’m not playing. Carmen and I are volunteers. This is for the rest of our group, and they promise to follow all the rules.”

“I don’t,” Uncle G said, grinning as he picked up his set of bingo cards from the table and fanned them in his face. “You forgot to mention the one-cookie-per-guest rule. But I’m taking two from the refreshment table, Edna. Maybe three. Try and stop me.”

“Honestly, Uncle G.” Carmen herded our group away from the check-in table. “Go get good seats before they’re gone.” She turned back to Edna. “Isaac and I are manning the refreshment table tonight. Don’t worry about a thing.”

Her expression instantly softened, much to my surprise. “Thank you, Carmen.” Edna reached out and squeezed Carmen’s hand. “You’ve grown into such a lovely girl. You know, my grandson is helping out tonight. Titan’s the strapping young man who will be reading off the bingo numbers. Right over there. I’d love for you to meet him.”

The direction she pointed was clogged with people, but they parted as if she had telepathic powers, revealing a short, average-looking dude with neatly combed hair testing out the microphone by tapping it gently. Well, that was anti-climactic. I had been expecting someone more… imposing. Maybe someone who could take his grandmother in an arm-wrestling contest. My money was on Edna. She was wiry and would have no qualms about cheating.

“That’s so sweet, Edna.” Carmen took a step towards me and put her hand on my chest. “Actually, I’m…”

Oh, heck no. If we were friends with a capital F, that meant everywhere. Even though my hand of its own accord came to rest over hers.

“She’s extremely single,” I finished for her. “She is single and ready to mingle. Aren’t you, Carmen?”

“Thank you, Isaac,” Carmen said, stealing her hand back. “I am single. And I’d be happy to say hello to your grandson.”

“Is there a senior discount?” The man behind us asked. He moved around me and pulled out his wallet.

“No discounts,” Edna snapped. “No refunds. No guarantee of winning. No…”

“Come on.” Carmen tugged on the end of my jacket and led me away before we had to hear all the rules again. “I’m putting you to work before you can cause me any more trouble.”

“Me, trouble?” I blinked down at her with as much innocence as I could feign.

“Yes.” She tried so hard to look stern, but the girl was made for smiling. Ah, there it was. She grinned and shook her head. “By the end of tonight, you’re so going to hate me.”

“Not possible. Even the mistress of evil back there thinks you’re pretty great. What did you do to win her over?”

“I have no idea.”

I had a few. Carmen was goodness personified. I was just the lucky guy who got to tag along.

Chapter 13 - Carmen

Our job was to fill tiny paper cups with watery punch and open up clam shell containers of sugar cookies and set them out on napkins. They looked a lot prettier than they tasted. Yes, I was a cookie snob. But in this case, I was glad, because I couldn’t hand out extra cookies to rule-breakers like Uncle G if I was eating them all myself.

“Did you see Maria come in?” Isaac murmured. He handed a woman a cup of punch, and she giggled under the weight of his manifold charms. It probably worked well for him in the flower business.

“I saw her.” Thankfully, Maria’s love of bingo slightly outweighed her matchmaking interests, but eventually she’d spot us and come over here. So wouldAbuelita. And probably Edna with her grandson in a headlock. I should have felt stress over it all, but strangely, l didn’t. Isaac didn’t seem to care how weird this all was, and since we weren’t together (which he’d so kindly emphasized to Edna a few minutes ago) there was no need to shield him. Actually, I’d go out of my way tonotshield him. Two could play at that game.

“What are you smiling about?” Isaac asked. He moved behind me to get another package of cookies and gave the knot in the back of my apron a tug. We were wearing matching checkered aprons, thanks to my mother’s sewing.

“Do I need a specific reason to smile?”

“No, but right now, you look like you’re secretly plotting something.”

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