Lola came up alongside him. “No, that’s all stuff I’ve picked up from different art shows, markets, street fairs, and stuff like that. Although, some I did get during my travels. Most of these are from Indigenous artists from the areas I bought them in. There’s a lot from Mexico, because, well, I was in California and it was easier to take trips there. I have some from Puerto Rico too, including a few Taíno pieces, but I for sure want to get more.”
“I don’t remember you being this into art,” Saint said while studying a canvas painting of a woman and a jaguar.
“I wasn’t, but my mom is. She’d take me to all these different galleries and shows. We’d talk to the artists and listen to lectures. I realized how these people took these painful personal memories or these terrible things that happen in the world and turned them all into something beautiful. I thought to myself, isn’t that what I’m trying to do? Create beautiful change from human suffering.” Her mouth quirked to the side in a self-conscious expression that Saint found adorable. “I mean, I can’t create beautiful art to save my life, but I can definitely appreciate it.” She lifted a hand and softly brushed the tips of her fingers along a framed photo collage of Lolita Lebrón and snippets from news articles about her. At the top it said, “There is no victory without pain.”
Now Saint understood. This is where she came to recharge, to inspire herself, to remind herself of her mission when she was worn out and tired. This was her safe space, her inner sanctum, and she’d invited him and his daughter inside. He would make sure that she didn’t regret her welcome.
11
Lola pulled up to the address Saint had given her yesterday afternoon after they’d spent some time narrowing down potential buildings based on location and price alone. They now had to take closer looks at the places they kept and decide if they would work for everything El Hogar needed. Hence why she was at his house on a Saturday evening.
Saint and Rosie’s house was on a street that fell right on the border of Humboldt Park and West Humboldt Park. It was clear that the gentrification hitting the rest of the area hadn’t quite made it to this neighborhood. The number of fixer-upper homes still vastly outnumbered the newly renovated ones that probably cost more than she’d made in the last ten years. However, Saint and Rosie’s home didn’t fit into either category.
It was a big redbrick two-flat whose exterior showed age even though it was still a beauty. With its off-center covered porch, light brick accents, and decorative wrought iron gate it reminded Lola of an Old Hollywood starlet aging gracefully while still throwing out her flirtatious charm. The house wasn’t the nicest on the street or even the biggest, but somehow it had more presence. It simply drew your eye. Kind of like its owner.
Saint stood on the front porch. He looked so damn good in his long-sleeved shirt and jeans. He took a few steps down and motioned for Lola to open her window.
“Parking out here is impossible,” he told her. “Pull around the back and park in the driveway. I’ll meet you back there.”
Lola followed his direction and pulled around to the alley. She slowed when she saw him step out next to a two-car garage. He motioned for her to pull into the space next to it and she did.
“My cousins came home unexpectedly,” he said when she opened her door to get out.
“You live with your cousins?” she asked.
“They live upstairs,” he replied. “But they’re in their early twenties and still in school, so they frequently show up in my house begging for food when they’re hungry and to use my Wi-Fi when they forget to pay their bill.”
Lola smiled in nostalgia. “The college years. Good times.”
“I’ve been trying to get rid of them, but they decided it’s movie night which usually means they’re too broke to entertain themselves.”
Lola got the distinct impression that Saint did not want his cousins to know about her. She tried to ignore the pang that caused. “Should I go?”
He gave her an alert look. “Do you want to go?”
“I mean, it seems like you’re busy.” Lola fiddled with her keys. “I don’t want to impose.”
He grabbed her hand. “I want you here, Lola. It’s just that my cousin Alex is my tío Luís’s youngest and she doesn’t know about anything going on.”
“You mean about his diagnosis?”
He nodded. “Or about the Raven Realty job, she’d have a fit.”
Lola’s relief that he did want her around battled with her annoyance at having to keep a secret. Lola didn’t like secrets and lies. She preferred to be up-front. “Well, we just won’t talk about it, but I think we can still talk about El Hogar without mentioning any of that.”
“So you’ll stay? Every twenty minutes Rosie’s been asking when you’d get here.”
“Using your adorable daughter to reel me in. That’s playing dirty.”
He was completely unrepentant as he smirked. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make you stay.” He tugged softly on the hand he held and Lola followed.
She didn’t say anything else as he led her through the small backyard featuring a set of four patio chairs and a small ash-filled firepit. The lawn was sprinkled with toys: a basketball, Hula-Hoop, unicorn helmet, some superhero figurines, a monster truck, a princess tiara, and there was a magic wand sticking out the top of a sandcastle that had been built in the small sand table.
Lola eyed the open bag of salt and shovel leaning against the house next to the back door. It was almost spring break for heaven’s sake. However, they were in the Midwest. If things got crazy enough, it could snow in May or June.
Saint opened the back door and motioned for Lola to enter.
She stepped over the threshold and her jaw dropped. “Oh my god.” The apartment was beautiful. She could tell that it had just been recently renovated. There were sparkling new appliances in the kitchen and an open floor plan where she could see from the back door all the way to the big bay windows at the front of the house, but it still held tons of old charm. There was large built-in cabinetry on either side of the window in the dining room. Separating the living and dining areas was an archway with two decorated columns that matched the original wooden beams and baseboards. “I hope whoever renovated this place gets a job on HGTV, because this is amazing.”
