Page 16 of Sleeping with the Frenemy
Sure enough when Leo walked into the cafeteria he found Abuelo and his sometimes nemesis Benicio León in each other’s faces.
“You stole my bread roll!” Benny was yelling at Abuelo.
Abuelo Papo laughed. “Tú de verdad que si eres más loco que una cabra.” He gestured to his empty plate. “You can see that I don’t have your stupid roll.”
“You ate it already!”
“Now I know you’re lying, because there is no way in hell I’d ever put one of those rocks in my mouth!”
“Abuelo,” Leo said before things got too heated. “What are you doing? We have plans at El Coquí.”
His abuelo turned to face him, a wide smile breaking out on his face. “Oh good. You’re here. Let’s go.” He began making his way toward Leo.
“Wait a minute! What about my bread?” Benny yelled after him.
Abuelo Papo waved a hand in the air like he couldn’t even be bothered to respond with words. He brushed past Leo as he exited the cafeteria.
Leo took one last look at an irate Benny before turning to follow. “What did you really do with his bread?” he asked Abuelo once they were out of earshot.
Abuelo looked at him, his light green eyes bright with mischief. “Me lo comí.”
Leo had to laugh because of course Abuelo Papo ate it even though he made a huge stink about not having it. Leo had done the same thing to his siblings plenty of times. Everyone said that he and his grandfather were scarily alike and he guessed it was true. They were both musical, mischief-making smart-asses with the same light green eyes. Leo could only hope that when he was in his eighties he was running everyone around him ragged with his constant shenanigans. “You really are life goals, Abuelo.”
Abuelo puffed out his chest. “I know.” He blew a kiss at Teresa and waved to Yendriel as they exited the building.
During the short car ride to El Coquí they harmonized to Héctor Lavoe.
“I heard Sofi is back in town and she and Kamilah finally made up,” Abuelo said conversationally.
“Yep.” Leo did not want to talk about Sofi. He’d spent the last week doing his best to pretend like she was still overseas, to not even think about her. He couldn’t believe that she’d just shown up out of nowhere like nothing had ever happened. And to reach out to Kamilah first, of all people. He knew exactly what that meant. She’d chosen his sister over him, again. Well, Leo was sick of waiting around for her to decide that he was worth giving a real chance to. She’d made it clear that she’d only ever wanted him for his body. Years ago that hadn’t bothered him, he’d been willing to play along. Things were different now. He was about to be thirty-three years old and he was essentially back at the beginning of adulthood. He wasn’t going to do the same shit he’d done in the past. He didn’t have time for that. He had two goals: make the new Kane Distillery Tasting Room a success and pass the Chicago Fire Department physical exam so he could be back on platoon duty. Neither one of those things involved playing will they–won’t they games with Sofi.
And yet the second he and Abuelo Papo walked through the door to El Coquí his eyes found her sitting at the island-shaped table by the kitchen doors. She had an old woman sitting on one side of her and Mami on the other while Kamilah and Liam sat snuggled up across from her.
“¡Mira quien es!” Abuelo Papo shouted in excitement. “Miss Humboldt Park, it’s so good to see you. The neighborhood hasn’t been the same without your beautiful face.”
Sofi leaned in to give Abuelo a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. “Bendiciones, Don Papo.”
“Don Papo ni que Don Papo,” he huffed, giving her another hug and then holding her shoulders when she pulled back. “You’ve called me abuelo since you were seventeen years old. There’s no reason to change that now.”
Meanwhile Leo walked up to his mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Bendiciones, Ma.”
“Hola, guapo.” His mom pulled him into a surprisingly strong hug. “Te quiero tanto, mi bebé,” she said while peppering his face with kisses. She’d been doing this since the moment she’d seen him in the hospital. Leo let her because, well, it was nice to be loved on by his mother. Dudes who pretended otherwise were liars.
Kamilah pulled away from Liam but intertwined their fingers. “Hey,” she said with semifake offense. “I’m the baby here. Not him.”
Leo threw his good arm over Mami’s shoulders. “Aww, princesita. Feeling jealous?”
His sister stuck her nose in the air. “Considering the only womanly love you get lately is from your mother? I think I’m good.” She gave Liam’s hand a squeeze.
Well, damn. She didn’t have to put his business all out there like that. Especially not in front of Sofi.
Luckily Sofi didn’t seem to be paying them any attention. Instead she was introducing the older woman to Abuelo. “This is my abuela,” she told him.
“I thought she died a few years ago,” Leo burst out. He remembered holding Sofi while she cried when she found out.
She barely looked at him. “Not that abuela, obviously. This is my mom’s mom.”
“Oh, this is Miss Puerto Rico,” Leo surmised.
