The whole table of women giggled. I’d hoped it was just the alcohol talking but now I wasn’t so sure.
I wandered into the kitchen. “Can I help with anything? Is there a big party or event I don’t know about?”
Mama Virgie stopped stirring the massive pot on the stove. Her gaze immediately went to my bandaged arm.
“Umm. I got bored yesterday while Jefe was gone.” I grinned sheepishly, then laughed awkwardly. “He knows about the tattoo sleeve. Promise.”
She waved like she was swatting a fly. “No worries, Mija. I was just surprised. Your fair skin is like ivory and no blemishes, you know? Don’t mind me.” She returned to her pot and stirred it.
“Is there anything you want me to do? I know how to chop veggies and wash dishes.”Please give me something to do. I’m bored out of my mind.
“No. Not right now. Maybe later. Okay?”
“Okay.” I grabbed a marranitos to nibble on. Some people called them Mexican piggies. The sweet bread tasted like yummy gingerbread. I liked them more than conchas, but I would eat either of them any day of the week with a cup of coffee.
I took a bite and with my mouth full I hummed in delight. “Delicious, Mama Virgie.”
“Thank you, Mija.”
I left the kitchen, feeling like Mama Virgie didn’t want me around. At this rate, it would be the day that never ended if I had to spend it by myself.
Back at the monastery, the nuns talked a lot. Usually, about people suffering in third-world countries, or the Pope. Of course, there was a lot of praying that went on, too.
I wasn’t used to total and utter silence. I was a social creature and needed engagement. Friendly smiles. A place to call home and a family to love. As unusual as it was to live with nuns in a Catholic monastery, it had been my safe place.
Now, I felt homeless and not sure who I could trust and go to for comfort.
“Hey, Letty. Do you know what’s going on around here? Is there a party or something I don’t know about?”
“Oh, um… No party. We just do this occasionally.” She stacked blankets and towels in piles. There were at least two dozen stacks. On the floor next to her foot was a box full of baggies. They had a toothbrush, travel-size toothpaste and some other toiletry items.
“Do you need help? I’m kind of bored.”
“Why don’t you go hangout in Jefe’s room like a little princess,” Yoli said nastily. “We have work to do, no thanks to you.”
“What does no thanks to you mean? What did I do?” Maybe Yoli was PMSing. No, she just didn’t like me.
“Yoli,” Letty said in a warning tone.
I pushed my hip out and put my hand on it, holding my piggy in the other hand. “What aren’t you guys telling me? Has something happened I don’t know about?”
“Nothing’s happened, Silvi.” Letty kept her attention on her piles.
“Come on, Yoli. I know you’d love to chew my ass out and put me in my place. What did I do?”
“How about just existing is torture enough for the rest of us. Or that the Prez is like a puppy following you around, trying to please you because you’re just so damn delicate!”
“I am not, and he does not do that!”
“You made him a weak-ass man, and don’t pretend like you haven’t noticed how he spends all his free time with you. He’s abandoned his crew. It’s not supposed to be like that in a MC, Chiquita.”
I hated her so much right now. There were moments when I thought I might be able to be friends with her on a very basic, casual level. Maybe we could’ve tolerated each other. And then she acted like a witch, and I was back to hating her.
“Did it ever occur to you that I’m trying to get along with you and fit in around here. I’m not an awful person. I care about the club and you girls—”
“And Jefe,” Yoli said tartly.
“Yes, and Jefe. What’s so wrong about that?”
