No Second Chances (5 page)

Milo rubbed his hands eagerly. “All right, sounds good to me.”

“Coming right up,” Fabi said, raising her index finger in the air. She turned around to
grab the carrots she'd put out a moment ago. Her heart sank. Fabi searched around and under the now empty basket. “Grandpa, I told you not to eat all the carrots.”

“I didn't,” Grandpa Frank swore, getting up from his chair. He helped her search for the carrots.

“Well, somebody had to,” Fabi complained. “The carrots didn't just walk away.”

“I swear,
mija
,” her grandpa said in a serious tone. “I only had one.”

“It's okay,” Milo said, gesturing for her to forget about it. “I'll have whatever is left in that blender.” He gestured toward Grandma Trini's “lawn juice.”

“It's kind of an acquired taste,” she warned, thinking of her aunt's comment.

Milo just shrugged. “That's cool. I like to try new things.” He took a sip and his eyes opened wide with shock, but he didn't say anything. It took him a moment to regain his composure. Milo stuck out his tongue a few times as if he
had to air the taste from his mouth. “Well, I should go. I'm looking for some old records. I just came by to show my support.”

“How bad is it?” Fabi asked reluctantly.

“Not too bad. It could use some sugar.”

Fabi winced. Was it really bad? She dipped her finger into the blender to taste the mix. It tasted kind of like pickle juice. Milo waved good-bye and disappeared down the row with his drink. Her grandfather elbowed her lightly.

“Good-looking boy, huh?”

“Grandpa!” Fabi cried out in shock. “That's gross. Milo is my friend!”

“I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so touchy about your friends,” he said defensively. “I was just making conversation.”

Fabi crossed her arms in front of her chest. Frank glanced sideways and noticed a small smile creeping onto her face.

H
ey, beautiful,” Santiago called out to a slender brunette with sapphire contacts. There were so many pretty girls at
la pulga
he didn't know where to begin, so he planted himself on a corner and talked to the girls as they passed by. “Did it hurt when you fell?”

The girl blushed as her eyes flickered back toward her group of girlfriends. Her friends encouraged her to talk to Santiago. The pretty girl shook her head, not understanding, and whispered, “What?”

Santiago licked his lips ever so softly. Girls
liked his lips. “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” he said. The girls giggled. “Would you like to —”

“There you are,
mi amor
,” a girl interrupted. Santiago was so startled by the sight of Maria Elena that he almost dropped the platter of smoothies. Maria Elena, his ex and the beloved daughter of known smuggler Juan “El Payaso” Diamante. After he'd been caught in her bed-room in nothing but his shorts, El Payaso had shipped her off to Mexico and warned Santiago to never speak to her again. But now, here she was, in the flesh. Maria Elena smiled seductively at him. “Surprise. I'm back.” She gave one look at the girls with Santiago, and they disappeared back into the crowd.

“Wow.” Santiago laughed nervously. “You're really here. What happened to Mexico?”

“I'm back. I missed you, baby boo.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “I missed you so, so much. Did you miss me?”

“Uh … yeah … course I missed you.”

Maria Elena glanced over her shoulder, a concerned look in her eye. “I lied to my daddy and said I was over you.” Santiago stared at her with a bewildered expression. “That was the only way he would let me come back,” she explained. “But don't worry. I don't plan to ever leave your side again.” Maria Elena turned to glance over her other shoulder. She was definitely worried about something. Were her father's men lurking close by? “I have to go now. But don't worry. I have a plan.” She kissed his nose. “Oh, how I missed this nose and these cheeks. Okay, I really have to go now. I'll be back, though — don't worry.” And just like that, Maria Elena disappeared back into the crowd. Santiago shook his head to clear his mind.
Did that really just happen?
he wondered.

 

On the other side of
la pulga
, Alexis was dealing with a different kind of problem. No one seemed to like the smoothie. The first few customers just sniffed and waved the drink away.
Alexis tried to offer a free sample to a man looking at leather belts. At first he accepted the cup politely. He took a sip, but then he tossed it to the ground. How rude! The worst part was that he wasn't the first person to do that. Alexis sighed and turned back the way she came. She was not going to waste any more time on a product that wasn't any good.

“Santiago,” Alexis whispered when she found him. “Something is wrong with the smoothie.”

Her cousin shot her an alarmed look. “What do you mean?”

“Did you try it?” she asked.

“Why?” He shrugged, walking up to two teenage girls standing by a table heaped with cosmetics. He shot the girls one of his winning smiles. “Would you like to try something I whipped up just for you two beauties? It has natural stuff in it to make your hair shine and your skin pimple-free. Not that you need it. You two are naturally gorgeous.” The girls smiled
as they accepted the samples. “If you like what you see,” he continued, “come visit me at my stand around the corner. Ask for Santiago,” he said, and then continued down the row.

Alexis stopped to watch the girls' reactions to the smoothie. They both grimaced at the taste but stared dreamily at Santiago's backside. Alexis grabbed a sample from her tray and downed it quickly. A mucuslike, bitter flavor jarred her taste buds.
Wow
, she thought,
that was strong.

“Hey,” Alexis said when she caught up to Santiago. “This stuff is nasty.”

“Doesn't all healthy food taste nasty?”

Alexis tapped her finger to her lips as she thought out loud. “What we need is a way to show people that this stuff will make you better — like medicine.”

“I'm miles ahead of you,” Santiago answered, pulling out a flyer from his back pocket.

Alexis grabbed the paper and read the ad promoting an amateur wrestling series right
here at
la pulga
. The two guys on the pamphlet wore capes and masks like superheroes. She shot him a confused look.

Santiago smiled. “Check this out. I was thinking of signing up.”

“You?”

“Yeah, Chubs and me. He can be my opponent,” Santiago said, raising his arms as if he were going to tackle her. “Just think — tons of people will be there. Chubs and I could wrestle a little so people can see how small and weak I am next to Chubs. Then …” He paused for effect. “You pass me an energy smoothie looking all fine and sexy in some little dress and I wrestle that fool down to the floor.
Bam!
” Santiago laughed, loving his plan.

Alexis shook her head. “You're not serious?”

“Totally. It'll be great. People will want to try the drink so it can make them strong and quick. Did you try it?”

“Yeah,” Alexis said, puckering her lips at the memory.

“And how do you feel?”

Alexis had to think about it. “I don't know. Okay, I guess.”

“Just okay?” he asked, in a leading tone that made Alexis snort with laughter.

“Okay, I feel great.”

He nodded in approval. “Exactly. It tasted bad. And bad stuff is usually good for you.”

Alexis couldn't follow his logic, but she agreed to go along with his plan because she wanted to see Santiago and Chubs in tights.

“Yoo-hoo,” a familiar voice cried out behind them, making them both stiffen. Alexis and Santiago turned to see their grandma Trini and Santiago's mom, Consuelo, walking toward them.

“Damn,” Santiago said, under his breath. Alexis couldn't help but smirk, but there was no time to enjoy her cousin squirming because their grandmother pounced on them, pinching both their cheeks.

“How's business going?” Trini asked.

“What a surprise!” Santiago said, reaching out to hug his mother. Alexis studied her cousin. He was acting too friendly. Santiago turned to hug his grandmother, attempting to pick her up off the floor. Trini laughed, slapping him playfully and then scolding him to let her go. “Everything is great. People really like our smoothies.”

“They do?” Trini asked, surprised.

“Yeah, people keep asking for seconds, but I just send them off to the stand. Only one free sample, I say. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. Lots of millionaires didn't go to school, you know?” He elbowed Alexis for support.

“Yeah,” Alexis agreed. “Like um … Christina Aguilera … and George Foreman.”

“That's good,
mijo
,” Trini said, distracted. She looked at Consuelo and nodded for her to talk.

“I'm making your favorite for dinner tonight,” Consuelo said, in an overly cheerful
voice. Her tone alarmed Santiago. He sensed a trap.

“Well,” Santiago began, “I got a lot of work to do now that I've got my own business, and Grandpa Frank has all these chores for me.” His mother looked down, wounded. It weakened Santiago's resolve. “But I guess I could come by around six.”

“Great,” Consuelo said, her eyes brightening. “Then we'll see you tonight at six.”

“Whose ‘we'?” Santiago asked.

“We have to go,” Grandma Trini said, hurrying Consuelo back down the way they came. Consuelo looked like she wanted to say more, but Grandma Trini had a way of overpowering the conversation.

“See you tonight,” Consuelo said, waving.

Santiago and Alexis stared as the two women walked away, wondering what they were up to. But they didn't get a chance to talk, because suddenly two tall, burly men grabbed them by the arms and pulled them away.

Alexis and Santiago squirmed, trying to wiggle free. A guy with an eye patch and a ponytail warned them to be quiet if they valued their tongues. The tough guys led them through the maze of booths toward the center of the flea market. Santiago noticed the fat gold chains on the guy's neck and his expensive shoes. He swallowed hard, hoping that it was just some mix-up. The guy holding him led them to a shoe shine stand. There, an old man was kneeling on one leg and shining a fancy pair of custom black boots with bright yellow lightning bolts and red eagles on each side.

Slowly, Santiago raised his eyes, taking in the customer's black jeans, big scorpion belt buckle, and collared shirt, unbuttoned to reveal an unruly mess of chest hair tangled with gold chains.

“I'll have one of those,” the man said in a heavy Spanish accent, gesturing for the tray of smoothie samples on the platter Santiago still clutched. Santiago recognized the man at once.
It was Juan “El Payaso” Diamante. Santiago's escort reached for a sample cup and passed it to El Payaso. Beads of sweat dripped down Santiago's face as the memory of their last encounter came back to him. He remembered jumping into El Payaso's bed by mistake, hiding in Maria Elena's closet, and getting chased by his angry dogs. It was not one of his better nights. Later, El Payaso made Santiago swear that he would be good, not mess around in school, and stay away from his dealings. Panic gripped Santiago suddenly: Was
la pulga
part of El Payaso's dealings?

El Payaso accepted the sample. He nodded at Alexis. “You're Frank Ibarra's granddaughter?”

Alexis nodded, too afraid to speak. There were rumors about El Payaso — ugly stories tying him to violence and trafficking on the other side of the border. But no one had the guts to ask if the stories were true.

“Frank Ibarra is my grandpa, too,” Santiago said, trying to make his voice sound brave.
“We're just helping him sell his fruits and vegetables. We don't want any trouble.”

El Payaso studied the green goo in the little cup. He slurped loudly, twitched, and then nodded approvingly at the drink. “I mean no disrespect, son,” he said to Santiago. “I just want to make sure you understand the rules at
la pulga
. Everyone stays at their stands and there's no stealing customers from other areas. I got several complaints that two punk kids were scaring away customers with a foul-smelling drink.”

“It's my fault,” Alexis jumped in. “He didn't want to do it.” She gestured at Santiago. “It's my first time selling at
la pulga
and I thought if people tried our smoothie they would want more and visit our stand.”

El Payaso nodded. He seemed to accept Alexis's story. Then he turned to Santiago. “How's school going?”

“Fine, sir,” Santiago said, glancing at Alexis. He started to break out in a cold sweat despite
the warm weather. Did he know that Santiago had dropped out? Did he know that Maria Elena had come looking for him?

El Payaso took another slurp from the smoothie sample. He looked at Alexis and held her gaze. “Not bad,” he said. “I'll have to stop by your stand for another.” Alexis stared wide-eyed back at him. Then he asked Santiago, “You remember your promise?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I want you to stay away from my daughter, all right? Maria Elena's back in town, but I want you to stay clear of her. You got that?”

“Yes, of course, sir.”

“Okay,” El Payaso said, standing up. He admired the shoe shiner's work and smiled. “You guys can go,” he said to Alexis and Santiago. “But I'll be watching you.”