The 52nd (The 52nd Saga Book 1) (36 page)

“This is my family’s favorite place to eat when we are in town,” he said as a short waiter approached.

Lucas spoke to him in Spanish; the waiter nodded and walked to the double doors, where he delivered instructions to a pair of waiters. The two nodded and disappeared inside the restaurant while the headwaiter returned to us. He pressed his palms together, a white towel hanging over one forearm. “What would the
señorita
like to
drink?”

“Just some water would be fine,” I said politely.

Lucas nodded to him, and then he too disappeared.

“I ordered all my favorites. I hope you don’t mind. No offense taken if you don’t like
it.”

Stray voices had joined the fiesta band downstairs. They were loud and cheerful and knew every word, like a street version of karaoke.

“So, how long have you been coming to this place?” I asked, laughing at the people
below.

Lucas rested his elbows on the table and pressed his fingers together. “Since it opened in the fifties.”

I looked away and pretended to be engrossed in the eclectic decorations. Large floor candelabras and the scattered fairy lights produced a romantic ambiance, and the red flowers were fresh, full of life on their vine. It was very romantic.

“Do you always sit out here?” I asked, picturing him here with other
women.

Lucas leaned back and rested an ankle on his other knee. “No one sits on the balcony except me or a member of my
family.”

“Ever?”

He grinned. “Ever.”

I set the glass on the table gently, feeling that immense pressure as he watched
me.

“We bought this place so it could be ours indefinitely,” Lucas added, sipping his
Coke.

I leaned in and whispered, “Don’t they suspect something, like your nonaging
face?”

His hair fell forward as he leaned in with a dimply smile and copied my whisper. “No.”

Then he swiped his hand through his hair and laughed.

“What is so funny?” I
asked.

“You are. Worried about the disclosure of my identity.”

“Well, how do you do it? How is it that these people have been working here for years and you return, looking the
same?”

“For starters, it helps to have friends that you can trust. Those two waiters over there?” Lucas jutted his chin at the two men standing by the
door.

I looked over my shoulder. “I see
them.”

“They are new; they’ve never seen me before. The owner of this place is a good friend of the family. Whenever we have plans to come here, we call him in advance, and he arranges for waiters unfamiliar with us. But the headwaiter, he is the only one allowed on this balcony. He takes our orders and then directs the other waiters.”

“How can you be so sure to trust
them?”

“Because the owner and headwaiter are
Aluxes.”

I paused, confused on the timing
thing.

“When it is time for
them
to get
older,” Lucas said, casually taking another sip of his Coke, “a new Alux will take over as owner or headwaiter.”

“Seems to me these Aluxes are convenient for a lot more than your protection.”

“You could say
that.”

“Must be nice. I spent two summers working at Lucky Pin, and I barely have enough to get me through one year at an Ivy League college, assuming my parents will pay for my tuition.”

Lucas folded his arms over the table and leaned in. “You’re amazing.”

“What?” I asked. I swallowed a sip of warm water.
What is with the no
ice?

“Why do I get the impression that you will do whatever you set your mind to do, even when the odds are against
you?”

“Because it’s true. I can’t let my fear hold me back. I’ll take out loans if I have to.” I laughed, messing with the slight condensation on my glass. “Maybe my fear of regret outweighs all other fears. So there, I
am
afraid of something.”

He threw his hands in the air. “Finally!”

When our laughs died down, I fidgeted with my fork and thought out loud. “But seriously, someday . . .”

“Someday
what?”

“I’m going to be able to do things for myself. I won’t need anyone paying my way or teaching me the way the world works. I’m going to be
powerful
, I just know
it.”

His body was attentive, though he leaned his head on one hand as he swirled his fork through the runny sour cream on his
plate.

“Did I offend you?” I
asked.

“Of course not,
muñeca
.” He paused, put his fork down, and glanced up to me. “What else is on your someday
list?”

“My
someday
list?”

“You know, an imaginary list of things you want to accomplish in your life.” Then his voice changed to mimic a teenage girl. “Someday I’m going to have a house on the beach with two horses, and a boat, and four kids, and a fat dog named Pepe . . .” He chuckled and straightened up. “Come on, Zara,” he said, his raspy voice deeper again. “What’s on your someday list? Are money and power the only things on your list? Because if they are, you’re very well off: you will accomplish both. And without my help, I can assure you. But there must be other things that you want out of
life.”

I pondered a moment, watching him closely for the slightest flinch. This had to be tough for him, to hear of all the things he would never have. But he didn’t move at all as he watched me intently. “Someday,” I began slowly, careful not to overdo it, “I’m going to be married. And someday we’ll have children, though I have no idea how many. I guess I’ll just have to see how well the first one
goes.”

Lucas laughed.

“And someday,” I continued, “we’ll travel to Scotland, or France, I don’t know, somewhere in Europe. And someday, I’ll take my kids to the lake and teach them how to swim, and someday . . . I’ll ride an elephant. There, how’s that list? Is it any
good?”

He picked up his water glass, set his lips gently against the rim, and took a sip. He grinned as he set it down, looking pleased. “It’s very
good.”

I threw a chip in my mouth. “What about you, what’s your someday?” I mumbled around
it.

His smile broadened as if he was going to laugh, but he didn’t, and then he leaned in and took a deep breath. “This is my someday.”

My heart spun fast. “Oh . . . as in dinner . . . or finishing the sacrifices . . . or . . . or me . . .?”

He answered with a wide grin. As I opened my mouth to speak, though, the Alux headwaiter brought in platters full of food. Lucas took another drink, keeping his lips from lifting any higher than they already were. There was rice and beans; a mouthwatering tray of fresh fruit; tacos; a soup with thin, short noodles; and something involving seafood.

“What is that?” I asked, glancing at the red glass full of shrimp in sauce. I tried not to make a face, but I feared I didn’t fool Lucas when he chuckled
softly.

“A seafood cocktail called ceviche. It’s very popular here in the south.” Lucas pointed to a darker, red meat. “And those are tacos
al pastor
, my favorite.”

He picked up a tiny corn tortilla and piled it with cheese, cilantro, and lime. I mimicked him. The savory meat mixed with the citrus and fresh herb was just the right thing to satisfy my stomach’s complaints.

“This is the best taco I’ve ever tasted,” I said, breathing through my nostrils with my mouth full of
food.

He chuckled, unsurprised. “I knew you’d like it.” I felt his eyes on me as I helped myself to probably too much food for a girl my size. “Zara?”

“Yeah?”

“I can pay for your college.”

Before I choked, I quickly finished chewing and swallowed my food with a big gulp of water. “What?”

“Let me do it. I want to, and I have plenty of money. Don’t let your parents carry that
burden.”

“Lucas, I can’t, that’s like asking you to buy me a
house.”

“Well . . . maybe that too, someday . . . but for now, let’s figure out your schooling. I think education is very important, and I find it extremely attractive that you are so eager to
go.”

“Lucas, I . . .” I leaned over the table, our faces a foot away from each other. “We don’t even know if I’ll still be
alive.”

He didn’t respond, though his lips pinched, and his eyes glazed over without even a single blink. “Very well, I won’t bring this back
up.”

Sometime between eating the rice and the soup, the mariachis stopped and the balcony became peaceful. Even though I felt Lucas observing me, thinking about what I’d said, I ate until my stomach felt like it was going to pop the button on my shorts. When I finished, I fell back in the chair, rubbing my stomach.

“I can’t eat any more, I’m stuffed,” I
said.

“Would you like dessert?”

“I’m afraid I’ll explode if I try to eat one more
thing.”

Lucas called in the headwaiter, who asked him something softly in Spanish. Lucas shook his head, and the Alux bowed and left, the other two waiters trailing behind
him.

“How many Aluxes are there?” I
asked.

“We have twenty; eight of them live here in Merida or with us in Progresso, and the rest are spread throughout the
world.”

“What do they do for work? Don’t they have to move around to go unnoticed?”

“The world is too big and too arrogant to notice us under their noses. Our Aluxes move around, yes, but they keep their professions, which range from school professors to zoologists to heart surgeons.”

“That’s
crazy.”

Lucas snickered. “It’s normal for
me.”

I leaned back and stretched. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until the food settled
in.

“There’s one more thing to do before the day is over, but only if you’re up for it,” Lucas said, noticing my
yawn.

“You’re going to have to take me home at some point, before my dad comes looking for you,” I
said.

“Well then, it’s just my
luck.”

“Why?”

“Because we have to go home first to
change.”

It only took ten minutes to get back to the beach palace. When we walked in from the garage, there wasn’t a person in sight. Lucas offered to accompany me to my room, and we hiked the three flights of stairs side by
side.

“I guess you don’t need to worry about your dad. He must be out with Andrés and Valentina still,” Lucas
said.

As we reached my bedroom door, a daze of complete exhaustion descended on
me.

Lucas briefly glanced at his watch. “Would you rather stay
home?”

“No, I’m okay. Really.”

“How much time do you need to get
ready?”

I reached for the sand-infested, salt-infused strands I used to call hair. “Thirty minutes. Is that
okay?”

“Sure. See you in thirty. And wear something
nice.”

“Nice?”

“Beach nice,” he clarified, kissing my cheek and leaving for his
room.

I turned the shower on first, letting the water heat up while I picked out my outfit. I chose a black blouse with a white blazer and a gray, high-waisted, ruffled skirt. I didn’t realize how cold I had gotten until the hot water hit between my shoulder blades, and I allowed myself one more minute under the scalding water. Then a quick towel dry, a few dabs of product to subdue my wavy hair, and some makeup basics. Before I left, I slipped on Gabriella’s jade bracelet, which went nicely with the gray, and layered it with a couple of other bracelets I’d brought from
home.

The hall was empty when I swung the door open. The windows and doors were open, letting in the calming crash of the waves as I made my way to Lucas’s room. I knocked.

“Lucas?” I called when he didn’t
answer.

I headed downstairs, rubbing my arms against the ghostly
chill.

I entered the kitchen and saw Lucas on the patio outside. The glow from inside lit one side of his face, showing his lips moving as he spoke to someone hidden by the curtain panels. As I stepped closer, he did a double take and ran inside to meet
me.

“You look gorgeous,” he said, resting a hand on my waist as he gave me the customary cheek kiss. “Are you ready to go? Your brothers, Dylan, and Gabriella are all waiting for
us.”

“Yes.” He looked as delicious as he smelled. I never knew that a cardigan could look so good on a man over shorts and a T-shirt.

“
Hola
, Zara.”

I peeked past Lucas’s shoulders to see Tita entering the house with Niya and Malik. She gave me a small
hug.

“How are you?” I asked into her shoulder. “When did you arrive?” I petted the mellow jaguars’ heads as if it came naturally.

“Just now. How do you like Mexico?” she
asked.

“It’s good. Lucas said we had some time before, you know, so he took me out. Showed me Tulum and the restaurant in
Merida.”

“So how are you feeling? Lucas told me about your
dream.”

I threw a condemning glance at Lucas. “Did he tell you what Xavier’s mom asked of
me?”

“He
did.”

“And?”

“We were just discussing that, but since you two are going out, we’ll reconvene later tonight.”

Lucas added, “When you are
asleep.”

“We’ll see,” I replied.

Ten minutes later, just off the deserted main drag, Lucas pulled into a small parking lot covered with more sand. Dusk was a rainbow of colors, the queen palms rising as black figures against its rosiness. The sign over the building, which looked like a miniature Colosseum, said
Luz
.

“Luz?” I asked as the music raging inside vibrated the ground beneath
me.

We bypassed the long line behind red swags of rope and went straight to the fat bouncer, who noticed Lucas, jerked his chin up, and moved the plush barrier for us to
pass.

“Lucas, I’m not twenty-one,” I said anxiously. As Lucas opened the door, the musky bar air brushed my
skin.

He squeezed my hesitant hand harder and pulled me through the short hallway. Once the room had opened into a large domed space, he tilted his head toward
me.

“You only have to be eighteen to come here,” he announced over the
music.

Behind the bar was a huge tank full of bright tropical fish. The dance floor in the center of the room was packed with sweaty people. The ground underneath their feet lit up with changing colors. A face I’d seen on magazine covers was on the stage across the room, performing a song I’d heard in English.