The Road to L.A. (14 page)

              “I didn’t realize you were so tall.  You’re definitely taller than you’re father.”

              “Yeah,” Jake answered sheepishly, unsure of how to respond.

              “Well,” Lydia said, smiling at him, “we are so glad you came.” 

She patted Jake’s stomach and said, “Be prepared to feast tonight.  No being shy.”

              “Jake? Shy?  Please,” Carly scoffed, then pulled him outside onto the back porch.  The sun had set by now, and the brightly-lit, colorful party lights added a festive touch to the gathering.  The upbeat music blared from the speakers and the laughter emanated from friends and family gathered at the long picnic tables.  Food in brightly-colored bowls and plates was strewn on the tables, as well as an assortment of beers, daiquiris, and sodas.  Juan was standing at the grill amusing Uncle Tito, Mr. Billingsley, and Mr. Landry with stories about his youth spent on the sandy beaches of Miami.  Before Carly was able to lead Jake to one of the picnic tables, Juan looked up and halted midway through one of his nostalgic tales. 

              “Jake!” Juan exclaimed with joy, his face aglow.  He beckoned for the young man to join them.  “Come, sit with the men.  Let me get you a beer.”

              “Dad,” Carly said through clenched teeth. 

              “Come here!” Juan said to Jake, ignoring the annoyed expression on his daughter’s face.

He shook Jake’s hand, then turned to the other men, explaining, “This young man is the kind of son I’ve always wanted.  He’s a Clanton football legend.” 

Uncle Tito shook Jake’s hand, smiling warmly at the humble “legend.”

              “Actually, I’m not really a legend.  My dad is.”

              “Don’t be modest,” Juan said playfully.  “By the way, that was some fight out there on the field.”

              “Oh,” Jake said, his face turning red with embarrassment at mention of the Friday night “incident.” 

“That was just something that happened in the heat of the game.  Everyone was already worked up,” Jake explained nervously.  “One of the Highlanders had made a comment...”

              “You don’t need to explain,” Juan said, laughing.  “Real men will always fight for what they believe.  Am I right?” 

Uncle Tito vehemently nodded in agreement and raised his beer can in deference to the “football legend” that was gracing them with his presence.

Carly groaned and decided to leave the men to talk about their “manly” things.  She called back to Jake that she would be right back, but he seemed so heavily engrossed in conversation with Juan and Uncle Tito that he didn’t seem to notice.  She entered the kitchen to offer some help and was immediately besieged by her cousins.

              “Carly, you never told me how gorgeous he is!” Angelica squealed.  “All this time I figured he was just some average-looking guy because you hardly ever mentioned his looks.”

Carly shrugged indifferently. 

“I’m just not that wrapped up in his looks, I guess,” she lied, grabbing a pot of rice from the stove.

              “Well, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Gloria said, spooning some beans from the pot to taste. 

              “Yeah, sure,” Angelica said to her sister in a mocking tone. “Like he’d really go for you.”

              “Girls, stop that,” Aunt Nici warned, taking off her apron.  Then, facing Carly, she said, “Sweetie, if you have been friends with that handsome young man for years and have not once thought about dating him, then you must be…I can’t think of the word...”

              “Lesbian?” Angelica blurted out. 

              “What is wrong with you people?” Carly asked in utter disbelief.

“It’s just that he’s a very handsome young man.  Why haven’t you two went out on a date?” Aunt Nici asked.  “I mean, I know you girls now-a-days are confused and experiment with each other.  But a man is still a man, no matter how you slice it.”

“I am not a lesbian!” Carly snapped.  “Like I said, he’s a friend.  That’s it.  I have nothing more to say.”

              “Sure, sweetie,” Aunt Nici remarked before leaving with a bowl of queso. 

              “I agree with Nici.  Jake’s quite a catch,” Lydia said before also escaping out into the backyard.

              “Mom!”

Angelica whispered into Carly’s ear. 

“If you don’t make your move, someone else will swipe him away.  And it just might be me.”  Angelica giggled with delight and skipped cheerily out of the kitchen.  Carly turned to Gloria and sighed, shaking her head at her cousin.  Gloria just shrugged her shoulders and helped Carly bring the rest of the food out into the backyard.

The little fiesta was still in full swing, and it livened up even more when all the food had been set out on the tables.  Everyone eagerly dug in and filled their plates.  Carly passed a bowl of rice to Jake, who piled a huge scoop of it onto his plate.  He looked at her, grinning sheepishly.  “I can’t help it.  I love your mom’s rice.”

Carly laughed, assuring him, “You don’t have to explain.  Eat as much as you want.”

They ate while they shared stories and laughed at Juan’s infinite number of silly jokes.  The ambience was overly festive and joyous, sparkling like the party lights strung out above them.  The music swirled about, adding to the titillating mood.  Jake was in the process of reliving a humorous football blunder with the group when Angelica glanced in Carly’s direction.  Carly immediately noticed her mischievous cousin and narrowed her eyes at her. A devious smile spread across Angelica’s face, and she deliberately trained a flirtatious gaze in Jake’s direction.  

              “You’re such a fantastic story teller, Jake” she finally said aloud in a sweet voice.

Jake interrupted his story, clearing his throat as if unsure of what to say. 

              “Uh, thanks.” 

              “Keep on going, por favor,” Angelica said as innocently as an angel, staring dreamily at his handsome face.

Carly sighed incredulously and continued to glare at her cousin as Jake finished his story.

Everyone erupted into laughter at the comical conclusion, save Carly.  She grimaced as her cousin’s exaggerated laughter continued unfettered as everyone else’s ceased.  Finally, Carly got up from the table, grabbing Jake’s thick arm. 

“I want to introduce you to someone.”

He followed her to the second table.  Carly softly placed her hand on her grandmother’s arm and said, “Grandma, I want to introduce you to my best friend, Jake.” 

Carly’s grandparents turned to greet the young man standing timidly beside her.  For the first time in a long time, Jake felt apprehensive.  He smiled nervously and extended his hand.  Grandma Cabrerra gently took Jake’s hand into her own and smiled warmly.  The nervousness abated when he saw the genuine friendliness in the older woman’s eyes. 

              “It’s very nice to meet you, young man,” Grandma Cabrerra said in a soft tone.  She looked at him for a while, as if studying his face.  Yet, as she did, a warm and genuine smile never left her mature face.  Grandpa Cabrerra then stood up from the table and greeted Jake with a strong, firm handshake. 

              “I hear you are quite an athlete.  I used to be a high school football player myself,” Grandpa Cabrerra said, then added, “I was a fullback.”

              “Don’t get him started, young man.  He’ll never stop,” Grandma Cabrerra warned Jake, a humorous twinkle in her eye.

              “Well, it’s really nice to meet the both of you,” Jake said politely to the older couple.

Grandma Cabrerra turned to face her pretty granddaughter with a look of approval on her face.  While Jake sat down next to Carly’s grandfather to swap football stories with the older man, Grandma Cabrerra winked at her granddaughter.

              “He seems like a good boy,” she whispered for Carly’s ears only. 

Carly smiled. “Yes, he is.”

              “My little angel, do me a favor.”

              “Anything, grandma,” Carly returned.

              “Go upstairs and put on that yellow dress that I brought you from Cuba.  I would really like to see how it looks on you.”  

Carly knew immediately which dress her grandmother was talking about.             

“The yellow dress?” Carly reiterated.  “The one with the halter straps?”             

              “Si,” Grandmother Cabrerra confirmed, motioning for her granddaughter to go into the house.  “Vamos. Put it on.”

Carly did as she was told, but not before she threw her grandmother a puzzled look. 

              “Trust me,” Grandmother Cabrerra said, grinning slyly.  

Carly nodded and headed into the house to change.  She continued to ponder why her dear grandmother had been so zealous in her request, but if her grandmother wanted her to wear that yellow dress, that is exactly what she was going to do.  Carly loved her grandmother more than anything, and she would do anything to please her.  After squeezing into that tiny yellow sundress, Carly bounded back downstairs and into the backyard.  She immediately began searching for her best friend and finally spotted him still occupying the seat next to her grandfather.  She figured they were probably still conversing about their high school football days.  Jake appeared to be enjoying himself, and Carly suddenly felt comfort in the fact that he seemed to be more at ease now.  Angelica and Juan were at the far corner of the porch dancing to a popular salsa medley.  Angelica made no attempt to hide her dancing skills as she skillfully swayed her body to the rhythm of the music.  Jake had just finished telling Carly’s grandfather about the number of recruiters that had been contacting him since the end of the season, when he turned to look for Carly.  He finally spotted her standing in front of the sliding doors that opened out onto the back porch.  His heart rate quickened as he beheld the enticing vision before him.  That yellow sundress she wore seemed to cling to every curve of her body and seemed to accentuate her slim waist and nicely shaped hips and buttocks.  Her legs looked longer than usual as his eyes trailed slowly down to her ankles, which were encircled by the straps of her high-heeled sandals.  Her dark hair contrasted perfectly with the bright, lively color of her sundress.  He admired the brilliance of her long hair, which hung in thick, shiny waves down her back.  She walked over to him then, and he suddenly became nervous as he tried to combat these strange feelings.  He almost hoped that she would walk past him.  He didn’t know how he would react toward her at this moment, and it made him feel very uncomfortable.  He kept reminding himself that she was merely a friend and nothing more, but when he looked up at her, all thoughts of friendship dashed from his mind. 

              “Jake!” Carly repeated, becoming annoyed with him.  It was as if he was completely ignoring her.  He finally looked up at her.

              “What’s wrong with you?” Carly asked, putting her hands on her hips.  “I’ve been calling your name and you’ve just been sitting there ignoring me.”

Jake’s eyes followed her hands to her shapely hips, and he quickly turned away, wishing she hadn’t done that.  He turned to Grandfather Cabrerra and re-ignited their conversation about football.  Carly turned to her grandmother for help, and the older woman was grinning devilishly.  Just then, Uncle Tito came up behind Carly and asked her to dance with him.  She gladly accepted the distraction, mumbling something under her breath about Jake’s odd behavior. 

Jake took a quick swig of his soda and glanced at the dancing couple.  He watched with arrested intrigue as Carly’s hips swayed to the Meringue beat, and he marveled at how she so skillfully performed those turns with her partner.  It was hard to look away, but he finally managed to do so when Angelica appeared before him.  She held out her hands to him and beckoned him to accompany her to the makeshift dance floor.

              “Oh, I don’t know how to dance that stuff,” he said bluntly, deciding he didn’t want to make a fool of himself. 

              “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you,” she said in a most persuasive tone.  A satiated smile graced her lips when he rose and allowed her to lead him to the porch.  Carly was in mid-turn when she saw him approach with her cousin.  Her blood began to boil when she saw Angelica’s hands on his hips, showing him how to move to the Meringue beat.  While observing them both, Carly failed to follow her uncle’s lead and fell out of step.

              “Sorry,” Carly said, her face red with embarrassment.  Uncle Tito shrugged it off and they resumed their dancing, but she couldn’t help casting prying glances in the other couple’s direction.  Grandma Cabrerra suddenly appeared and stole Jake from Angelica.  Needing another dance partner, Angelica turned to her uncle and easily persuaded Juan to dance with her.  Carly still couldn’t remember how her grandmother had done it.  It had all happened so quickly.  Before she knew it, Grandma Cabrerra had skillfully traded dance partners with Carly, so that Carly and Jake were left standing in front of each other, perplexed, in the middle of the provisional dance floor.  Jake tried to look away, but he couldn’t.  His hand instinctively moved up to clutch hers and he slipped his other hand around her lower back, gently pulling her closer to him. They began to dance to the music, with Carly swaying gently and Jake completely stiff.