What Happened That Night

6

When I told Aunt Ruthie I didn’t want to see my dad anymore, she completely understood. So instead of going to Texas in June, Aunt Ruthie took Lia and me on a girls’ trip to Seattle where we spent the night in a fancy hotel. In July, we celebrated our birthdays with a Beanie Babies theme as Lia suggested. In August, we went to the beach nearly every day and finished our back-to-school shopping.

The Monday after school began, I overheard Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Sal arguing in their bedroom.

“The judge says he does have a right.” Uncle Sal used the same calm voice he used at the restaurant whenever a customer complained that their bean enchilada had beans in it. “This isn’t something you can run from, Ruthie. You can’t just defy a judge’s order. Eddie has a legal right to see his daughter.”

“He killed my sister,” Aunt Ruthie shot back. “Do you think I care about his legal rights?”

I tugged at the friendship bracelet around my wrist that Lia made for me. For being only six years old, Lia was really good at making friendship bracelets. The two of us had a friendship bracelet making club. Right now, we were the only two members, but we were thinking about inviting some of the neighborhood kids to join.

“I know you’re upset,” Uncle Sal said. “But we have no choice. It’s a court order. If we don’t take her, there could be consequences.”

“I know.” Aunt Ruthie sniffed hard.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Uncle Sal softened his voice. “Look, you don’t have to go. I can take her on my own, and you can stay here with Lia.”

I must’ve made a noise because they both turned to face me.

“Oh, Brandy.” Aunt Ruthie wiped her eyes. She was sitting beside Uncle Sal on the edge of the bed. “I’m so sorry, but it looks like we’re going to have to go to Texas after all.”

I lifted my chin, trying to be brave. “It’s okay. I understand.”

For some reason, my words caused more tears to roll down her face. “Oh, sweetheart. You’re such a gem. Come here.” She moved to make room for me.

I sat beside her. Gently, she brushed back my hair. “I know you’re nervous about seeing him now that you know what he did, but just like always, there will be lots of guards keeping you safe. And he’ll be in jail for a long time, so you have nothing to worry about. We’ll always protect you.”

“That’s right,” Uncle Sal said. “This is your home, and we’ll always make sure you have everything you need.”

I nodded, wishing he hadn’t said the part about this being my home. Hearing him say that made me feel like maybe this wasn’t my home even though it was the only home I knew. Still, the fact remained that I lived with Lia’s parents and not mine because of what my dad did. Was it wrong to resent him for that?

“What are you thinking about?” Uncle Sal asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“When do we have to go?” I asked.

“We have a visit scheduled for next week.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Aunt Ruthie patted my shoulder. “We’ll make the best of it. We’ll see if we can make reservations at that new hotel with the slide that goes right into the pool.”

“A pool slide!” Lia skipped into the room. “Can I go this time? Please?”

Uncle Sal pulled Lia onto his lap and kissed the top of her head. “Not this time, mija. Abuela will need your help at the restaurant while I’m gone.”

“But I want to go to Texas.”

“No, you don’t,” Aunt Ruthie said. “Texas is hot and miserable. Your father and I left as soon as we could. Trust me, nothing good happens in Texas.”

“That’s not entirely true.” Uncle Sal’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at Aunt Ruthie. “I met you in Texas, didn’t I?”

Aunt Ruthie rolled her eyes. “That was obviously the exception to the rule.”

* * *

On the airplane,I sat between Uncle Sal and Aunt Ruthie. The flight attendant assumed they were my parents, so she kept referring to them as “Mom” and “Dad.” I was happy that nobody corrected her because I just wanted to pretend that I was a normal kid who lived with her happily married parents.

Once we landed in Austin, we checked into the hotel and went out to dinner. Aunt Ruthie let me choose the restaurant. Afterward, we got ice cream and swam in the pool at the hotel. Uncle Sal and I went down the slide about fifty times. Then we played Marco Polo with some other kids who were staying at the hotel.