Chapter 4
Veronica and I worked steadily on our project during the week. She introduced me to some of her friends, Alma, Imelda, and Melissa. They were all very nice and I really started to feel like I’d made some new friends. Alma was tall and thin with exotic oval dark eyes. She was quieter than Imelda and Melissa who fed off each other.
Imelda was short and a little heavy-set with dark features. She was hilarious and always making funny comments that made everyone laugh. Melissa had black hair cut into a sassy, A-line cut that framed her face perfectly. Tiny and petite, she knew how to keep Imelda’s sense of humor going. I looked forward to Friday night more than ever.
When the bell rang Friday afternoon, Dawn and I gabbed away, as we found Diego to drive us home.
“Hola, Diego.” I slid into the back seat.
“Hola, muchacha.” Diego pulled the SUV away from the curb and negotiated the Nogales streets to take us home.
Once we were home we jumped in the pool before we had dinner. It felt delightful to cool off. Mom’s car had just been delivered today and Dad agreed to let me take it to McDonald’s tonight rather than get dropped off and picked up later. While I floated on the raft, letting the sun hit my face, I really wished I had my own car so I didn’t always have to beg for wheels to drive.
After dinner, Dawn and I started getting ready to go out. I chose some tight dark-blue jeans, a silver sequin tank-top and heels. Dawn had on a similar outfit but chose flats for comfort. When we were ready, we walked downstairs to say good-bye to our folks before leaving.
“Bye. You girls be safe and call me if you need anything,” Mom said, a little worry in her voice. The line across her forehead seemed deeper.
“We will. Don’t worry, it'll be fine.” I reassured her and took the keys from Dad.
“Be safe tonight.” Dad said, sounding almost a little sad.
“We will be, promise.” I kissed his cheek again. “Thanks again.” I couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across my face, as I turned to Dawn and nodded toward the door.
Outside, we got in my mom’s Honda and headed for McDonald’s. I couldn’t believe how full the lot was when we got there. We drove around a couple of times before finding parking. I prayed that the car would be safe here. As we got out, I scanned the crowds of people looking for Veronica. I saw her just as we came through the restaurant door. She must have had twenty people from school with her.
“Hey, Kayla!” Veronica yelled.
I waved and started walking over to her. “Hi.”
Veronica hugged me. “Hi. Are you ready to go have some fun?”
“More then you know. Oh, Veronica, this is my sister, Dawn.”
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” Dawn shook her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Veronica said with a smile. “Well, let’s get this party started!” She motioned everyone towards the door.
We walked out of McDonald’s’ with a huge group of people. Dawn spotted some friends that she knew in the crowd and started talking with them as we all walked. Meantime, I chatted with Veronica, Alma, Imelda, and Melissa about Imelda’s new boyfriend. He planned to enlist in the military after school and she intended to go with him wherever he’d be stationed.
We approached the border crossing. We simply walked through the iron revolving doors and we were in Mexico. It was that easy. No stopping to show our passports, no questions from the border patrol, no nothing. We just walked in. I couldn’t believe it.
“You did bring your passport, didn’t you?” Veronica asked, suddenly looking serious.
I made a face like I had forgotten. “Just kidding, I have it.”
“Good, because it’d be a shame to leave you behind.”
We both laughed as we strolled to the pub. It was only three blocks to the two-story cement building with no windows. It would have looked like a prison except for the line of people waiting to get in and the music that streamed out when the doors opened. We stood in line, waiting with everyone else.
“Is there a cover charge? Can I use U.S. dollars?” I asked, suddenly worried.
“No cover and U.S. dollars are fine. It’s the border so they're used to doing the conversion.” Veronica reassured me.
As we waited, Javier and his group of friends walked by to the front of the line. He stopped when he saw Veronica. He wore dark jeans and a short-sleeved polo shirt. He strolled over to us, making me suddenly nervous.
“Come on. Come with me.” He looked at Veronica.
Was she his girlfriend? I wondered and couldn’t help, but feel disappointed.
“Only if my friends can come too,” Veronica said. “I don’t want to sit in there alone waiting for everyone.”
“How many are with you?”
“Ten,” Veronica shot out.
I knew ten wouldn’t include everyone and I hoped Dawn and I were included in that mix. I glanced at my sister, caught her eye to signal to her to get closer so I wouldn’t lose her.
“Come on.”
Veronica climbed under the ropes and we followed. We all walked to the front of the line and Veronica looked back and then called out to a couple of more people to include in her ten-person allotment. Javier didn’t even speak to the doorman. He just let us all through.
“How did we get away with that?” I quietly asked Veronica as we continued to enter the club.
“It’s Javier. He can do what he wants.” Veronica giggled.
I didn’t understand her answer, but decided not to ask any more questions as to why he could do whatever he wanted.
“Are you his girlfriend?” I discreetly asked.
“Oh God, no. He's my cousin. Why? Do you have the hots for Javier?” Veronica asked, wide-eyed and surprised. She laughed again. “Watch out, because that boy is dangerous.”
I contemplated what she was saying to me. Deep down, I hoped she was kidding about him being dangerous since I found him enticing.
“He just broke up with his girlfriend by the way,” Veronica said.
“Good to know.” I felt a little intimidated now.
Veronica looked at me and nodded with a sigh. She grabbed my hand and we made our way to the bar. I didn’t realize that when she said “the pub,” she meant a real pub. I’d thought it was just the name of the club, but it was a bar and disco.
“What do you want? I'll buy the first round,” Veronica asked.
“Whatever you’re having.” I’d no idea what to order. Veronica turned to look for everyone else. Dawn was already on the dance floor with someone she knew from school. Our other friends were getting a table. Veronica yelled over to them. “Hey ladies! Margaritas tonight?”
Alma polled the table and gave thumbs-up.
“Perdone. ¿Puedo tener una jarra de Margaritas?” Veronica asked.
The bartender nodded and started mixing a pitcher of Margaritas for us. After he handed her the pitcher and a sleeve of plastic cups she said, “Póngalo en la ficha de Javier.” The bartender nodded and we walked away.
“You didn’t have to pay?” I asked.
Veronica giggled before answering. “I put it on Javier’s tab. He can afford it, trust me.”
I glanced over to Javier and his gang of friends who sat around a table, drinking beer. None of them had girls with them. Didn’t any of those guys have girlfriends? Maybe they preferred to hang out together instead of getting to know anyone else. It’d be hard to get him to notice me or get to know him if he never left his friends.
We got to the table and poured the drinks. After a couple of these, I may have the courage to dance. We were sitting and talking when I saw a new group of girls enter. One of them looked at Javier and he nodded at her. I wondered who she was. I was obviously staring because Veronica answered my question, making me worry that my thoughts had come out of my mouth.
“That’s Javier’s sister, Karla. She's a sophomore so he'll be shooing her out of here before midnight. Their brother, Luis, will be in later too. They all hang out here.”
I nodded while taking it all in. The pitcher was already empty and Alma went up for another one.
“Let’s dance. I love this song.” Veronica grabbed my arm and we made our way out to the dance floor. Our other friends joined us as we formed a circle in order to dance together. I saw Javier watching us from his corner of the bar. It was a little bit eerie how he stared at everyone, but I could feel his eyes on me. My skin tingled just knowing he focused on us.
Veronica was right. At midnight, his brother came in and Javier gave Karla a nod telling her to leave. She did just as she was told, or rather signaled to do. What kind of power did this guy have? Javier intrigued me more and more. He carried an air of confidence that was sexy and comforting all at the same time.
We all went back to the table to take a breather and get more to drink. I started definitely feeling tipsy by this point. All of a sudden, a fight broke out. I saw Javier punching some guy in the face repeatedly. Before I comprehended everything, the Federales entered and Javier and his friends scattered and ran to alternate exits.
The Federales ran after them half-heartedly. They looked like they were our age and had small machine guns strapped to their chests. Clearly they didn’t care about catching Javier and his friends or the police would have used the weapons at their disposal. The entire scene was scary.
“What would a Friday night be without a fight at the pub?” Veronica shook her head.
I raised my brows with concern and confusion. “I guess this happens often?”
“Oh yeah. It’s always something.” Veronica just shrugged it off like it was no big deal.
We stayed until about one in the morning and decided to start heading back. We all left together and made our way back to the border. This time we needed to go through U.S. Customs. I showed my passport and the bored customs agent waved me through after asking me if I had anything to declare.
Dawn was right behind me as we re-entered the United States. We walked back over to McDonald’s’ and said good-bye to everyone.
“Thank you for inviting us tonight. It was a lot of fun,” I said to Veronica.
“It was great. Come with us again. We go every Friday night.” Veronica hugged me, then Dawn.
“We’ll do that, thanks.” I was tired and looped my arm through Dawn’s as we started walking toward the car.
We got in and pulled out of the parking lot. I noticed Javier’s Camaro as we drove down highway 82. He must live near us. Then he and a passenger exchanged words with the guys in a vehicle next to them at the traffic light. When the light turned green, both cars tore off side-by-side, clearly drag racing. Wasn’t the fight enough of an adrenaline rush for one night? Veronica was right. Her cousin was dangerous.
When we got home, we quietly made our way up to our rooms. I prayed our parents hadn’t waited up for us since we were both a little bit buzzed.
“How was your night?” Mom asked from behind me.
I tried not to make eye contact or breathe on her. I felt suddenly nervous. “It was fun, Mom. Tell you about it tomorrow. I’m really tired and I need to pee super bad.” I threw myself into the bathroom leaving my poor sister out there to fend for herself. She must have done okay because I heard my mother tell her goodnight and then leave. I opened the door that entered Dawn’s room and plopped myself down on the bed next to her.
“Thanks for leaving me out there,” Dawn said, annoyed.
“Quit crying. She’d never suspect her baby of wrong-doing.”
“Whatever.”
“It was fun, huh?”
“Yeah, but my head is already hurting.”
“What do you think about Javier?”
“What’s to think? It’s not like he talked to any of us.”
“I know but I can’t stop wondering what he is like.”
Dawn looked at me with worry. “Watch out, sister. I don’t think he’s your type. He seems wild.”
What is my type? Maybe a little wild is what I need.