Amor Vicissitudine

“Tony what was that back there?” I snapped at him as we walked from Jaime and my house, “Why are you suddenly being so violent!” Tony slammed the driver’s side door and got in, hissing in pain,

“That was me getting you to come home with me.” He flipped the mirror down and looked into it, checking his reflection, “Damn, is it really starting to swell already?” He poked it softly, wincing at the feeling of his fingers,

“Tony, babe, don’t touch it.” I reached across the car and tapped his hand down, “It’ll puff up faster.” He looked at me and just kind of laughed, shaking his head before turning the car on and beginning to drive away.

As we began backing away from the house something hit the passenger’s side window.

I gasped and Tony cursed, putting his hand on my stomach in an attempt to push me back. It would have worked if the window hadn’t been rolled completely up.

My head whipped to the side to see Jaime glaring at us through a haze of egg.

Did he seriously chuck an egg at us?

“What the hell Jaime?!” I shouted at him through the window as Tony began to drive off, “Usted es una verdadera pieza de trabajo! Tú sabes que? No se me esperaba en casa en el corto plazo!” I rolled the window down and shouted at him, shaking my fist like an angry grandpa in his direction,

“Hey, hey, baby, relax.” Tony reached toward me and grabbed my belt, pulling me back so I was sitting, “Don’t let him get to you, shit like this happens all the time.”

“Yo sé cómo es mi propio hermano.” I couldn’t help but mumble as I buckled my seatbelt.

I’m so fucking sick of Jaime’s bullshit,

“Don’t mumble shit in your weird family speak. Remember: Me no speako Mexicano.” Tony joked at me, tapping under my chin with his finger, “We can come back in some time to grab your stuff. You’re moving in with me.” Tony pulled over as soon as we were out of sight of Jaime’s house, just to kiss me, “And he can’t do anything about it.”

I shook my head.

This isn’t right; I shouldn’t be walking out on the one family member I held onto so dearly.

But there are some things you have to let go of in order to move forward in life.

That was something I learned young. One of my first few times being in a dance class the instructor had told us this.

Well, she told me.

She came up to me and blatantly said I need to lose weight. I was thirteen,
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“Sicily can I talk to you?” Ms. Albereit had called me to her office after we had finished class for the day and I was waiting for Jaime to pick me up,

“Yes?” I stepped into her office and looked around, it was dark, the deep maroon walls were only barely lit by the low light of the wall fixtures,

“How much do you weigh?” Did all Americans need to know things like this?

“I’m one hundred eleven pounds.” She marked something down on her clipboard and then looked up at me.

She had a critical look in her eye as she stared at me.

I shifted awkwardly on my feet and put my hand on my arm just above the elbow, holding it close to my body,

“Do you think you can lose about twenty by the first show?” She wants me to lose weight? How was I going to do that? I’d already slimmed down two dress sizes in time for this season.

I looked around and the walls, thinking.

I could cut back on eating Jaime’s cooking. But it was so good.

I could stop eating out so much. Yeah. No more restaurants. All home cooking. With organic ingredients.

But that could get expensive.

I bit my lip pensively as my eyes darted around nervously,

“Uhm, I can try.” She nodded and marked something else down on her notepad,

“Good. I’ll see you next rehearsal.”
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My losing as much weight as I did means I starved myself for three days a week and survived off of supplements instead of actual food.

It got me back into the lead for that show though.

I sighed and Tony nudged my shoulder,

“Hey Ci, I think you might need to take over the rest of the way to my apartment.” I looked at him, my eyes snapping wide open.

His eye was almost completely swollen shut and yet he still had a huge grin on his face,

“Tony, this is why you don’t pick fights with my brother.”

“But mom he started it!” Tony whined like a little kid, pouting as he got out of the car,

“No buts, Tony. I don’t want you getting hurt.” As we passed each other at the front of the car Tony stopped, kissing my lips and turning me at the same time,

“GET A ROOM SICILY!” A familiar voice shot into my ear as I pushed off of Tony.

My head whipped around to the white truck as it passed us; the person in the passenger’s seat was none other than my very best friend, Michael,

“Michael Christopher, you did NOT just tell me to get a room!” I did my sassy black girl head swivel at him and he laughed, hopping out of the car and waving for his buddy to keep going, “You little mister man whore! What are you doing here?”

Mike came up to me and grabbed me in a tight hug,

“I cam to see if you were okay. I didn’t see you last night after you disappeared into the basement,” He let go of me and looked me up and down, “Is that a hickey?” He poked the side of my neck and Tony let out a nervous chuckle and Mike looked at him, “Don’t you go hurting my little Italy now!” Mike used the nickname that my full name had been derived from,

Tony put his hands up pretending to be completely innocent,

“And don’t let Jaimito hurt you either. Geez he really did a number on your eye man.” Mike had yet to officially meet Tony yet he was acting like he’d known him for a few years.

He reached up and poked the swollen, and bruised patch on Tony’s skin,

“Ah, don’t touch it.” Tony swatted Mike’s hand away and looked at him like he was nuts, which he kind of was, “How do you know Sicily?”

Mike looked up blankly as though he was trying to remember when we met,

“I think I was at a friend’s concert when you stumbled into my lap.” I could tell Tony was wishing he meant the figurative phrase, “She met up with my brother and I and we roamed San Diego with our drunken selves.”

Oh that night was a night to remember.

A party at Jaime’s place and then Mike got me wasted and high as fuck, taking me on a joy ride with his bike around San Diego.

We got stuck at a beach somewhere near downtown when Mike decided to pass out in the sand and Vic was off with the girl who turned into his fiancé.

It’s amazing how life catches up to you at moments like this.

Tony cleared his throat and I looked at him.

I need to introduce them,

“Oh, right, Tony this is my good friend, Mike. Mike this is my boyfriend, Tony.”

“My baby got a boyfriend and didn’t tell me?!” He made an action like he was so hurt about it,

“Oh hush up Whiskeyhands!” I reached up and ruffled his dark hair around,

“I’m so proud of you Little Italy!” Mike grabbed Tony and I in a bear hug, “My baby has a boyfriend!”

“Mike I’m not your child! Get off of me!” I pushed him off of me and Tony and hooked my arm in Tony’s, “We were just heading over to Tony’s place so I could start moving in, you wanna join us?”

I did a coy smile that always got me what I wanted.

Mike always claimed to be immune to it but everyone knew he was so weak when it came to girls with killer smiles,

“I think I can spare some time to hang with your new toy.” Mike winked at me. What a goob,

“Alright, let’s get driving!” I walked to the driver’s side and got in before Tony let Mike get into the back.

It still amazed me how he could fit into such small spaces, he was practically six foot,

“Let’s go!” Mike seemed a little too excited to be going to Tony’s apartment.