La India

“Mira, ojos de vaca!*” I heard Rosana’s loud voice echo through my grandmother’s small home. She was calling for me.

I poked my head out of my bedroom door, “What?”

Rosana ran down the hallway to my door. She was smiling like she was hiding something. I gave her a “what?” look and her smiled became a scowl.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she snapped.

“Well, you called me that so I’m expecting something stupid,” I shrugged.

She gave me another scowl, “Just come with me.”

“Is Manzanita home yet?” I followed her through the house and into the courtyard.

“How should I know? Aren’t you the one that lives under her?”

Sometimes she really annoyed me with her constant sarcasm and quick comebacks. I stayed shut until we were inside her bedroom again. Venecia sat on Rosana’s bed. She was still wearing her uniform. I could feel her eyes on me.

I stood in the middle of Rosana’s room. She looked at me like she was waiting for something. My response was a shrug. That’s when she pushed me on her bed. I fell back and ended up close enough to Venecia that I could smell her perfume. It was sweet and soft. Against my better judgment, I breathed it in deeply, hoping it would stay with me.

My cousin looked at me with a tiny smile. She was plotting. Her face wasn’t very good at hiding what she was thinking.

Titi Florencia came into Rosana’s room. She looked at the three of us before rolling her eyes.

“Rosi, Venecia needs to go home. Her papa is waiting for her outside,” then she walked away.

“Come on, Venecia,” Rosana rolled her eyes and walked through her door.

Venecia stood up and walked in front of me. She held a piece of paper in her hands. I took it from her and she rewarded me with a smile. I couldn’t deny she was pretty.

After some prolonged goodbye at the front door, Rosana came skipping into her room.

“So,” she sat next to me, “are you interesting?”

I raised an eyebrow, “Interested in what? You haven’t explained anything to me today that would interest me.”

“Venecia.”

“She’s pretty.”

“That’s it?” She almost screamed. “Have you even noticed her before?”

My puzzled look only angered her more. She stood to close her door and came to face me.

“Listen, Miguelito, that girl has been in your class since the fifth grade. You two have been going to school together for seven years. I cannot believe that you have never seen her!”

“You know I don’t pay attention to girls from school,” I protested. “I only have eyes for Manzanita.”

“It didn’t look like that to me.” This caught me by surprise. Rosana smiled, “You’re very transparent, cousin. You remember that saying? El que se pica es porque aji come.**”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I think you already know. Anyway, I know you’ve been having these strange swings with your relationship with her. Venecia has been my friend for a long time and she’s been in love with you since eigth grade.”

“Eighth grade? She should have found someone else for how long it’s been,” I shook my head.

“She is quiet and very shy, but she is determined. She’s seen how you react to those clingy girls. Maybe you should give her a chance,” Rosana smiled.

“I can’t. Manzanita kissed me last night.”

“What? She kissed you when you went over there?”

“No, not immediately. She just kissed me after I told her how long I loved her,” I shrugged.

“Miguel,” her disappointment made my heart sink.

“I did something wrong?”

“It’s not that it’s wrong. But I think that something isn’t right about what happened last night between you two.”

I let my fall into my hands. How could a night that made me so happy cause so much confusion?