Naomi took off the helmet, and dark hair fell over her face. I need a haircut, she thought as she brushed back the tangled mass. The last time she’d had one was almost two years ago, when her mother had lost her own hair during chemo. Without hesitation, she’d chopped off her waist-length locks and had a wig made. A year later, her hair had grown back, and her mother had passed away. She wanted to cut her hair short again, but every time she went to the stylist, it brought back memories she didn’t want to recall.
It was painful to think about her mother, and Naomi avoided it whenever possible. She’d bought the Ninja 250R motorcycle after her mom had died. The used red bike had screamed, “Ride me!” and she had had to have it. Thanks to Chuy’s mechanical skills, the bike had soon been running like new. While riding, she could push back the memory of her mother withering away in her bed, of her father drowning his grief in alcohol after her mother died.
“What are you doing sitting out here?”
Chuy emerged from the small white house, the screen door slamming shut behind him. She couldn’t believe how much her cousin had changed. He used to be a skinny kid with bad acne. Now, he was all muscle, thanks to his job at the Cruz Moving Company. Hauling furniture on a daily basis had filled him out nicely, though Naomi would never admit it aloud. He already had his ego stroked on a regular basis by a number of the neighborhood girls that flocked around him.
“I’m enjoying the silence before I have to face the loud mob we call family.” She tossed her leg over the seat and locked her helmet to the bike.
“Let me push that death trap for you.” He leaned over her motorcycle and flexed his muscled arms at her. “Check out my guns. They got bigger.”
She rolled her eyes and pushed him away. “Ew, Chuy. You need a shower.”
Chuy grinned. “What’s wrong? Is your nose too good for Eau de Mexicano? Some of us have to work for a living. Not all of us can be college graduates like you.”
Naomi snorted. Chuy teased her whenever he was trying to hide his true feelings. He was like an older brother, always looking out for her, especially after things got rough with her father.
Sometimes, she was jealous of the special relationship Chuy and her father had, but she couldn’t blame her father for taking Chuy under his wing. After all, his own parents had been killed when he was five. Their grandmother had raised Chuy, her hawk-like eyes forever watchful that he wouldn’t fall prey to any of the neighborhood gangs. If Chuy ever had a problem, however, it was her father who’d been there to put him in his place.
“You could’ve had your own business by now if you hadn’t dropped out after the first semester.”
“Can you blame me? Learning about Socrates wasn’t gonna help to pay the bills.” Chuy popped down the kickstand.
She eyed him carefully. It was a sore spot for him. He had wanted to stay in college, but even with financial aid, he couldn’t afford to cover tuition and support their grandmother, too. At the time, her father was struggling to keep his own job and couldn’t help out, either.
“Okay, okay. I’ll give you that. You’re really smart, you know.” She poked him in the arm. “I couldn’t have gotten through Algebra without your help.”
“Not so loud.” Chuy looked around nervously as they reached the front steps of the house. “I got a rep to protect.”
“Oh, the horror! I wouldn’t want anyone to think you’re intelligent.”
Naomi heard music coming from a distance. The neighborhood kids stepped to the side and watched the black Mustang as it turned the corner. Mirror-like rims turned slowly as the car rolled down the street. On the car’s grille, bright LED lights lined the horse logo like a bluish-white halo.
“Really, Dad. Depeche Mode?” Naomi asked when her father, Javier Duran, stopped the car in front of her.
“You know you like it. You used to dance to it all the time when you were little.” Javier stepped out of the car, then took her in his arms. “Congratulations, Mijita. You looked beautiful this morning in your cap and gown.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Naomi loved it when he used the Spanish term of endearment.
“Did you hear us? We clapped for you.” Javier opened the trunk of the car and took out a grocery bag.
“Yeah, Dad. I think everyone heard Chuy’s air horn.”
“Hey, I had to stir things up a bit in there,” Chuy said as he grabbed the remaining bags from the trunk. “It was so boring we were falling asleep.”
“Mission accomplished. The chancellor almost had a heart attack.” Naomi walked to the front of the car and traced the light around the running horse. “You finished installing the lights. Looks good.”
Javier beamed and patted the hood of the car. “You should see it at night. It looks like the horse is coming right at you.”
She laughed. It had been a long time since she’d last seen her father so happy. “Dad, you sound like a teenager.”
“Life’s hard, Mijita. You have to enjoy it when you can.”