Memories of a Life That Never Happened

Chapter 50 - Hobnobbing

Out of their bunch, two people were actually glad when Bianca showed up. One, of course, was Abel for he had invited her. The other was Escobar, who was overjoyed to learn that his Mica had made so many new friends. 

"Come on, don't be shy." Escobar beckoned Bianca to the bonfire. He nudged her gently to the spot that Abel had just opened beside him and said, "Sit, sit. What do you want to drink?" 

"Coke, please."  

Alan helped himself to his fifth hot dog and then indicated Bianca and Abel with a sideways glance. "Why did he invite her?" he asked Mica.  

She shrugged. "I guess he likes her. I heard they, hum, bonded at the party. Then they were together again at the movies the other night. She's the one who warned Abel about Theo's ex-girlfriend."  

"Right." Alan spied Bianca through narrow eyes. 

"So," Joana interrupted them in a desperate attempt of snuffing out Nick's efforts to establish a conversation with her. "What do you do, Mica?" 

Mica frowned for an instant, until she figured what Joana was asking.  

"Usually I go to school and afterwards I work at-you know." She looked down, picked at the shredded hem of her shorts. "The place where we took Virginie when she passed out." 

Joana sunk her extremely white teeth on the shrimp patty that Escobar had been passing around the bonfire. Her pinky finger was sticking out. She nodded, chewed too quickly and swallowed hard. 

"Is it just the two of you? Your dad and you?" Joana wanted to know.  

"No." Mica abstained from correcting Joana and telling her that Escobar was her stepdad. "We're four. My mom's been a little sick, but she'll come later with my little brother." 

"I heard your dad helped set up the party. What about your mom, does she work?"  

Joana intercalated bites and questions on a never-ending inquiry. Some of those questions were blunt and way too personal, but Mica detected no ill intention in them and tried to answer Joana with patience and candor.  

"You know, I was stunned when I found out that the Chusters had invited your family to seat at their table," Joana admitted. "One time, when I was eight, my father caught me chatting with one of our housemaids. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. He was furious. He told me that I must not allow the household to assume they could befriend us. 'I do not pay them to play with you', I remember him saying. "I pay them to do their job!'"  

After such a statement, Mica wondered why Joana had accepted to come to her birthday. Probably her guests had compelled her, Mica decided.  

"What about you? What do you do?" Mica asked, trying to shift the focus of the conversation. 

"I'm a law student," Joana declared loud and proudly. 

"That must be tough. Do you like it?"  

Joana blinked, at a momentary loss, as if likes and dislikes had never been a touchstone for choosing a profession.  

"I'm-I-like it? Well, yes! Sure! I believe I do!" Joana sputtered. "My father's a prominent judge. It is only natural that I follow his footsteps. I mean, I am his only daughter." 

Even though Mica was not an only daughter, she could sympathize.  

"As long as you like it." Mica offered a compassionate smile. "If my parents were rich and I could choose whatever job I wanted, I'd be a photographer."  

Joanna stared blankly into the fire.  

"It's true that my family's finances were by no means a limitation when it was my time to choose a career." She cleaned her fingers on a paper napkin and took another patty. "But law school was never my choice. The fact is I never considered doing anything else. I guess if you have only one horse in the running, you cannot call it an option, can you?" 

"Cariño!" Escobar shouted, sprung up and set off toward two figures. 

The wind blew milder now and the fire revealed Jacira's face. She approached the group with no trouble. On one hand, Mica's mom managed to balance some sort of tray, which she had covered with a green plastic bag. On her free hand, she held on to Julian's shoulder. 

Inwardly, Mica thanked her mom for always exaggerating on the food. She was positive the large green package hid a generous birthday cake.  

Julian wobbled alongside his mother, trying to keep up with her. He made it a game to toss sand everywhere with each step and his belly button was showing under the slightly small t-shirt.  

Upon laying eyes on him, Mica did not care what her guests might think. She got up to her feet and sprinted toward her family, sweeping Julian in her arms, lifting and spinning him in the air. His giggle was the most gratifying sound in the world.  

"Let's play tickle war, Mica!" he pleaded. 

"Oh," she said, squinting her eyes humorously. "You want to play tickle war, little monster?"  

"Yes, but when I say you 'stop', you stop." 

"Hmm, I don't know about that. You know how wars go," she teased him. "It ain't over until someone surrenders."  

Then she went straight to his neck, covering it in kisses and tender bites while tickling his armpits. Julian twisted his head, trying to hide his neck from the attack, but it was too late. He screamed with joy and begged Mica to stop. 

"Do you surrender?" she pressed, but he continued to laugh, pulling her hair in an effort to make her quit. The pull was so gentle that Mica could barely feel it. "Do you surrender?" she repeated. 

Out of breath from laughing, Julian exclaimed, "I do! I do!"  

"I didn't hear you say it!" 

"I love you, Mica! Please, stop."  

She obeyed, knelt to put Julian down on the ground and hugged him so tight that his glasses hung askew. 

"I love you too, little monster! Where's my birthday kiss?" she demanded.  

Julian smacked her cheek, pulling her head to him as hard as he could. That was enough to make Mica cast off any negative feeling. She let her brother go and he ran to his father, hid behind Escobar's leg. 

"Who are all these people, Daddy?"  

"They are your sister friends. They came here because they like her and they want to celebrate her birthday with us." Escobar told him. 

"I don't know them."  

"Sure you do. You remember Abel, don't you?"  

Julian nodded. "And all the others?"  

"They are new friends. Just like the ones you will be making this year, when you go back to school."  

"When we make new friends, do we stay friends with them forever?"  

Escobar stroke Julian's hair while glancing at Mica, who was chatting with Jean-Pierre.  

"With some, yes."