When She Paints

Lupé

I stumbled through the crowded streets as I struggled to carry two rolls of canvases that were as tall as me and felt just as heavy. Mamá expected me an hour ago and not only was I late, but my hair was a frizzy mess, sweat stains plagued my clothes, paint streaks decorated my arms, and I smelled like a pig. My skirt clung to my legs and sweat pooled at the small of my back.

I smiled at Señora Rivera, a sweet-faced old lady who sat under shade on the stoop of a blue house every afternoon.

"Hola," said Señora Rivera.

"Hola, señora, ¿está bien?" I managed to ask despite my exhausation.

The woman smiled. "Sí, I'm well. Gracias."

"Lulu, watch out!" a voice shouted, a voice I knew belonged to Miguel--the little troublemaker who always kicked a ball my way when I wasn't looking for the sake of a laugh.

I whirled around in time to see the ball flying my way; I backed up but was much closer to the edge of the sidewalk than anticipated. My ankle and knee buckled and I staggered back to keep my balance.

"Cuidado!" someone shouted, but I crashed into a cart much too late pulled by a boy much too weak to control it. The cart tipped and fell in slow motion and all I could do was watch. Its contents of barrels and bags spilled onto the road and left all attention on me.

My eyes widened as I tightened my arms around the canvases. Eyes lingered, heads shook, and my heart leaped into my throat as I overheard someone say, "That's the Solena girl who's always alone."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she still lives at home because they can't find her a husband since she's so hard to manage."

I ran.

Boquete was small and everyone knew everyone, but retorts and scolds danced on the tip of my tongue. Mamá would already be angry that I was late, and elder villagers who claimed I'd been disrespectful would only make my life that much more difficult.

I curved onto a dirt path and approached my big house that sat comfortably among trees. Up the steps and through the arched threshold, I stepped onto the cool lemon-yellow tiles of the foyer. My cousin Renata spotted me from the courtyard and darted closer.

"Ren--"

"¿Qué es esto?" she asked frantically, eyeing the canvases. Then she shook her head and guided me down the hallway. "Never mind. I don't want to know. You're late. And sweaty."

We passed through more arched doorways until reaching mine and Daniela's room upstairs. "I know, I know," I said. I dropped the canvases on the bed. "But--"

Renata gave me wide eyes. "But nothing, Lulu." She pulled the ribbon at the end of my braid and began undoing it. "Tía expected you--"

"I know, Renata!" I snapped, taking my braid back and doing it myself. I groaned. "I already know Mamita's angry, but"--I spun toward her cousin--"if Señora Rivera tells you I knocked over a cart, she's lying."

We both paused for a moment, staring at one another. The bedroom door slammed open and I thought I spotted a piece of wood flying off. Daniela, Carmen, Alana, Romina, and Ines stared at me.

"Oh, no," Romina said. She looked up at her sister Ines. "This is going to need some serious work."

Ines huffed and pushed to the front of them. "We've got less than five minutes."

And in five minutes, I sat still as my sisters and cousins danced around me, tugging apart and fixing my long hair, wiping a damp cloth on my face, under my arms, and on my back.