The Thread Between Danny and Me

Chapter 14: Glad you're back

"How was visiting your uncle?" Danny asked as he sat next to me at lunch.

I smiled because he decided to eat with me. "A lot happened."

"Like what?"

"Well, my mom discovered she's pregnant."

"Huh?!"

"Yeah," I laughed. "It's a shock to everyone. My parents assured us they were not planning on having another child, but...accidents happen? I guess?"

"Wow," said Danny.

"It explains why she's been feeling so sick and sluggish. I was worried about her, so I'm glad it's not anything serious. Well, being pregnant is serious, but you know, not like anything bad."

"When's the baby due?"

"Mmm...not till June. We've got a while yet."

Danny opened his lunch box and took out a thermos. "How do you feel about it?"

"Well, it's kinda strange thinking about it. There's a three-year gap between me and Hector, but I'll be fifteen years older than my sibling." I paused. "And I'll be out of the house for most of their life, so we won't grow up like siblings. At least, not the way me and Hector are."

Danny nodded. "Do you know what your mom's having?"

"We won't find out until she's five months pregnant. February, about. They do an ultrasound and that's when they can tell."

I turned to my lunch and began to eat.

"What else happened?"

I stared at my sandwich for a while, trying to arrange my emotions so I wouldn't cry. Finally, I said, "It was hard seeing my uncle, Danny. I knew his legs were missing, but I wasn't really prepared for it. He's got a cast on his arm, too. I didn't think about how everything he loves was taken away from him, including driving. He won't be able to come for our birthdays, and he felt especially bad about it because it's my Quince."

"Quince?"

"Oh, right. Um, a Quince is usually a really big deal in Latin families. When a girl turns fifteen, she has a huge party and gets super dressed up in a fancy ball gown with a tiara. She has attendants too. Its..." I tried to think of a comparison.

"It's kinda similar to a wedding, actually," I said. "Without the wedding. Your friends dress in matching dresses that you pick and the boys dress in matching suits that you pick too. There's dinner, a first dance, but with your dad instead of a boy, and then a party afterward. It's a whole thing."

"You're having one of those?"

"No, I decided a while ago I didn't want one. My Aunt Valentina made sure to tell me how much she disapproved of my choice every chance she got. It's hard for her to understand why I wouldn't want to do something like that."

Danny was silent as he waited for me to explain.

"It would be super complicated," I said. "I'd have to have it in New York so my cousins could be attendants and my family could be there, but then I wouldn't have any friends be attendants or be at the party.

"If I had it at home," I continued, "it would be kinda weird since no one around here has been to one or understands it. Plus, it would be hard for all my family to come up. And then all the planning, not to mention the attention being solely on me for an entire day...."

"That doesn't seem like your style," Danny said softly.

"Yeah, exactly. My mom was disappointed, but she understands. So anyway, because I'm not having a whole party my uncle wanted to make sure he came up for my birthday and probably do something a little more involved than just hanging out. But he can't."