𝐺𝑈𝐸𝑅𝑅𝐴

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿: 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀?

Cuziema

    I looked very distant from my mother. We did hold some similarities but very few. Everything else was foreign to me. My skin was a delicate dolce brown while my mother's was a warm honey color. Her hair, a dark brown that held classical curls, while mine was a Noiret black, with layers and waves that began from its ends. Though our eyes were of the same brown pigment hers were much lighter, whilst mine were so dark they seemed black.

    But the man beside her held little to no difference at all. His skin held the same brown pigment—a little darker perhaps, his hair a Noiret black, his irises so deep into its brown that they looked black. The only difference I seemed to spot was the type of hair he had, which was straight. At the moment, it was messy like he just got out of bed and was in a rush, letting the wind do as it pleased. He and I could pass as relatives.

    "Hey..?" I see a man sitting beside my mother. His eyes widened when he looked at me. He slowly turned to my mother, who gave him a smile and a nod, before turning back to me.   

"Hola mi vida." My mom finally says.

    "Hey..." I look between the both of them, trying to figure out what's going on. "Who's this?" I ask, walking into the living room, placing my bag beside the couch before sitting down.

    They look at one another as if trying to pinpoint their words carefully. After a few long seconds my mother finally tells me, "he's an old friend from high school. We bumped into each other at the grocery store."

    "Oh, ok." Something's off.

    "I'm Andrés." The man introduces himself, extending his arm out. He had an accent, though it was very faint it was still there.

    "Cuziema," I say, shaking it.

    ***

"Pizza! It's been too long!" I say, grabbing a slice from the box.

    "I guess it has been a while." My mom was practically drooling once the smell of pizza entered our home.

    "How come you haven't eaten pizza in a while?" Andrés asks.

    "Because siempre 'hay comida en la casa.'" I quote my mother, earning an eye roll from her. Andrés looks at me, almost surprised. "What?"

    "You know how to speak Spanish?"

    "Of course. You think my mom wouldn't teach me?"

    "Fair point." He agrees.

    "Are you peruvian as well?" I ask.

    "Obviously, I used to be a professional marinera dancer, you know."

    "Really?" I looked over to my mother who had just finished swallowing her bite of pizza.

    "He wasn't a professional but he could've been."

    "Yep. And how about you? Do you know how to dance?"

    "I dance festejo and marinera and a little bit of huayño."

    "Really?"

    "Yeah, oh, and salsa as well."

    "What's your favorite dish?"

    "Difficult to say, but I'll go with Lomo Saltado for now."

    "That's my favorite too."

    I smile, "Sometimes, my mom and I bake alfajores on the weekends."

    "Sometimes." My mom emphasizes, "It's a lot of work."

    "Very true." He chuckles.

    "Are you going to be staying with us?" I ask, grabbing another slice of pizza.

    "I think I'll just check into a hotel." He tells us.

    "Nonsense. You can stay with us." My mom offers.

    "I don't mind, if it's ok with you Cuziema."

    "Yeah, I'm cool with it."

    "Then why not?"

***

"I don't know it's getting pretty late." My mom says. After finishing the pizza we all changed into our pajamas. Andrés seemed to have extra clothes in his trunk, he said he always had one just in case of emergency business trips . I suggested we watch a movie but my mom was skeptical since it was a school night.

"It's Thursday mamá.  I finished all my homework at school and have no tests tomorrow." Luckily.

"Fine. You better wake up for school tomorrow."

"I will, I will," I promised.

"What movie should we watch?" Andrés asked.

"I don't care, as long as it's in Spanish."

"Let's watch Parent Trap!" I propose.

My mom was the first to disapprove, "Hay no, we've watched it so many times."

"Please," I beg.

"Cuziema, por favor. Ya te dije." I groan.

"How about grown-ups? I heard it's pretty funny." He suggested. My mom and I agreed. Not even halfway through the movie she falls asleep. Me and Andrés watched the movie in silence until I spoke.

"What's up with you Andrés?"

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"Like, do you have any kids?"

"Yeah, I do. I have 10."

"Holy shit." I say, instantly taking it back,"sorry, that just caught me off guard."

He laughs, "no worries, I usually get a similar reaction."

"I feel bad for your wife, birthing so many kids. Must've been painful."

"Yeah, all of them are identical twins except my youngest. They're fraternal."

"Twin genes are a part of the family?"

"On my wife's side, yes."

"How's your wife?"

"Dead."

Shit. I didn't know what to say so I awkwardly gave him my condolences. Our conversation ended rather quickly after that.

"How about you?" Andrés asks, "how's school life."

"Boring."

"Your grades?"

"Average. Mostly A's and B's with the occasional C sometimes." I explain.

"That's pretty good."

"I guess. What's your job?"

"Business."

"You must earn quite well."

"Yeah. I'd say so at least."

We watched the rest of the movie with a few laughs and comments. When the movie finished I realized my eyelids were too heavy to keep open so I submitted myself to slumber.