Brighton Part One

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The morning of the twenty-third arrives quickly, and Hector's uncle pulls up in a beaten-up twelve-foot U-Haul with a car dolly in tow. Santana steps down onto the cracked pavement and smells the dryness in the air. The blue clear sunny sky hardly has a cloud anywhere. He looks around when he hears footsteps.

"Good morning, sir. Are you Hector's Uncle Santana?" Dallas asks.

Tugging at the solid smoky gray t-shirt, Santana clears his throat, "Indeed I am. Do I know you, boys?" He replies with a slight Spanish accent.

Clarke walks to him first with a hand extended, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Clarke Harbor. Hector's been my best friend since we were little."

Impressed to be greeted kindly, Santana extends his hand, shaking Clarke's, "The pleasure and honor are all mine. My nephew has told us much about you and your family. Your generosity and friendship mean the world to the entire family."

"Thank you, sir. Hector has always been like a brother to me."

Dallas tugs at the end of his AC/DC acid-dipped shirt and offers his hand as he introduces himself, "I'm the newbie of their group. I'm Dallas Nightstorm."

"Even a new friend can make an impact. It is a pleasure to meet you, too, Dallas. Now, let's go inside and get this truck loaded. I've never been, how you say, a fan of this neighborhood." Santana states, moving his eyes from side to side as residents stare out their windows.

Quickly escorting Santana to Hector's apartment, they stand and wait for nearly a minute after the initial knock, "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Hector calls out from behind the door.

"Oh, hey. Mornin' y'all," Hector says, standing in the doorway only wearing a pair of navy blue boxers.

Santana replies in Spanish, "Hola y buenos días, mi sobrino. Carguemos esto y luego disfrutaremos de un almuerzo con tus amigos antes de irnos."

"Sí, tío, si no es un problema, ¿podemos ir a pescar con mis amigos después de comer? Una última vez para disfrutar de una de nuestras actividades favoritas."

"Sí," Santana answers, "Now get dressed! We got lots to do."

Immediately running back to his bedroom, Hector rushes to get dressed. While he brushes his teeth and gets cleaned up using cold water to wash his face and armpits, the others swiftly begin carrying the duct-taped cardboard boxes and heavy-duty contractor trash bags down to the dingy and dirty U-Haul van.

Over the next few hours, Santana remains in the back of the truck to pile everything neatly. Hector and Dallas carry out the heavier items together while Clarke carries out mostly bags or goes behind his friends, cleaning and wiping down each room to make it easier for the landlord.

"Clarke! You don't have to do that. It's a nice gesture, but repairmen do that for the people who run this place," Hector mentions.

"It is the polite thing to do. I see it this way. The landlord could have just straight kicked you outta here, but he didn't. So, pay it forward and show him how much you appreciate him being patient. Not everyone's been kind, and you know this."

For a moment, Hector feels ashamed, not thinking about how lucky he's been. The few good memories he shares in the outdated concert dwelling. As the sun shines through the windows, a gentle breeze accompanies the echoing of footsteps when Santana walks inside.

"Hey, fellas, I need your help to get the car hooked up to the dolly, please. Also, what would you boys like to go and eat?"

With his mouth wide open, Dallas mentions, "Big Buckin' Pizza!"