On My Side

Chapter 6

Morning sunlight streamed through window of the hotel room, falling gently on Eunwoo and Paloma who were sleeping head-to-toe on the bed. They had talked the whole night away and had fallen asleep in the early morning hours. Paloma woke up first and sat up, resting her soft curls against the leather headboard of the bed and watching Eunwoo's chest rise and fall with each breath.

Paloma had not meant for this to happen. She had said she would do the show for Azul's sake, but as it turned out, she had found someone she truly liked spending time with. Despite their vastly different life styles, she found that they were more compatible than she would have guessed.

After about 30 minutes, Eunwoo opened one eye and found Paloma sitting beside him, looking at him. He sat up abruptly. "Oh, I guess we fell asleep," he said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, I really should be getting home to get changed. I promised a friend I would go to her daughter's baptism party today," Paloma said, feeling a bit sad to be leaving Eunwoo's company.

"Oh, yeah, okay," he said a bit glumly.

"I mean, you could come if you wanted to," she offered.

"I doubt a family would want a stranger intruding on their daughter's baptism party," he replied.

"Nah, you don't get Mexicans. We have random people showing up at our parties all the time. That's just how we do things. From a Mexican viewpoint, there are no strangers. Whoever shows up is welcome," Paloma explained.

Not relishing the idea of spending the day alone, Eunwoo agreed to go with Paloma. He dressed quickly and they took a cab to Paloma's apartment. As they walked through the front door, they were met with the sight of Azul sitting on the threadbare brown couch, munching on a Pop Tart.

"Well, well, well," she said as they entered together. "I was going to make a missing person's report if I didn't see the whites of your eyes soon," she teased. "I see you were having more fun than I was," she added as she winked at Paloma with a knowing look.

"Don't let your imagination go running wild. It's not what you think," Paloma defended.

"So, what do I think it is?" Azul challenged, grinning.

"Never mind. Are you going to Ms. Angela's party today?" she asked to change the subject. All the while, Eunwoo stood by, looking a bit uncomfortable. He felt weird about Azul knowing that he and Paloma had been together all night.

"Nah, today I have plans with this couch. My ass is gonna sit here all day and luxuriate in my day off," Azul replied, cracking open a Sprite.

"Don't eat too much sugar," Paloma scolded, taking full advantage of her role as the older sister.

"Pfft," Azul scoffed as she watched Paloma run off to take a shower. She studied Eunwoo carefully as he stood awkwardly in front of her.

"Take a seat," she said in Korean, which shocked Eunwoo greatly.

"You speak Korean?" he marveled.

"Some," she said breezily. "I had wanted to go to college right out of high school, but finances didn't permit. So, I'm busting my ass, trying to raise enough money to go next year," she explained.

"Oh," was Eunwoo's only reply. He thought it was sad that Azul had postponed her dreams, but he didn't say it because he felt it wasn't his place to have an opinion on her choices.

"And what do you want to study in college?" he asked.

"Korean," Azul answered simply. "I've been interested in the language and culture ever since I was little," she told him. "But, you know, sometimes in life, you have to take a step back before you can step forward," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Just then, Paloma emerged, wearing a white eyelet sundress, her hair still wet from the shower. She had put a swipe of red lipstick on but was not wearing other make-up besides that. Still, Eunwoo thought she looked stunning as her tan skin popped against the white dress.

"Vámanos," she said, taking Eunwoo's arm and leading him to the door.

"Aren't you going to dry your hair?" he fretted.

"It's freaking 80 degrees out there," Paloma pointed out. "What is it with Latin Americans and Asians that they are afraid to go outside with wet hair?" she joked.

"Milenia of trial and error," Eunwoo teased as he reached out to ruffle her wet curls.

They went outside and Eunwoo said, "I will go hail us a cab."

"No, we can use my car," Paloma replied.

"Oh, you have a car?" he asked.

"Well, it's a car in the most technical sense of the word," she said as she opened the driver's side door of a very worn Toyota Camry that had once been a silver color but had aged into a matte gray. Eunwoo gingerly got in the passenger's seat, feeling a spring from the chair poking his bottom. As they drove along, Eunwoo held tightly to the handle on the top of the door as the shocks in the car were shot and allowed him to feel every bump and joggle. The clanging noise coming from the car was not encouraging, but he kept his eyes straight ahead on the road in front of them.

Soon, they stopped at a rundown house with a chain link fence. The yard was home to several cars that appeared to be abandoned. Paloma opened the gate and walked into the yard, setting off loud barking from a black lab who nearly knocked Eunwoo over with its enthusiastic welcome of company.

A woman in her thirties, came out carrying a tray of tacos in one hand and a baby in the other. "Here, take her," the strange woman said to Eunwoo, passing him the squirming bundle. He clumsily took the baby from her arms and held her about a foot away from himself, wondering what he should do with this baby he had been handed. Paloma immediately began to help the older woman, leaving Eunwoo alone with the fat-cheeked baby.

"Hello," Eunwoo said to the bright-eyed baby, still holding her away from himself. "What's your name?" he asked, knowing full well that the child was too young to speak. "It's a beautiful day," he commented, trying to make small talk with the child who was trying to escape his grasp. Finally, Eunwoo was relieved of the baby when the woman he had seen earlier returned for her.

"This is Angela," Paloma introduced. "And you already met Rosario," she said, as she squeezed the baby's chubby leg. Just then, a short, dark-skinned man emerged from an unattached garage, wiping his hands with a rag that was stained with motor oil.

"You'd better bring that carcatcha of yours over for me to take a look at it," the man said to Paloma. "That banging noise can't be normal," he theorized.

"I'll bring it when I have some money," she promised.

The man waved his large, beefy hand in the air dismissively. "Don't worry about the money. Bring it by anyway," he said. The man held out his hand and shook Eunwoo's, pumping it relentlessly. "I'm Diego," he said as he held Eunwoo's hand in a death grip. "Paloma's like the younger sister I never wanted," he teased, finally releasing Eunwoo's delicate hand.

With that, a band began to play what sounded to Eunwoo like polka music. Couples formed all around the yard between long tables with white tablecloths. "Come on," Paloma urged, pulling Eunwoo close to her and putting her arms around his neck. She pulled his hands to her waist and began performing a very bouncy dance as she pulled him closer. Eunwoo soon found his rhythm as he placed one foot between hers and the other one to one side of her right foot. "This is quebradita," she yelled out above the music. "That means 'broken girl'. So, at some point, you have to dip me back and 'break' me," she told him. Eunwoo studied the other couples and finally plucked up the courage to bend Paloma backward, holding her safely with his left arm. The air was full of the smell of cumin, limes, and the sweet cocoa butter scent that emanated from Paloma's tan arms.