Umbra

Chapter 22

Xochitl was overjoyed.

"You're here!" she squealed as Emilia arrived with a bag slung over her shoulders. "Papi– she's here!"

Emilio emerged from the hallway. "Mija." He smiled. "How was your trip?"

"I almost threw up in that alley down the block," said Emilia honestly. "But otherwise... the shadow traveling is getting easier. Is Tía Evangelina here yet?"

"Yes," he said. "She just checked in at the hotel where our other relatives are staying. We had some unexpected RSVPs from Mexico... you'll get to meet some of my cousins and their kids. Your grandparents..." He sighed. "Their VISA didn't come in time. Evangelina and I haven't seen them since we left Mexico. Almost twenty-one years ago."

She was a bit disappointed even though she hadn't heard that much about her grandparents; they didn't have the best relationship with Evangelina and there wasn't really a way to mend that with such a distance between them.

She lowered her voice as her sister dragged her bag away, calling for Blanca to come out and say hello. "You know... I'm sure the gods could have a way with all this. I'll be twenty-one in half a year but given the nature of our quest... I can ask, you know, if there's a way to speed up the process. You, my Tía, your... wife. I can try to get you a citizenship straightaway. The Titans did that for me when they recruited me... one of the many favors to buy me out."

His eyes softened. "Mija, I wouldn't want to ask you to do that. It's... a lot."

"Just consider it." She offered a smile. "I'll let you sit with it." She leaned down as Blanca came running, then immediately straightened back up. "Wow, last time I was here you were a lot smaller. How did you get so tall in just six months?"

"I drink a lot of milk," said Blanca proudly. "Come see where you'll be sleeping!"

She followed her to their room, surprised to see that they'd gotten a new bunk bed, one with a trundle beneath. Blanca had arranged the trundle with all sorts of stuffed animals for herself and had left a poster on the lower bunk that read 'EMILIA!!!!' followed by drawings of flowers, puppies, cats, and a few dark blobs that must've been meant as cute shadow creatures... she wasn't sure what shape they were in but one may have resembled a horse with gigantic eyes.

"That's very sweet of you," said Emilia, hugging Blanca. "I'm happy to be here with you. Where are Daniel and Alejandro?"

"They're at the venue," said Xochitl behind her. "Rearranging some of the seating since we have new people coming. You'll get to sit with Tía Evangelina, Papi, Mami, and our siblings. I'll be at the table with my friends. Do you..." She whispered, "Do you know how to braid?"

"Piper taught me some things," she said uncertainly. "I'm not sure I'm the best at it. Why?"

She reached into a drawer and pulled out a scrapbook. She must've been working on this since she was little– her ideal quinceañera. Near one the end was a page with a hairstyle, fairly simple up-do with a bun made of different braids. "I want this," she said, "but we didn't get a hairstylist and Mami is going to be busy getting everyone else ready and driving relatives to the venue. Do you think you could?"

Emilia hesitated. How hard could it be? She figured the alternative would be Xochitl simply curling her hair and that wouldn't be very fun for her. "Okay, I can try. May Aphrodite/Venus help me make you look good tomorrow."

She was glad to not have had a quinceañera. All the preparations were simply too much. Daniel and Alejandro made several trips to the venue with Xochitl and Emilia to put up decorations that came late, Blanca was fussing over having to go to sleep early, Emilio and Ximena had been running back and forth between the hotel and the house trying to make sure all the relatives had the toiletries they needed.