Delayed (5 page)

The debate ended after Rita rushed over and took Nick’s spot. They ended up losing the argument, not that it mattered. He just wanted to run off the stage in hopes that his dad hadn’t seen how nervous he was.
 

The students from Irvin shook hands with them, before going to show off their new plaque to the onlookers. Nick rushed to the bathroom and spent ten minutes with his head against a toilet. The nausea subsided enough so that he could walk back out. Rita was waiting for him by the door.
 

She handed him a water bottle. “Feeling better?”
 

He accepted the drink and took it in, a sip at a time. “That obvious?”

“It’s okay to be nervous. You made some good points. That’s what counts.”
 

“Winning counts too.”
 

She nodded. “It does. But we’re freshmen, it’s our year to practice. The pressure comes next year.” Rita pressed a hand to Nick’s back. Her palm felt cold.
 

“I promise I won’t join the debate team next year.” He watched as Rita’s parents emerged from the crowd near the entrance of the auditorium. They carried stoic expressions.
 

Rita turned and gave them a quick wave. “Do you want to come have dinner with us? We’re going to a little Italian place in the historic district.”
 

He shook his head, searching the crowd for his family. “I’m going somewhere with Mimi and our dad. Maybe next time.”
 

She nodded. “Next time then. I’ll see you at school on Monday.”
 

“Yeah. See you,” Nick said before Rita walked away. He watched her whisper something to her parents before the three of them disappeared together.
 

He waited to see his dad emerge from the auditorium. No familiar faces appeared.
 

“Looking for me?”
 

Nick took a step back and turned. Mimi faced him, a soft grin spread across her features. She wore a uniform identical in color to his, a dark shade of navy blue, but in the form of a pleated jumper. Her hair had grown out, after many trims. In the last ten months, she’d also stretched up two inches and was slowly starting to leave behind her childish days. Maybe he was exaggerating; she was only ten after all.
 

“How’d I do?” he asked.
 

“Better than last time. At least you didn’t almost run off stage.”
 

“Where’s dad?” Nick asked, looking about the room.
 

Mimi took a step toward him. “He had to leave early for a meeting at work. He said he’d pick us up from the beach house when we finished up.”
 

“He’s not going to meet us there?”
 

His sister shook her head. He could see the realization in her eyes. They both knew their dad’s excuse was not a true one.
 

Nick forced a smile. He pulled his sister in toward him. “Let’s go. You can hail the cab this time.”
 

Mimi wrapped an arm around his waist and the two of them walked out together. The afternoon they’d been trying to forget awaited them.
 

They reached the beach house right as the sun was setting. There were no cars parked outside. A private property sign was set in place, steering away all potential trespassers. Nick hadn’t been back since last June. His dad had purchased the house a few months back. He said it was going to be the place where they could visit their mother.
 

Nick would have preferred a graveyard. The idea that his mom’s energy or ghost or whatever it was called, was somehow lingering in the house, made him want to run away in the other direction.
 

Mimi unlocked the front door, it groaned as they passed through. The welcome mat had faded, as had the red paint on the door.
 

The two of them set their backpacks down on the floor. Nick walked inside first. He looked around making sure there weren’t any strange bugs or reptiles that might have found their way inside from the beach. He could feel his sister smiling as she watched him explore every corner of the first floor.
 

“Dad has a cleaning service come in once a week. And there’s a maintenance guy who checks everything every month,” she called out.
 

Nick made his way out of the kitchen. The house looked bigger than it had last time, maybe it was the lack of crowding relatives. It was strange how death could gather so many people. He was used to his regular bombardments of family on holidays, but the ceremony for his mom had been something else altogether.
 

“What do you want to order?” he asked.
 

Mimi popped her head into the kitchen. She had the house phone to her ear. Their dad hadn’t bought her a cell phone yet, something about her being too young.
 

“I’m getting take out from China Palace,” she said. Her expression changed as the person on the other line picked up. She held a finger out to Nick. “Yes. Hello. I’d like to have three orders of…”
 

She disappeared before he could hear the rest of the order. It was fitting for the occasion. China Palace was their mom’s guilty pleasure. Whenever their dad had to work an extra shift or if he was away on business, she’d bring Nick and Mimi out to the beach house for the night. The owner allowed her to rent it out on certain afternoons. There were never any groceries so she would order takeout every time. On her birthdays though, it was always China Palace.
 

Mimi walked back into the kitchen. “They’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
 

“They’ve gotten faster,” Nick said. He began to search the cupboards for plates.
 

His sister stepped up behind him and closed the cupboard. "What are you doing?"

“I want to set the table.”
 

She shook her head. “That’s not tradition. Mom would always let us eat right out of the boxes.”

Nick thought back. His sister was right, and it bothered him. He was the older one. It was his job to remember the little details.
 

“Right. So I guess you want to set out the picnic blanket?”
 

Mimi nodded. She ran out of the kitchen before answering. Her footsteps echoed through the house. She came back with an unfamiliar plaid blanket and a look of disappointment.
 

“It’s gone,” she said, holding out the foreign object.
 

“What is?” Nick asked.
 

“Mom’s blanket. The one Abuela gave her when you were born. It’s gone.”
 

“Maybe the cleaning service moved it. That one looks just as nice.”
 

Mimi shook her head, over and over again. She threw the blanket on the floor. “It’s not the same, Nick.” Her voice cracked. “None of this will ever be the same.”
 

He ran over to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. The last thing he wanted was for his sister to cry. He hadn’t seen her cry in months. He’d thought her therapy sessions were working. They couldn’t regress. It was his job to be the stronger one.
 

“Hey. It’ll be fine. We’ll find the blanket later. That’s not what makes this a tradition. Don’t be sad, okay? You can’t get upset on mom’s birthday.”
 

He playfully tossed around his sister’s hair until it resembled a nest. She didn’t say anything. The two of them stood together, huddled, away from everything else.
 

The doorbell rang right as Mimi pulled away. Nick's blazer was wet on the spot where her face had rested. He caught her wiping away one last tear.

“I’ll get it,” she said.
 

He didn't hold her back. Instead he followed her to the front door and paid for the delivery. The man gave them a smile. He handed Nick an extra box.

Nick tilted his head. “What is this for?”
 

“Your mom’s birthday,” the man said. “Free cake for our loyal customer.”
 

Mimi grabbed the other part of the order and ran back into the kitchen. Nick didn’t feel like correcting the man’s mistake. He gave him a quick thank you and took the bag, not sure how someone who hadn’t placed an order in months could be considered loyal.
 

He made his way back to the kitchen too, only to find his sister was gone. The back sliding doors were open, letting in the smell of sand and seawater.
 

Nick followed the trail of small footprints in the sand. Mimi sat a few yards from the house. The blanket was laid out, and she was in the process of spreading out the boxes of food. He ran up to her, placing the cake on the plaid blanket.
 

“You’re quick,” he said.
 

Mimi handed him a white carton of rice and chopsticks. She placed a carton on her lap and another in between them.
 

“Milagros…”
 

“Don’t call me that, Nicolas.”
 

“It’s your name.” Their mom had named her Miracles, after nine months of an exhausting pregnancy. Mimi was the tiny miracle that should have never made it.
 

“Are we going to eat or not?” she asked.
 

Nick nodded. He noticed now his sister had placed three orders.
 

“I thought Dad wasn’t coming.”
 

“He’s not. That’s for mom.”
 

“Mimi… “

His sister sat up. “I’m not crazy. I know mom’s dead. Abuela said they do this in Mexico. It’s normal to bring food to your relatives.”
 

“On the Day of the Dead,” Nick said.
 

“Well, we can bend the rules. This isn't Mexico.”

He knew it was pointless to argue. Instead, he took a moment to set up the cake. The bag had candles inside. How loyal of a customer had his mom been? The cake was identical to the one they had used every year, except now it had a thirty-nine on top.

The two of them ate in silence. Nick waited for Mimi to finish. He kept his eyes on the waves in the distance. The moon was almost full, overhead. There were a few teens playing volleyball nearby.

“Whatever happened to that girl?” Mimi asked out of nowhere.

He brought his attention back to his sister. “What girl?”
 

“Olive, from the airport.”
 

Nick let the memory of the strange day return. A cool breeze slapped his cheek.
 

“You mean Olivia. And I don’t know. What made you bring her up?”
 

Mimi put her empty carton back into the bag. She pointed her finger out to the spot behind Nick’s head.
 

“Isn’t that her?”
 

He whipped his head around; faster than he had thought was possible. He blinked a few times, trying to focus his gaze. It really was her.
 

She hadn’t changed. Her brown hair was still long, and she wore the same jeans she’d been wearing at the airport. He felt himself standing. The keychain felt like it was burning a hole through his pocket.
 

Nick stopped as he got a closer look of the scene. There was a boy holding her hand. He wore an Irvin uniform. It was his opponent from the debate.
 

The boy leaned over and whispered something into Olivia’s ear, making her laugh. Nick plopped himself back on the picnic blanket.
 

“Was it her?” Mimi asked.
 

He nodded. “Yeah. It was.”
 

6
 

June 3, 2006

“I’m melting,” Olivia screamed out. She fell to her knees as one of the members of the stage crew brought out the smoke machine. “I’m melting.”
 

She squatted down behind the cardboard cutout meant to be a random wall in the scene. The trap door on the stage gave in under her knees, and she fell to a fake death.
 

“Don’t get makeup on your costume,” Laurel called out. She ran out to help Olivia up from the air mattress they had set out to catch her.
 

Olivia fought the urge to pick at her makeup. It was during her first performance that she’d learned the faux green skin stained fabric. She brought herself to her feet, regaining her balance.
 

“How’d I do?” she asked.
 

Laurel whispered something into a walkie-talkie, some lighting direction.
 

“You were absolutely wicked, just as the witch of the west should be. You fell with more grace than last time too.”
 

Olivia shrugged. She still had the bruise on her knee, from the first performance. The air mattress had been placed too far right and no one had warned her.

“We still have five minutes till curtain call, right?”
 

Laurel nodded. “I’m guessing you’re going to pay a visit to our director?”
 

Olivia bit her lip, holding back her smile. “Maybe.”
 

She lifted the skirt of her costume and climbed the few steps up to the backstage area. Laurel waved her off as she called out commands to someone on her walkie-talkie.
 

The backstage area was packed with moving bodies. Members of the lollipop guild passed by, as did the good witch and the wizard himself. Olivia fanned herself as she made her way to the director.
 

Michael was leaning over a podium, with his own walkie-talkie, watching his masterpiece come to life. His black curls stuck up in the direction of the static producing stage lights.
 

“So?” she said, approaching him from behind. “Keeping busy?”
 

He turned and wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned in to kiss her cheek but stopped.
 

“I don’t want green lips. It took me the better part of four hours to scrub off the makeup from last night,” he said. He pulled back from the embrace.
 

Olivia smirked. “I’m your girlfriend. You should accept me if I’m green or human colored.” She could feel the fabric of her costume sticking to her back. The stage only got warmer by the minute.