Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-seven

Mr. Long’s not-so-cryptic threat hung in the air long after he left, making me wonder what else was in store for my family. Was he trying to hint that the destroyed kitchen was only the beginning of our problems? Was that a confession?

I asked Amir as much.

He frowned. “I don’t know, Lila. He definitely has it in for your family, but I have a hard time picturing him taking that kind of risk. He already knows you’re having trouble with your bills. He could just wait for you to default on your payments and close you down without dirtying his hands.”

“Well then feel free to brainstorm with me because I’m all out of ideas.” I chewed on a fingernail, not even caring that I was getting a mouthful of glitter polish. Usually that was enough to deter me from this old habit, but today was a special occasion.

Tita Rosie and Lola Flor approached us, arms loaded down with cleaning supplies. “We’re going to start cleaning up, Amir,” my aunt said. “I’m sorry, but can we talk about how to file insurance claims and everything else later? I want to get this done as soon as possible.”

“Of course, Auntie Rosie. But shouldn’t you call a cleaning service for this? It’s a lot of work and you’ll probably be reimbursed by your insurance, if you’re worried about the money.”

Lola Flor dismissed that with a quick psh. “Pay good money for something we can do better ourselves? Forget it.”

Knowing better than to argue with my grandmother, he said, “OK, I’ll handle things on my end and be back soon.” He gave a quick squeeze of my hand, nodded at my aunt and grandmother, and hurried out.

I went to the office to change into the spare clothes I kept around for cleaning, then walked back to the kitchen, hesitating at the doorway. I watched my aunt stoop over as she swept up the debris while my grandmother threw out everything that was left in the fridge, keeping up a steady stream of complaints and Tagalog curse words as she did so.

As I stood there, a silent observer of this tragedy, Tita Rosie straightened slowly, groaning as she rubbed the kinks out of her back. The fluorescent lighting picked up flecks of gray in her beautiful black hair, gray strands that weren’t there when I first left for college. A collage of images overlaid themselves in my mind like a photo reel as I remembered watching this same sight year after year, her spirited movements becoming slower as time passed. It was there that it hit me: My aunt was getting old. Old and tired and massively overworked.

Detective Park was right. Tita Rosie needed looking after and there was no one else up to the job but me.

So I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

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•   •   •I was hauling out yet another bag of trash when Amir and Adeena showed up. Bernadette, Marcus, and the Calendar Crew pulled up next to them, followed by Kevin.

“What are you all doing here?” I asked, nearly dropping the bag.

“Did you think we were going to let you handle this mess alone? Amir told us what happened. We’re here to help.” Adeena held up a bucket with cleaning supplies and rubber gloves.

“Just like Rosie and Flor not to say anything,” Ninang April said as she pushed past me to enter through the back door of the kitchen. “What are they trying to prove?”

As expected, my aunt made a big fuss, thanking everyone for their time but insisting we didn’t need help. “Besides, don’t you all have work?”

“The coffee shop’s closed on Mondays,” Adeena said.

Kevin nodded. “Plus you’ve been so helpful lately, I figured it was time I extended a neighborly hand.”

The Calendar Crew spent most of their time helping Ninang June run her late husband’s business and had a side hustle selling things on eBay, so their schedules were extremely flexible.

“Well, what about you three?” Tita Rosie asked, looking at Amir, Bernadette, and Marcus. “You have a career. Very important jobs, diba?”

“We’re both working the midafternoon shift,” Bernadette said, gesturing to her and Marcus. “So as long as we leave before two, it’s not a problem.”

Amir shrugged. “You’re my client, aren’t you? So I’m technically working. And my prices are very steep.”

My aunt bit her lip. “Oh Amir, I don’t think I can—”

“A home-cooked dinner, including soup, a main dish, and one of Grandma Flor’s fantastic desserts.” He held out his hand. “Do we have a deal?”

Amazingly, it was my grandmother who responded. “You drive a hard bargain, young man. I like you.” She shook his hand. “I expect everyone here at our house for dinner tonight at six. Now come on, we have a lot of work to do.”

---

•   •   •We all attacked the place with vigor, only taking a brief break for lunch, which the aunties provided. After we ate, everyone went back to cleaning except for Bernadette and me, since I needed to take her to work. As I gathered my things, I noticed I had five missed calls and a bunch of texts. Mostly from Terrence.

“Oh, sugar,” I said.

“‘Sugar’?” Bernadette raised an eyebrow.

“Shut up, you know what it’s like if you swear around Tita Rosie.” I grabbed my stuff and hustled out to the car. “Let’s make this quick. I was supposed to meet Terrence for lunch but forgot about it after all this mess.”

As I eased the car onto the icy road, I figured now was the time to pump my cousin for information. After all, we were alone, so we didn’t have to worry about anyone eavesdropping. Plus I could play the sympathy card since she saw how messed up Tita Rosie was about the restaurant.

I cleared my throat. “Speaking of Terrence, how’s Janet doing?”

Bernadette twisted her lips, as if chewing on the words before deciding to speak them. “She seems responsive, so I think she’ll be OK. The doctors are cautiously optimistic.”

“That’s great! I really wanted to see her, but they wouldn’t let me. Do you think you could get me in?”

This time her lips thinned. She knew exactly what she wanted to say. “No, it’s still family only. Besides, she’s in a coma. There’s nothing you can get from her.”

My grip tightened on the wheel as the truth of that hit me. Why did I want to get in and see her so badly? What did I think I could accomplish?

“You feel guilty,” Bernadette said, as if reading my thoughts.

I kept my eyes on the road.

“Look, Lila, from what I hear, she contacted you, right? She was the one who was trying to blackmail or negotiate or Lord knows what with her supposed info. She’s a grown woman and she knew what she was doing.”

Oh my gulay, was Bernadette actually trying to comfort me?

She must’ve read my expression because she said, “Don’t get it twisted. You’re still pretentious and full of yourself. But you’re not like, a bad person or anything. And you are not the reason Janet’s in a hospital bed. So stop pitying yourself and figure out who put her there.”

I pulled in front of the hospital. Before exiting the car, she left one last barb. “Get over yourself, Lila. Tita Rosie needs you. She’s needed you for a long time.”