Chapter Forty

June 1994

As soon as Dad pulled away from the curb, leaving Mandy at Isa's with her brand-new bicycle, the pair of them were off.

"Be safe," Abuela yelled at them as they rode away.

Mandy had slept over at Isa's before, but this was the first time they both had their bicycles. Normally they would just take turns riding up and down the street, or sometimes one would roller-skate while the other rode the bike around the block, but they both always seemed to want to do one over the other, and agreeing wasn't always easy—neither was sharing. This time Mandy begged Dad to let her bring her bike with her, and since she would be spending a couple of days with Isa—so Mom could go with Dad on one of his business trips—Dad loaded her bike into his trunk and carted it over, along with a bag of stuffed animals and a couple of board games. He did draw the line at Mandy bringing her Game Boy, since that was also something they weren't always great about sharing.

Mandy had gotten the bike a couple of weeks ago at the beginning of summer. It was a sky-blue beach cruiser with white fenders and white-wall tires, with a basket on the front. She had begged for a dog to go in that basket, just like Dorothy did in one of Mandy's favorite movies, but her parents adamantly said no. She did have a stuffed "Toto" that could ride along with her, however.

But today both Isa and Mandy had a bike, so this meant they would be able to ride a little farther than they had before. The wind whipped through Mandy's hair and the blue-and-white streamers on her handlebars as she picked her feet up off the pedals and hooted into the breeze.

"Mandy," Isa scolded. "Be careful." She echoed Abuela's sentiment.

Mandy had only lifted her feet, she didn't let go of the handlebars, but she had really wanted to learn how to ride like that. She'd see people on their bicycles at the beach, eating a burrito, or with their hands behind their heads instead of gripped onto the handles. It had to be something with balance, but Mandy hadn't figured it out. "Don't be such a worrywart." Mandy had heard the expression somewhere, and it stuck. "Come on. Try it. Just lift your feet."

Isa pressed her lips together—a look that said she was considering it.

"I did it and I'm all right."

Isa's lips shifted to one side, and then she pedaled a little faster and lifted her feet.

"Like this." Mandy raced past her and shot her legs out to each side.

Isa gained a little more speed and did just as Mandy had done. "It's like flying."

"Exactly," Mandy agreed.

At the end of the street, Isa took a left instead of a right back toward the house. They were still technically in the neighborhood, so they weren't breaking any rules.

"Maybe Abuela will let us get Slurpees," Isa called back to Mandy.

She caught up with Isa and rode next to her. "Do you think she would let us go all the way there? My dad left some money we could use."

"Let's go ask," Isa said. "Follow me." She took the lead, making a right at the next corner and taking Mandy down an alleyway.

"Where are you going?" Mandy asked.

"It's a shortcut." Isa slowed down and turned between two houses, onto an even smaller pathway. It wasn't very wide, there was just enough room for two bicycles side by side, but Mandy stayed behind Isa in case anyone else was on the path coming toward them. There were old wooden fences on either side covered in colorful spray paint. Some of the words written there weren't nice, but there were pretty hearts and crowns too. Did the people who lived in the houses on the other side of these fences put them there? Or did they even know it was there at all? If Mandy lived in one of the houses, she reasoned, she would paint a whole picture on the alley side of the fence so people would have something pretty to look at as they passed and not just old wood.

The path crossed another street and continued on the other side. Isa never hesitated, so Mandy was sure she knew where she was going even if Mandy was completely lost. When the path opened again, they were in a park with lots of trees. The ground was much more uneven here, and Mandy had to hold on to her handlebars much tighter. This was not the usual park where Abuela would take them to play. Once the trees started to thin out, the pavement under Mandy's tires got smoother too. Yes, it was a much bigger park than they'd been to before. There was a big sandbox, and volleyball nets, and people running along the path that Isa and Mandy were on. Whether this was any shorter a way back to Isa's, Mandy was beginning to have her doubts, but the ride was lovely, and now that the pavement was even, they could pick up their speed a little more.

The path meandered, and Mandy slowed down to watch a little boy and likely his father flying a kite. Or at least there was an attempt being made. The man held the kite in the air, and the little boy would take off running. The kite would catch air for a moment before crashing into the ground. The man would holler, "Let out some string," but the boy wouldn't listen, and they repeated this a couple of times.

Before Mandy realized, Isa had gotten a good distance ahead of her, so Mandy had to pedal harder. Isa dipped down, following a small hill in the pathway, and by the time Mandy caught up, she had been going much too fast, and then the small hill had her gaining even more speed. Panicking, Mandy tried to slow down but jerked her handlebars to the side, and her front tire made contact with something, stopping the bike but not Mandy. She flew over the handlebars and crashed right into the ground—her chin sliding along the pavement. For a moment she couldn't move—stomach to the ground, the heat coming in through her cotton lilac shirt.

"Are you okay?" Isa had turned around and come back, but Mandy just lay there, hands splayed on both sides of her. Isa grabbed under Mandy's arm and helped lift her off the ground. The buckle of her helmet dug into Mandy's neck, and when she went to slide it forward, her hand came back slick and red. "Oh no. Your chin," Isa said, then looked around as though searching for something.

Mandy lifted the hem of her shirt and wiped her bloody chin with it, leaving a smear of crimson across the soft fabric. "What did I hit?" Her voice seemed calm considering her accident.

"I don't know," Isa said. "Let's go get you cleaned up though."

Mandy nodded. Her chin and the palms of her hands burned, and there were people starting to look at them. She felt so foolish. Thankfully none of the kids from school were around. She could only imagine them making fun of her for not being able to ride a bike.

One of the white rubber grips on Mandy's handlebars was scratched, and the basket on the front was loose, but all Mandy wanted to do was get out of there.

Isa had been right, they were a lot closer to her house than Mandy realized, and two turns later they were back on Isa's street. Blood trickled down Mandy's chin and soaked into the neck of her shirt. Mandy followed Isa, and when she bumped up onto the driveway, Abuela stood as though she had been waiting there for their return. As soon as she made eye contact with Mandy, the tears that had been missing before flooded Mandy's eyes. Mandy jumped off her bike, leaving it on the lawn, and ran up to Abuela, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Oh, mija. What happened?" Abuela rubbed Mandy's back.

Isa told the story of what had happened while Mandy sobbed. She had seemingly been fine before, but something about seeing Abuela tore down Mandy's walls. Abuela held Mandy's hand as she walked them all inside and sat Mandy down at the dining room table.

Abuela calmly brushed Mandy's hair behind her ears and carefully cleaned her chin. There was a decent-sized scratch there, but it bled like it was a deep gash. "It's going to be okay," Abuela said, and Mandy believed her. Abuela always had a way of making Mandy feel safe and loved.

Isa got Mandy a new shirt, and once a bandage was affixed to Mandy's chin, Abuela got each of the girls an Otter Pop and went to work getting the stains out of Mandy's blood-soaked top.

Once the washing machine was running, Abuela came into the living room. "I think we are done with bikes for today."

Mandy didn't argue, and neither did Isa.

"We could play a game," Isa suggested, but Mandy wasn't really in the mood.

"Why don't we build a fort and watch a movie." Abuela unfolded the colorful afghan that lay across the back of the couch. This made Mandy smile. She loved to build blanket forts, but Mom hated when she did it at home.

"I'll get the blankets from the hall closet." Isa raced off.

Abuela handed one side of the afghan to Mandy. "You tuck this in over there, and I'll put it up on this side."

The three of them worked in harmony, bringing in chairs from the dining room and setting up a massive blanket fort around the TV. Once the structure was done, Mandy and Isa loaded it with pillows while Abuela made popcorn on the stove.

Soon the three of them were snuggled in while the opening credits of the movie they had picked out started to play.

"Can we sleep in here tonight?" Isa asked.

"I think that is a fine idea," Abuela answered.

Mandy laid her head on Abuela's lap, and Abuela smoothed Mandy's hair as they all watched the movie together.