Chapter 17
Slamming the driver’s side door of his bright yellow ’71 Ford Pinto, José took a deep breath and sighed as he gazed toward the front of the Mantez’s finely manicured residence.
I’d much rather be out hoopla-ing with my friends, he thought as he eyed the cacti scattered about the stone garden in front of him. But thanks to Michelle’s trickery and Dad’s insistence that I go out with her, I get to spend Halloween partying with my girlfriend’s arch-enemy.
José’s shoulders slumped as he contemplated his unpleasant reality.
If only Maria could see me now.
Glancing at the stars dotted across the clear midnight blue evening sky; Jose took a deliberate gulp, and proceeded to follow the Mantez’s brick walkway toward Michelle’s ivory front door.
“Why, hello Señor Mendez,” Alita, the Mantez’s cook and housekeeper said, opening the door soon after he knocked. “Please come in. Michelle mentioned, she was expecting you.”
José nodded and entered inside. “I take it, Michelle’s not ready yet.”
“She should be soon,” Michelle’s mother, Ana, replied, giving him a smile as she walked into the room. “Please have a seat, José. We can chat while we wait.”
José displayed a nervous grin and took a seat on a maroon colored sofa, while Michelle’s mother sat in a nearby contemporary-styled lounge chair where she would have a clear view of anyone entering or exiting the hallway.
“You cannot imagine how happy I am that you’re the young man taking our daughter to the Halloween party,” she continued as her expression turned serious. “Though Michelle hasn’t mentioned it, I have a suspicion there might be a bit of drinking there, and heaven knows her father and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her. … She does tend to be a bit naïve about things like that, you know.”
José inwardly, almost choked. Michelle. Naive? Apparently you don’t know your daughter very well. Do you, Mrs. Mantez?
José took a subtle glance toward their hallway. “You certainly don't have anything to worry about, Mrs. Mantez. I’ll definitely take proper care of her.”
Michelle’s mother warmly smiled upon hearing these reassuring words, and soon afterwards, the sound of footsteps approaching from the furthest bedroom abruptly interrupted anything he might have wanted to add.
“I hope my mother didn’t give you the third degree,” Michelle said as she slid through the car door José opened. “She can be such a real pain sometimes.”
Jose’s dark-brown eyes instantly widened. How could Michelle even consider talking about her mother that way? Both Mr. & Mrs. Mantez are highly respected in Arica as being fine Christian people who actively care about others - so it would be only natural that she'd be concerned about your welfare.
“Your mother loves and cares about you,” he said, turning the key to start the Pinto’s engine.
Michelle laughed as if José had suddenly made a hilarious joke, then turned and gave him a toothy grin as if to say her initial reaction had only been in jest.
“I really appreciate you inviting me out tonight,” she said, deliberately changing the subject. “With you being dedicated to Maria, I wasn’t sure you’d actually fulfill your commitment.”
José glanced in her direction and chuckled. “You must be kidding? After that little scheme you pulled a few days ago, my father would have killed me if I didn’t.”
“Really?” Michelle said, as if surprised. “I can’t imagine why.”
Jose snorted, then glared at her before yanking his car into first gear and released the clutch.
At least half a dozen liquor stores resided in Caleb’s not-so-well-to-do neighborhood. And the majority of them were conveniently located directly next to a bar or strip club.
Come nightfall, at least six out of seven nights a week within the shadows of most establishments, hooded gang members patiently waited for their next victim - while various transvestites and male/female prostitutes cried out to potential clients from their designated section of the sidewalk, in hopes of being able to perform another fifteen to twenty-minute trick before it got too late to earn anything.
“You do enjoy parties?” Michelle asked the moment José turned into the semi-paved, asphalt driveway in front of Caleb’s house.
“Yes. Why?” José asked, displaying a puzzled look as he scanned the ample paper and aluminum debris now surrounding them.
Michelle smiled, yet remained silent.
“Well, my friend," she eventually began. "Get ready to experience the party of a lifetime. … Knowing Caleb the way that I do, with any luck, this is going to be one Halloween blast I suspect you’re never going to forget.”