Those were the magic words for my dad. He was touchy about having Maeve here when Diego wasn’t, but she’d found the way to win him over. He cooked a few dishes, and he cooked them well. Thiscaldilliorecipe was hisabuela’s, and he’d taken pride in finally getting it right. He explained to her what was in the stew, then Alicia let her try a homemade corn tortilla.
In the span of five minutes, my dad and Alicia seemed to be pretty much ready to adopt Maeve as their own. And I’d say she wouldn’t object.
“Well, I couldn’t come empty handed, so I made dessert. I’m not sure if it fits with dinner, so don’t feel obligated to serve it…”
I cleared my throat. “You’re going to want to serve it. I don’t even know what it is, but I know I’m going to eat every last crumb.” I patted my stomach. “This girl has been fattening us up all week.”
Maeve’s cheeks turned a furious shade of red at my compliment. “That wasn’t my intention. It’s hard bein’ the new kid. I was tryin’ to buy my way in.”
My old man, hardened from jail time and life in general, tossed his head back and gave a deep, bellowing laugh, wrapping his arm around Maeve’s shoulders. “I like you, girl.”
Alicia nudged me with her shoulder, speaking low as Maeve and Pops stood over the stove. “She’s a gem, huh? I can’t picture her on the drums, but what a doll.”
“I’m not convinced there’s anything she can’t do,” I murmured.
She tapped her bottom lip, leaning in closer. “Didn’t Diego have a crazy crush on a girl named Maeve a few years ago? I remember hearing that name every day for months.”
“Same Maeve,” I admitted.
She hissed air between her teeth. “No shit? Whoa. What a small world.”
It was. Tiny even. Suffocatingly so.
“Were they...together?” she asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“Oh, good. I mean, too bad for Diego his crush was unrequited, but if she was his ex, this might be a little weird for him when he gets out.”
“It’ll be weird no matter what.”
She tugged on my shaggy hair. “Have faith, oh grumpy one.”
Eli groaning had us both paying attention to what was happening on the other side of the kitchen. Maeve had opened two boxes on the small breakfast table nestled in the corner, and he was standing over her, practically licking his chops.
“Babe, come see what Maeve made.”
A pie sat in each box, and from the looks of it, one was apple, the other pecan. The apple pie had strips of crust crisscrossing like lattice on the top, and the pecan pie had a small maple leaf made of crust in the center.
“I can’t promise they’re my best work. I woke up at four in the mornin’, all jittery, and got to work on these. Hopefully I got my measurements right.”
“Why were you up at four?” I asked.
She gave me a sharp look. “Didn’t you hear? Jitters.”
“All right.” Eli clapped his big hands. “I wanna eat some of this pie, so we’re gonna have to eat dinner right quick.”
“I think you have a fan.” Alicia winked, then set about dishing up stew.
With her back turned, I leaned down to speak next to Maeve’s ear. “You sure it’s not the air mattress?”
Her eyes jerked to mine. “Fuck the air mattress, Santiago. That’s none of your business.”
Maeve gave me a long, hard look before she turned her back on me too, helping Alicia with dinner. Fuck the fucking air mattress.