After a quick picture, and Ben saying goodbye, we threw him back into the water to continue living his, hopefully, happy little life.
A few hours later, after catching just a couple more fish, we decided to call it a day. Ben started to yawn, sleepy from all the excitement of the day and catching all those fish.
I drove the sailboat back into the slip, stopping at the dock, and then proceeded to fix all the things I’d moved while using it. Once everything was secure on the inside, I asked Anna to watch the controls while I hopped off and grabbed the ties that would keep the boat held to its slip. Afterward, I helped Anna and Ben from the boat before hopping back on real quick to turn off the engine and pull the keys in the cockpit so I could return them to Wyatt.
“Who’s up for some tacos?” It’d been a while since we ate lunch, and my stomach growled loudly as we walked. It was almost dinner time, and I desired the time to hang around as much as I could. They were so much fun to be around and watch that I yearned for more of it, but I’d wait for Anna.
“Me!” Ben bounced on his toes between us.
“Mama?” He had a killer knack for puppy dog eyes because she quickly agreed, even though I could tell it was on the tip of her tongue to protest.
“Okay, baby.” She said as she ruffled his dark brown hair.
ChapterSixteen
Halfway to the taco food truck, I noticed that Ben was starting to lag behind. “You gettin’ tired, bud?” His bottom lip protruded out slightly as he dipped his chin. “You want to ride on my shoulders?”
Once again, he nodded, so I handed the cooler I’d been carrying to Anna and lifted him up on my shoulders and kept walking. Little hands held onto either side of my head, and as I started walking again, I held his ankles so he didn’t fall off. That would be the last thing I wanted; for Ben to get hurt while he was around me.
My eyes found warmth hanging within Anna’s as I looked her way. She was happy today, so happy, and it’s all I’d ever longed for; seeing her just like this. I prayed that would never change.
She couldn’t seem to keep the smile from her face as we slowly made our way to get food. Tequila Taqueria was no longer that far away, and I was thankful as, yet again, my stomach protested the lack of recent food.
The unique and distinct aromas of freshly handmade tortillas, chiles, spices, and nuanced herbs wafted in the air around us, pulling us in like a big warm hug. I was like a Pavlov dog when it came to tacos. It was the one thing I could eat for the rest of my life and never get over. Mani Diaz, Timo’s Pop, used to have an order of fresh tacos for us on our walk home from school everyday. We never had to ask, he just always seemed to know what we were in the mood for those days.
Walking up to the truck, you wouldn’t know it was a Mexican food truck beside the aromas wafting from its grills. It didn’t have any of the typical Mexican ornaments, like sombreros or sarapes. It did however have little jingles of Mariachi bands, but you couldn’t hear it unless you were close.
His eyes lit up as he looked up from what he was making. “Julian!” I hadn’t seen Timo in years. Somehow, I was expecting to see Mr. Diaz behind the grill like he was the whole time Anna and I were growing up. He must’ve retired and now Timo was running it?
“Timo, good to see you, man. You own the truck now?”
He smiled widely and held out his hands. “Yep, Pop retired last year and left it for me to run.”
“Anna.” He tipped his head toward her in a hello. “And, Ben, how you doing, little dude?”
“Hi, Timo!” A grin widened his little cheeks.
“And what can I get you this evening, young Mr. Rafferty?” It made Ben giggle. “Walking taco?”
“Yes, pwease…” He begged, and I could only imagine his little hands held together in prayer form above me.
“You got it. What can I get for you two?” Timo said, grinning widely at us.
“I’ll just take a plain old chicken and cheese quesadilla, but with all those fancy toppings you add.” Her eyes turned to me the same time that Timo’s did.
“Oh, uhm, I’ll take two of the al pastor and pineapple tacos. Sounds good today.”
“You got it.” I reached into my back pocket to grab my wallet to pay when he shrugged me off. “It’s on the house. Good to see you home, man. I was really sad to hear about your Pop.”
“Thanks.” I said with a polite smile. I’d been hearing that for weeks now, and the sadness that accompanied it never seemed to go away.
We made our way over to the picnic tables that littered the front of his taco truck and waited for our name to be called. Paul and Liliana were running around the truck helping their father with things he needed.
When I left six years ago, his kids were young, but now they’re teenagers. I wondered where Larissa was tonight. Instead of asking him, I leaned over to Anna. “Where is Larissa tonight? She’s normally here.”
Her face grew solemn as I asked my question, and my stomach sank at the answer I knew was coming. “Larissa passed a couple years ago, so now it’s just the three of them.”
A sudden coldness hit at my core. That heavy feeling in my stomach sank as I asked my next words. “What happened to her?”