The F Factor (18 page)

“Yeah, right!” Javier chuckled as he stood by the open passenger door. He was thrilled to show off the truck to his friends. “I still can't believe it's mine!”

Andy got out, and as he walked around the truck bed, he told Javier, “You should have driven it to the game last night, Jack. Why didn't you go?”

“I wanted to, but I felt I should help my dad around the yard. It was the least I could do after my parents got me the truck.” Javier stepped aside so Ignacio could get out and then he closed the door. “I'll drive it to the game next weekend.”

The three of them stood around the truck talking about the game when Javier felt anxious hands tugging on the back of his shirt.

“Uncle Javito! Uncle Javito! Can we hit the piñata now? Please! Please!”

He looked down at his nephew Trey. The boy kept tugging and pleading.

His sister Laura had dragged along the stick decorated with rings of colorful paper. “I want some candy. It's time for the piñata.”

“No piñata yet. Not all the little cousins are here.” He reached out and grabbed the stick from Laura. “I thought Grandma hid this thing in the house.”

“We found it!” Laura planted her fists on her hips. “I want to keep it.”

Javier laid the stick inside the truck bed. “Go away! You'll hit the piñata later.”

As the kids stomped off, Ignacio whined, “Uncle Javito, you're so mean!”

Javier started to say something, but he forgot all about it when he saw Pat and Feliz walking up the driveway. Feliz wore a strapless white top and white mini-skirt that
exposed her perfectly tanned shoulders and legs. Her brown hair was gathered in a loose braid that trailed over one shoulder. She carried the straps of a white purse in one hand and moved with a sway of her hips that was almost illegal.

Liquid heat roared up and down Javier's legs. From behind him, Ignacio whispered, “I can die a happy man now.”

Happy birthday to me!
Javier walked down the driveway to meet her. He felt confident in a striped collared shirt and new shorts instead of ordinary jeans shorts and plain T-shirts like Andy and Ignacio. Earlier, they had teased him about “dressing up” but he had wanted to make the effort
just in case
.

“I'm glad you came.” Javier smiled directly at the girl he wanted to impress. Were his itchy feet forecasting that today could be the day? “Feliz, you look very nice.”

She smiled like she was glad he noticed. “You look nice yourself, Javier.”

“Aren't you going to tell me I look nice too?” Pat said with loud sarcasm. “I put on clean underwear and everything!”

The guys all cracked up, but Feliz rolled her eyes and stepped away like her brother smelled bad. Javier cleared his throat and said, “The party's this way.”

Everyone walked back up the driveway to glimpse the activity going on in the back yard. Children ran over the grass with a soccer ball, older relatives sat at the patio tables talking over iced tea and cold beer, and a trio of uncles sat under the pecan trees strumming their guitars. Trey and several other boys were trying to jump up and touch an embarrassingly huge piñata shaped like a big blue truck that hung high in one of the taller trees.

Javier paused by his real blue truck so Feliz could understand the connection to the silly piñata. “This is mine—a birthday gift from my parents. I was totally surprised.”

“A
great
surprise!” Pat said, slapping the rear fender. “When you said your dad wanted you in a reliable car, I pictured a tank of some kind.”

“Nice truck, Javier.” Feliz nodded in approval as she looked over the vehicle. “It looks fun to drive. Let me drive it downtown sometime.”

The Demon Driver behind the wheel of his new truck? Javier struggled to keep a look of horror off his face. Instead he said, “Umm … Feliz, you know everybody, right? This is Andy Cardona and Ignacio Gómez.”

“Sure, hi,” she said without looking at them. She walked away from the truck.

Seeing the frowns on his friends' faces, Javier felt embarrassed. He thought maybe she was just nervous around them. He tried to appear casual and friendly as he caught up to her. He said, “Regardless of when September fifth arrives, all of my family gets together Labor Day weekend to celebrate my birthday. When I was little, I used to care about exact dates, and some years I wanted two parties, but it doesn't matter to me anymore.”

Feliz waved her hand in front of her face. “If it doesn't matter when you celebrate your birthday, why don't you pick a cooler month?” Her eyebrows creased slightly. “Maybe we could go inside, huh?”

“Well, I guess so,” he said, glancing behind him as Pat, Ignacio, and Andy walked up. “You guys want to go inside and shoot some pool?”

When they agreed, Javier led the way into the house through the back door.

They dodged the aunts and cousins moving food from the stove or gathering bowls out of the refrigerator to take into the dining room. That's where Javier's mom and sisters were arguing about the arrangement of the many bowls and platters on the table. Javier's mom glanced up and said, “Hi, kids! I hope you're hungry!”

But Vivian walked around the table when she saw Javier with his friends. She looked very pretty with her layered hair pulled back with sparkled combs and wearing a yellow sundress. Javier could see why men in an airport asked for her phone number.

She took a moment to stare at her little brother. What would she say? It was the first time Javier had invited a special girl to the party.

He wiggled around his itchy toes as he attempted a casual tone. “Vivian, these are my friends, Feliz Berlanga and her brother, Pat. I told you Pat and I are in that new television broadcasting elective, remember?”

“Hello.” Vivian nodded, but her stare remained on Feliz. “You look hungry.” She cleared her throat. “Umm … the food's ready. Javito, why don't you and your friends serve yourselves before the rush starts?” With the back of her hand, she whacked Javier's upper arm and gave him a wink before she walked back to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Selena had circled the table and told Feliz, “You have a great tan, girl. Where did you spend your summer vacation?”

“Well, we go to Acapulco every August.” Now it was Feliz's turn to stare at Javier's sister. Selena wore a shiny purple halter with a plunging neckline. Her white Capri pants were tight on her hips. Her lipstick was the color of dark wine.

Javier hated to admit that Vivian had been right about Selena's appearance as a “hoochie-mama”. He could just imagine what Ignacio, Andy, and Pat were thinking right now. He turned to his friends and said, “Let's eat, huh? I'm starving!” He hoped they'd think about food and not his sister's breasts. And, it was a good reminder not to gape at Feliz either. “Mom, can we serve ourselves before the crowd comes inside?”

“Yes, go ahead.” She had been rearranging bowls so Aunt Liz could put a watermelon filled with chopped fruit on the table. “Selena, bring me two more spoons.”

Javier led the way to the plates and plastic utensils wrapped in napkins. The guys shared positive comments about what was on the table and used every available corner of their plates to put a scoop of everything. He looked over his shoulder and noticed that Feliz put a small spoon of watermelon pieces, a few sticks of raw vegetables, and one scrawny chicken wing on her plate. Even six-year-old Laura ate more than that!

“There's more room to eat outside. Is that okay with everybody?” Javier asked, but he looked uncertainly at Feliz. “There are ceiling fans hanging from the patio cover.”

“Go for it!” Ignacio called out, and Javier decided to ignore Feliz's pout. Besides, his mom expected everyone to eat outside where tables had been decorated with small vases of fresh flowers from her garden.

They sat together under one of the fans at a large round table. Javier was glad to sit beside Feliz, but she didn't talk to him. She was quiet when the guys agreed how great the food tasted. Since she had so little food on her plate, she had nothing really to talk about. When Andy and Ignacio started talking about the football game,
she said nothing because she and Pat didn't go. At the last minute, they had to attend a wedding with their parents.

“I'm just glad we won the game,” Pat said, wiping his hands with a well-stained napkin. “Can you imagine Ram and Dylan doing the announcements on Tuesday looking mad at the world? Now they won't be embarrassed to show their faces on TV.”

“I'm waiting to see what they do with Brother Calavera's boring announcements,” Javier replied. He turned to Feliz and said, “I don't think those guys in class realize how much Pat and I rewrote everything so that the announcements were more interesting.”

She fanned herself with a napkin. “School announcements are
never
interesting.”

“I think you're wrong,” Ignacio stated. It was the first time he had talked directly to Feliz. “You should see how much fun it is watching Javier and Pat do announcements.”

Feliz shrugged. “I wouldn't know. I don't go to your school, do I?”

When Ignacio's eyes started to narrow, Javier spoke up quickly. “Hey, Andy, you never told me about the half-time performance. Did the freshmen mess up or anything?”

As Andy began telling funny stories about mess-ups and cover-ups by the band during the game and at the half-time show, Ignacio relaxed. There was laughter and good-natured teasing among them, except for Feliz, whose passive expression didn't change.

As they finished eating, Javier's big brothers came up to wish Javier a happy birthday. He politely introduced Feliz and Pat, but she didn't extend her hand or say hello. Pat was quick to shake hands and smile.

Eric told Pat, “You're the guy on TV with Javier, right? He told me you can ad-lib with the best of them. Javier seems to be having fun in the class. That's great!”

Leo told them, “I always figured Javier would be on TV someday when he gets a scholarship to Harvard. I never thought he could be the guy with the microphone doing the interview. I'd tell everyone to watch my brother on TV. How cool is that!”

It was so rare to hear his brothers offer positive words about an activity that wasn't a sport. Javier sat up straighter, feeling happy for doing something that didn't require a high GPA. He smiled in Feliz's direction. She still looked bored and hot, and it was starting to get on his nerves.
Why can't she join in and try to have some fun?

Javier couldn't dwell on the answer because his mom appeared and encouraged them all to get second helpings. Pat, Ignacio, and Andy all stood up quickly and headed back into the house. He took the chance to speak to Feliz without an audience, and unfortunately he said the first thing that popped into his head. “Did you get enough to eat? There's plenty of food.” As he glanced down at the one-bite leftovers on her plate, he felt stupid. “Uh, would you like something else to drink?”

Feliz sighed as she looked around the patio and out into the yard. He followed her gaze. Javier saw his parents walking among tables to catch up and share news, his old
tíos
looking content under the trees in their circle of chairs, and his sisters serving margaritas to the ladies. Eric was lining up the children under the paper truck piñata. This was his
familia
, and he felt honored to share them with her.

Javier looked back at Feliz, his lips trembling into an uncertain smile. “I'm glad you decided to come to the party.”

“Well, Javier, I was thinking I would leave now.” She looked back at him, and her eyes narrowed like she had a headache. “It's been a nice party and all, but my head hurts. Well, thanks for inviting me.” She slid out of her chair and stood up.

“Don't go.” Javier popped up right beside her, so close he could almost touch her rigid shoulders. “I can get you an aspirin. Would that help?”

She rubbed her forehead. “Not really.” She walked around the table completely opposite from where Javier stood. “I'll find Pat and tell him we're leaving.”

He followed her inside the house where they found Pat at the kitchen sink, wiping a wet dish towel down his light blue T-shirt. A long stripe of barbecue sauce ran from his chest to his stomach.

“What happened?” Javier asked, ready to start laughing.

“The brisket fork slipped out of my grip and did a number on my shirt,” Pat said, chuckling at his own clumsiness. “I almost jabbed Andy too. You should—”

“Pat, I want to go home now.”

“What?” Pat turned and looked down at his sister. “You want to leave? It's a great party. What's wrong with you?”

“It's just Javier's
family
.” Feliz spoke like it was a bad thing. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I thought more older guys from school would be here.”

Pat twisted the dish towel between his large hands. “Feliz, don't start!”

“Start what? I just want to leave, that's all. Let's go, Pat.”

No warning itch, just a flame of anger made Javier's feet clench against his sandals. “Pat, I can take you home later,” he said, but he wasn't sure Pat heard him.

“I don't want to waste my time here.” Feliz whined just like Laura who couldn't hit the piñata when she wanted to. “If we leave now, I can catch up with Brittany and the other girls going to Sea World tonight for the concert.”

Pat's glare looked intimidating, but Feliz didn't seem bothered by it.

“I'll just stay with Welita tonight.” He threw the dish towel on the sink and walked out of the kitchen as he said, “You are such a pain! Man, I hate you!”

“Whatever!” Feliz stomped her foot and turned away. She was out the back door in a flash.

Javier knew he should walk Feliz to her car, but what kind of a friend would he be if he didn't go talk to Pat? He felt like a man on a rack, his body pulled in two painful directions at the same time.