The Painted Boy (3 page)

“But it’s just like rap, isn’t it? Most of the people who make it and listen to it aren’t actually drug lords going around shooting people.”

“No, here it’s the
bandas
that get shot. A group’ll sing a song in praise of one of the drug lords and members of a rival gang will shoot them for it.”

“And is everyone like that around here?”

“No, of course not. But it still cuts close to home. My friend Anna’s brother was killed in a drive-by a couple of years ago. My cousin José is in prison. The
bandas
are everywhere. Even my uncle ran with a gang when he was a kid, but he got out of
la vida loca
before he hurt himself or anyone else.”

“Lucky.”

Rosalie shook her head. “No, smart. And brave. It’s hard to turn your back on your friends the way he had to. Because they’re like your family. So he understands why José was running with the Kings, but it still breaks his heart that his only son’s in jail.”

Jay glanced where the gangbangers had been earlier.

“Maybe I picked the wrong place to move,” he said.

“Oh, no. I’m making it sound horrible. There are lots of good people here, too. And there’s lots of other kinds of music, and all kinds of arts and street fairs and festivals. We have the mountains and the desert. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

He smiled. “Well, I’m here now, so I might as well get a taste of it.”

“Do you want me to talk to my uncle? I’m working another shift tonight. You could help out and when it’s slow I’ll show you the ropes.”

He plucked at his T-shirt. “I’m kind of grubby.”

“Oh, right. You should have a shower and clean up first. I’ll see if Anna’s free to run you over to my place.”

“Is this the Anna whose brother was killed?”

She nodded.

“I don’t want to impose on her, either.”

“Are you kidding? She’s out of school, too, and is probably dying to do something. If you leave her alone, all she does is sit in her room and play her guitar.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me . . .”

“Don’t worry about it. All you need to know is that she’s one of my best friends and plays in a band with my boyfriend, Ramon. You’ll like her—she’s cute.”

“Great. I’ll make such a good first impression on her all grubby like this.”

“You made a good first impression on me.”

He studied her for a moment with that solemn, dark-eyed gaze of his. Then he shrugged.

“And I have no idea how or why,” he said.

“Maybe I just like the way you climb into a tree.”

“Right.”

She smiled. “Finish your burrito. I’m going to talk to Tío and then call Anna to come pick you up.”

“Do you always get your own way?” he asked as she got up from the table.

Rosalie smiled. “Only when I’m right,” she said.

Then she disappeared into the restaurant.

 

 

Jay finished his burrito, washing it down with half a glass of water. He hadn’t thought the salsa was too hot while he was eating, but the spices had crept up on him. Setting the glass down, he got up and walked to the back wall of the patio. When he was satisfied that the gangbangers weren’t still lurking around, he returned to the table to enjoy the quiet and warmth of the patio while he waited for Rosalie to return.

She reminded him of his sisters—not pushy, just very sure of herself—and it made him feel a little more at home in a place that was so different from where he’d grown up. When he caught the bus two days ago in Chicago, there’d still been snow on the ground. There’d been a
lot
of snow because they’d been having a brutal winter. But as the bus took him south, the snow had slowly disappeared, the temperatures rose, and then he was here, in this strange city in the middle of a landscape that seemed to be made up of nothing more than rocks and dirt.

He remembered Paupau nodding sagely when he told her where he was going, as though it was what she’d expected. As though she was familiar with his destination and it was exactly the place he was supposed to go. But now that he was here, he wasn’t so sure. It seemed so much more intimidating than it had in the guidebook he’d been reading on the bus trip south.

Rosalie was right. He
was
just a kid still. He should be enjoying the March break and anticipating his return to classes. Except he didn’t care much for school—or at least it didn’t care much for him. Teachers, his fellow students—they all sensed the secret he carried but couldn’t share. He doubted they would put it in so many words, but they knew there was something different about him and kept him at arm’s length.

Maybe it was for the best that he had chosen a place so far away. The city and surrounding desert felt completely alien to him, but maybe alien was good. For one thing, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d met someone his own age who didn’t immediately tense up around him.

He noticed a tiny lizard making its way up the wall of saguaro ribs. It appeared to notice him at the same time because it froze in place—the lizard version of invisibility.

“What do you think, little brother?” he asked it. “Is Paupau a wise teacher, or just a crazy old lady?”

“Who are you talking to?”

Rosalie had returned. She stood in the doorway with a tall, well-muscled man standing behind her. His black hair was slicked back from his forehead and his skin was dark against his white shirt. Faded tattoos patterned his forearms. His face was impassive.

Jay started to point at the lizard, but it had taken his momentary distraction to vanish back in between the saguaro ribs.

“Myself, apparently,” he said.

Rosalie’s eyebrows lifted.

“My niece tells me you’re looking for a job,” the man said.

Jay stood up and came around the table.

“Yes, sir,” he said. “I’ve got plenty of restaurant experience—just none of it with Mexican food.”

“That can be learned. Do you take drugs?”

“No, sir.”

“Are you a member of any gang?”

“No, sir.”

The man studied him intently as he fired his questions. Then he asked the kicker:

“Do you have honorable intentions toward my niece?”

“Tío!” Rosalie protested.

Jay regarded him with surprise. He glanced at Rosalie before he answered.

“She’s way out of my class, sir,” he said. “And besides, I hear she already has a boyfriend.”

Rosalie’s uncle finally smiled.

“Good answer,” he said. He offered his hand. “I’m Sandro Hernandez.”

“But everybody just calls him Tío,” Rosalie put in.

“I’m James Li,” Jay said as he shook his new employer’s hand, “and everybody calls me Jay. Thanks for this opportunity.”

“You’ve got work papers?” Tío asked.

“I was born here. I’ve got my Social Security card.”

“Gre at . We’ l l get the paperwork sorted out later. Rosalie says you can start training tonight?”

“As soon as I get cleaned up.”

“I’ve already called Anna,” Rosalie said. “She’s on her way.”

 

 

Rosalie had to get back to work, so she left Jay to wait for Anna in the dusty alley. He didn’t have time to really start to worry about the gangbangers before a vintage turquoise-and-white Valiant pulled up. The driver rolled down her window and smiled.

“Well, look at you,” she said. “All inscrutable and hand some.”

Jay had to laugh. Rosalie was right. Anna
was
cute. Full-lipped and dark-eyed, black hair streaked with red, big jangly earrings. Her dark skin stood out against a cream T-shirt giving a shout-out to some Mexican band he’d never heard of. If Rosalie was a classic beauty, Anna was the wild girl you’d see sitting in the back of class, tapping her foot to some rhythm only she could hear. He could tell she was the girl who didn’t wait to be asked to join anything—she made her own plans and did the asking.

“Cool car,” he told her.

“I know—isn’t it? My brother got it fixed up for me for my sixteenth birthday. He did most of the work on it himself.”

“Nice to have that kind of talent.”

Something changed in her face.

“Be nicer if he’d stuck to it instead of jacking cars for the Kings. Maybe the asshole’d still be alive.”

There was a moment of awkward silence, then Jay nodded. “Rosalie said something about . . . um . . .”

Anna sighed. “Sorry. I’ve got this love/hate thing going with my memories of him.” She gave him a too-bright smile. “So, are you getting in?”

“If you’re sure it’s not too much of a bother.”

“If it was, would I be here? Don’t be shy.”

He went around to the passenger’s side and opened the door.

“You want to drive?” she asked as he slid in.

Jay shook his head. “I don’t even have my license. But I’m excellent at grabbing a subway or bus.”

“Then it looks like I’m driving.”

She was good company, chatting and laughing like they were old friends. The first thing she asked as they pulled away was what he had on his MP3 player. When he named a few of the bands, she nodded her approval and he felt like he’d passed some kind of test. He was glad he had because Rosalie wasn’t just right about her being cute. She was also right about him liking her.

What wasn’t to like?

Too bad it couldn’t go anywhere. He didn’t flatter himself that her flirting was anything but just the way she was—friendly and fun. Even if she did become more interested, nothing could happen. Not with the secrets he carried.

“Rosalie says you’re in a band,” he said. “What are you called?”

“We’re Malo Malo.” She pulled a face. “Yeah, I know. ‘Bad Bad.’ It kind of sucks. But Ramon—”

She glanced at him.

“Rosalie’s boyfriend,” he said.

“Yeah. It’s Ramon’s band—I mean, he started it—so he got to pick the name.”

“What kind of music do you play?”

“We do some rap, some rock, all mixed up with the barrio flava—you know? Well, here we are.”

They were only a few long blocks from the restaurant when Anna turned the Valiant down a dirt alley and pulled up along a chain-link fence. There was a low adobe house facing the street with a long silver trailer at the other end of the yard. Both had blue trim around the doors and windows. In between was a big expanse of dirt. Mesquite and palo verde trees grew at the back of the yard, shading the trailer, and there was a two-armed saguaro cactus by the house that stood almost thirty feet tall. Dried grasses and clusters of prickly pear followed the line of the fence.

And then there were the dogs. Jay counted eight. They were mongrels of all sizes, from something he thought was a terrier mix to a big, long-legged mastiff. The rest were various combinations of shepherd, lab, and some kind of yellow dog that he couldn’t place.

“I could’ve walked here, easy,” he said, turning back to Anna.

She shook her head. “Not with the Kings looking for you. You wouldn’t have gotten half a block. What do they want with you, anyway?”

“Haven’t a clue.”

She gave him a look.

“Seriously,” he said. He nodded toward the yard, adding, “What’s with all the dogs?”

“Oh, that’s our Rosie for you. We call her Our Lady of the Barrio because she’s always taking in strays. She finds homes for most of them, but there’s always a bunch hanging around.” She smiled. “That goes for people, too. She puts in time at the soup kitchen and homeless shelter and takes all kinds of loser kids at school under her wing.”

“I hope I’m not too much of a loser.”

Anna gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “I’m kidding. But Rosie’s pretty much a freakin’ saint, no lie. I don’t know how she juggles it all and still keeps up her grades. How’re you with dogs?” she added as they got out of the car.

“I’m cool.”

Anna opened the gate and the pack came running. Anna stepped forward, like she was going to calm them down, but they all stopped within a few yards and sat in the dirt, staring at them. No, Jay realized. Staring at
him
.

“That’s weird,” Anna said.

“What is?”

“Well, usually they’re all over visitors, yapping and carrying on.”

She gave Jay a puzzled look.

He shrugged. “I’m good with animals. We understand each other.”

She looked back at the dogs, a little frown furrowing her brow.

“Obviously,” she finally said and led the way to the trailer.

Jay paused at the door even though Anna had already gone in. She turned to look at him.

“What’s the holdup?” she asked.

“Nothing. It’s just . . .”

He didn’t know what to say. He felt the presence of some kind of protective barrier keeping him out as effectively as if Anna had closed the door in his face. It took him a moment to realize it was the blue paint on the door and door frame. It seemed to vibrate when he looked at it closely and gave off a spicy scent that attracted him as much as it repelled.