From Ant to Eagle(10)

Up close I could make out grey wisps throughout his beard and he didn’t look especially happy to see us. His eyes scanned Sammy and me then he motioned us to come inside without saying a word. We followed him into the kitchen where he pointed at the table.

“Have a seat here.” His voice had an accent sort of like Reverend Ramos and he didn’t sound very welcoming.

I looked at Sammy and was glad to see he looked every bit as nervous as I felt.

After a moment, we heard voices, low, but distinct, coming from upstairs. I strained my ears to hear but couldn’t, so I stood up and walked over to the edge of the kitchen. Sammy waved at me to come back. He looked scared. From my closer spot I could make out the voices and most of what was said.

“I don’t like Aleta going out with some boys she only met yesterday,” I heard Mr. Alvarado say.

“Aleta needs to get out of the house and do something. You’re the one who’s always saying that, so why are you suddenly so against her doing it?” The new voice was Raquel’s.

“I know, I know, but aren’t there any nice girls around here?”

“We don’t know anyone here yet and Aleta is eleven, she’s old enough to hang out with boys, and that’s something you’re just going to have to accept, Papa.”

“Well, it’s fine if you go too.”

Raquel let out an exasperated sigh.

“Papa, I’m sixteen years old, Aleta doesn’t need a babysitter anymore and besides, I don’t have a bike.”

There was a long, silent pause, then finally Mr. Alvarado spoke again.

“You come back before dinner, Aleta.”

I heard a door slam, then footsteps. They were coming back downstairs so I quickly darted back to the table. Mr. Alvarado entered, looked around, huffed and walked back out.

Man, was I glad Sammy had come. I was shaking all over I was so nervous. I would’ve felt more welcome in a woman’s washroom.

Sammy leaned in close and whispered, “Should we go?”

The idea had definitely crossed my mind. There was a big part of me that wanted to get up and run out of the house but then, there was an even bigger part of me that wanted to stay. I’m not sure exactly what it was but there was something about Aleta that made me want to get to know her—something intriguing. Maybe it was the Goosebumps book I’d seen her reading, or maybe it was the thought of having a friend a short bike ride away, or maybe it was that she was so pretty it was hard not to think about her. I dunno, but whatever it was it kept me glued to my seat until we heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Raquel, followed by Aleta, walked in.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Raquel said, walking up to the table. Aleta held back a few steps looking at her favourite spot—the floor by her feet. Raquel turned around and grabbed her by the sleeve of her shirt, pulling her over. “Aleta’s ready.”

After a few warning words from Raquel on riding safely and watching for cars, we were on our way. Raquel held Chloe while we rode down the driveway. I looked back once and saw a dark figure lurking in the upstairs window and felt relieved when we were a few hundred feet down Thornton Road and the house was out of sight.

For the first while we rode in silence, Aleta and I side-by-side in front, Sammy close behind. The air was muggy and hot, the sky a pale blue between scattered clouds and above us two hawks circled, looking for unsuspecting field mice. All in all it was a good day for a bike ride.

“So you used to live in London, huh?” I asked, trying to start up a conversation.

I think maybe Aleta didn’t hear me over the sound of rushing air or else she had nodded and I’d not seen.

I tried again.

“We used to live in London too. What school did you go to?”

“Ryerson,” she replied without elaboration. This time I heard her clearly.

“Oh yeah, that’s downtown right? We went to Blythewood. Well, I did, Sammy wasn’t in school yet.”

I turned around to see if Sammy had heard this only to find that he had already fallen way behind.

“Hurry up, Sammy!” I yelled.

Aleta looked behind too and we both slowed to let Sammy catch up. When he got close, I noticed he was already out of breath. It was unusual—Sammy was chubby, sure, but he wasn’t usually that slow.

“You’re riding like a turtle with four broken legs,” I joked, then stole a look at Aleta to see if she had smiled.

She hadn’t. Instead she looked concerned.

I was kind of annoyed that Sammy was already slowing us down. “Come on, Sammy, we can stop for water when we’re halfway.”

As we continued riding, I tried again to get Aleta to talk.

“So were you on any teams at Ryerson?” I asked.

“Cross-country,” she replied.

“Oh, so you like to run?”

She nodded.

I waited for her to ask me what sports I played so I could tell her how good at basketball I was but she didn’t say anything. I realized I wasn’t getting anywhere asking questions so I started just talking.

“I think you’ll like Huxbury. I mean, the school itself isn’t much—it’s pretty small and all the classrooms are in portables—but the teachers and most of the kids are nice. The only ones you’ve gotta watch out for are Tom and Joey. You probably saw them in church—the two boys with really short, black hair? They sit with their dad who always looks angry?”