Signal to Noise(66)

But they would get squat if Sebastian went out on Sundays with Isadora. Of all the girls! Sure, Isadora was hot but that was about it. Meche felt slightly insulted that her best friend would go for the rich ditz. There was a vague, distant possibility, that Sebastian might actually get it on with the girl and ditch Meche and Daniela for full-time pursuit of his wet dream. With the circle broken, Meche was not sure she could make magic. Not to its full potential.

Maybe she needed to study alone, to see if she could cast hexes and spells without the others. She’d cast a hex by herself the first time, after all.

“Let’s head out,” Meche said.





DOLORES FOUND THE thimble in the back of her clothes drawer, packed along with old postcards, a pressed flower and pictures of her sisters. She smiled at the picture of the girls in their white summer dresses with the hair tied in pigtails. Finally, she took out the thimble and pressed it against her ear. She couldn’t hear anything but the faintest of whispers. Magic is for children, for the young.

“Grandma, do you want me to make the rice today?”

Dolores blinked and raised her head. Meche was standing at the doorway. Meche had already changed out of her uniform and into her day clothes. Dolores had spent half the afternoon daydreaming and had not even realized her granddaughter was home.

“The rice,” Dolores said. “Yes. I’ve got to boil the rice.”

She stood up and the thimble tumbled from her hands, landing on the floor. Meche scooped it up. She frowned.

“Feels warm,” she muttered. Meche raised her eyes and stared at her. “Is this—”

“An antique. From days past.”

“But—”

“Days past, my girl. Stories I’ve forgotten.”

Meche nodded and handed her the thimble. Dolores placed it in the front pocket of her apron and rubbed her hands together.

“Now, we need to make rice, don’t we?”





SEBASTIAN KNEW HE was a beggar at a banquet, invited only out of pity or as a joke. A new amusement. Perhaps he was an annoyance, simply meant to piss off Constantino, but he still appreciated the chance to go out with Isadora and her friends a second time.

Well, he could do without the friends. The boys hated him and the girls ignored him, but Isadora was what mattered and she listened to him chatter, smiled at a joke and even shared a bag of popcorn with him.

When it was time to part ways, she kissed him on the cheek and he practically sprinted all the way back home. He lay on his bed, lacing his fingers behind his head and wondered if Isadora actually liked him, if maybe, just maybe...

... the phone rang loudly. He tried to ignore it, but it kept ringing and he finally picked it up, pressing the receiver against his ear.

“Yes?”

“What took you so long?”

Meche. Sebastian closed his eyes. “I was sleeping.”

“So you didn’t go out tonight then?”

“I went out,” he said.

“Oh.”

Was that disappointment, annoyance or regular variety Meche? He straightened up, tugging at the phone cord.

“What do you want?”

“I wanted to say Happy Birthday. But maybe you’re too busy wanking in the bathroom, so good—”

“Yeah, if I was wanking you already ruined it.”

“Gross.”

“You brought it up.”

“You confirmed it.”

Sebastian smiled, turning and looking at the wall with his maps and pictures of Europe. He pressed a thumb against Paris, which was a red dot surrounded by smaller black dots.

“Meche, do you ever...”

His finger slid up the wall, following a river and he did not even know what to ask, the words were all smudged inside his head.

“Thanks for phoning.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”





MECHE WAS ON the computer when the screaming started. She hated it when they screamed. If only parents could tear each other to pieces in silence, like civilized people. She turned up the volume on her Walkman until Mecano’s Perdido en mi Habitación was as loud as it could be.

It was not loud enough.

Meche decided to make a run for Daniela’s house. Daniela would bake her cupcakes which tasted like ass, but it was better than the constant shouts streaming through the walls.

Meche put on her jacket, grabbed the backpack and found her father also preparing to leave. He was pulling two suitcases down the hallway.

“What’s up?” she asked, placing her hands in her pockets.

He smiled faintly at her.

“Meche, I’ve got to move out.”

“What?”

Her parents fought. Like, a lot. But Meche could not picture them separated. What, was this temporary? When was he coming back?

“Dad—”

“I’ll give you my address, when I have it. You can come and visit. I’m going to be moving to Puerto Vallarta next year and you can come with me for the summer. It’ll be awesome.”

“Puerto Vallarta?”

“Yeah. It’s all part of the plan. The taxi is going to leave if I don’t get downstairs.”

He grabbed the suitcases and kept on walking. Meche followed him in shock. When they reached the door he turned around and gave her a hug.