Free Death Takes a Holiday by Jennifer Harlow

stereo. They went all out for my homecoming. White Christmas lights dangle from the awning with Tiki torches flaming every few feet. The picnic table is covered with food, everything from salad to flan. Javi’s brother, Edgar, stands behind the grill flipping burgers and chatting with Steven. Both men, along with every single person but Nana, has a Corona in their hands. A huge white banner about eight feet across hangs on the fence with “WE MISS YOU AUNT BEA!” written in multi-colored letters. Mrs. Ramirez stands at it with a marker in her hand, writing on it. There are a lot of scribbles on it and even a few hand prints from the kids. That is so thoughtful I could cry.
    “Mommy!” Carlos shouts as we walk out.
    All eyes find me as I scan my crowd. Most seem pleased, but Steven’s reaction is priceless. His eyes all but bug out of his head. Thank you, Carolina Herrera. He hasn’t changed much at all. His hair is still spiky, and he wears an ugly black and white Hawaiian shirt with brown cargo pants and loafers. I tried for two years to get him out of those shirts. If we’d ever gotten married, I’d bet he and all his best men would wear them at the wedding. Reason number eleven I dumped him.
    April has Flora, her two-year-old daughter, over by the picnic table. Flora insists on wearing only dresses, the pinker the better. Tonight is no exception. This one even has butterflies on it. She’s so easy to shop for. Carlos leads me to them, and Flora’s face lights up when she spots me.
    “ Tia Bea!” she says.
    “Hello, lovely!” I say as I take the girl from her mother, hugging her tight. “Oh! You’ve all gotten so big I can hardly believe it!”
    “I’m a big girl now,” Flora says.
    “You really are.”
    The little girl releases me and wiggles out of my grip.
    “Did Daddy fix you up?” April asks Carlos, her attention diverted.
    “He gave me a Spiderman,” Carlos answers.
    “A Spiderman!” she says. “Good. Now go take your sister inside with the other kids and you can play with the Wii. Take turns!”
    Carlos takes Flora’s hand, and they go back inside. April hands me a beer. “You look fancy.”
    I pop the top and chug the beer. “Yeah, I’m a regular debutante,” I say with a smile.
    “Steven hasn’t taken his eyes off you,” she says in sing-song.
    “That was kind of the point of the dress,” I reply in sing-song.
    “How diabolical of you.”
    “I’ve been taking lessons.” I take another swig before Kenny saddles up to us, red Solo cup in his hand. Kenny works with April at the salon and is the definition of fabulous, or so he insists. Skinny, tall, nearly black skin, platinum hair. He spent an hour grilling me about Oliver and Will today. The bad thing about gossip is it goes both ways, and I’ve been the topic du jour for months. “If it isn’t Cinderella. You look faboo. Is that Chanel?”
    “Carolina Herrera.”
    “Spin for me, girl!” Kenny says.
    I set my beer down on the table and twirl, catching a glimpse of a still-staring Steven. “There. I have performed my monkey trick of the night.”
    “Can you believe this is the same girl who used to think Target was high end?” Kenny asks.
    “Hey, don’t diss Tar-jay,” I warn.
    April peeks over my shoulder. “Oops. Looks like Nana Liz cornered Steven.”
    I turn around and sure enough Nana is chatting with my ex like two old friends. They did always like each other. She’d bake him banana bread, and he’d fix her shower. Yet he never fixed my shower, or toilet, or that picture frame he broke. “That’s what landlords are for,” he’d say. Ugh. Steven glances at me, and I turn back around.
    “I always thought he was kind of cute,” Kenny says.
    “He is,” I say after another swig. “He’s also inconsiderate, boorish, and just plain boring.”
    “He was so in love with you,” April says, gazing over at them.
    “And yet he never said it or showed it in two years.”
    “Oh who cares?” Kenny asks.