Vizcaya
Chapter 3: Encantada
Nelli was looking at the contents of my closet and pulling things out whenever they looked appealing, “You have the best taste in clothes,” she said. A week had passed since her party and this was the first time she had come to my house. Diego was supposed to come by later, and Elvis was curious to meet her but he hadn’t shown up yet.
“Thanks,” I said because I knew this was true. “I like what you wear too,” our styles were maybe a little similar.
“I have these same pants,” she said pulling out the leather ones I had worn to her party. “Mami got them for me in January.”
That would’ve been when they first came out. “I got them a few weeks ago,” I told her. That would’ve been when they had officially gone out of season and sent to the discount stores where people would have to dig through hundreds of clothes to find the steal before someone else found it first. I had found these pants first much to the dismay of another girl whose hand hit them a millisecond after mine. My tug was harder than hers, and the pants found their new home.
“The important thing is that you got them,” Nelli said with a smile as she kept looking through my pants. In the week we had known her, we had learned that Nelli’s dad was a big executive at the biggest record company in the city, and her mom was a model turned trophy wife and socialite. We also learned that Nelli expected the finer things in life, and was amused whenever we were amused by this.
“So what do you want to do once the boys get here?” I asked her. “We can watch a movie or play Monopoly.”
“What do you guys normally do for fun?” Nelli asked as she tried on one of my sweaters.
“Watch movies or play Monopoly.”
Nelli looked at me unsure and then took the sweater off and perfectly placed it back in its place, “That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.”
“What do you and your friends do for fun?” I asked her back as I watched her move onto my tops.
“Lay out by the pool, or go shopping.”
“That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun,” I retorted and she smiled at me, then came and sat on my bed with me. My comforter was a flowery design with pink rose petals and peach geraniums on a white background.
“So how long have you and Diego been together?” She asked me. Long enough to give you a good slap for kissing him. Diego had told me about the kiss in school on Monday. He said he had pushed her away and I believed him.
“Like a year,” I told her. “We’re really close.” I added for effect. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No. John wants to be my boyfriend, but I don’t like him like that.”
I didn’t bother to say that it sure looked like she liked him like that at the party, but I didn’t want to bring that up right now. “Do you like anyone like that?”
For a moment, our eyes locked and they spoke without us interfering. I heard the doorbell ring and got up to open it. Mom wasn’t home again. She was putting in some extra hours at the hospital, which meant the house was all mine for now. It was Diego at the door with Elvis and I let them both in.
“I went to pick him up,” Diego explained as he gave me a quick peck on the lips. I liked that. “Oh, hey, Nelli,” he then said. I liked that less.
“Hey, Nikki,” Elvis said leaning in as if he wanted to give me a kiss too. I pat him on the back and then pushed him in toward the living room.
“Hey, Elvis,” I said, “This is Nelli. Nelli, this is Elvis.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nelli said politely and Elvis’ mouth just hung open. He didn’t end up saying anything.
“So what do you guys want to do?” Diego asked as he looked between me and Nelli.
“She likes to lay out by the pool and shop,” I pointed out as I reached over to tuck the tag of Diego’s red T-shirt back where it belonged.
“I’m up for anything,” Nelli compromised. “We could watch a movie or play Monopoly.” Well played, Nelli. Well played.
“I want to do something different,” Diego said.
“You ever been on a yacht?” Nelli asked him. No. None of us had.
***
Nelli’s bikini was black and white stripes, Nikki’s was red and white stripes, I was wearing red swim trunks, Elvis was wearing black ones. Nelli’s father’s yacht was starch white and 52 feet long. He had named it Encantada which was Spanish for “enchanted”. On the bright blue glistening water of Biscayne Bay, the four of us looked like a magazine ad for some trendy teenage clothing store. Nikki always looked ready for her close up, and Nelli seemed to perpetually be always performing, so as they lay side-by-side working on their tans, I sat and sketched them while Elvis set up the Monopoly board.
It was hard to not compare and contrast them: Nikki with her pale skin, Nelli with her tan skin. Nikki with her straight, blonde hair up in a pony tail, Nelli with her black, curly hair up in a pony tail, Nikki’s green eyes that reflected some of the blue of the sky, Nelli’s brown eyes which seemed to grow darker as the sun shined brighter, Nikki’s long and lean body causing her bikini to fit her but not fill it out completely, Nelli’s average and curvy body causing her bikini to fit her and fill it out completely, and the cherry on top was that they had on matching shades to protect their eyes. I wasn’t sure how Elvis could not be staring at them as much as I was.
“Okay, I think I found a way for the money to stay in place so the wind doesn’t make it fly away,” he said, and then I saw him peek at the girls.
“Good,” I said as I continued to sketch.
“What do you want to be?”
“I’ll be the dog.”
“Appropriate,” he said as he put the dog on the game board. He picked the hat for himself and then asked the girls what they wanted to be. They both said the shoe, and then they simultaneously laughed ruining the perfect still life I had been observing. I put down my sketch pad and scooted over to the table to get ready to play.
“Do you guys want something to drink?” Nelli asked as she went into the stateroom. Nikki came and sat beside me, re-doing her pony tail as she looked at the pieces on the board.
“Just Coke is good,” Elvis said.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Water,” Nikki requested. Nelli returned with all of the above and a water for herself as well. The game was inconsequential. Whenever we played it was usually a toss up at who won, and that was no different with Nelli playing as well. It was a game of chance and luck, and while there was definitely some strategy to be had, we had all learned a long time ago that he or she who builds first, usually wins.
“I haven’t played Monopoly in forever,” Nelli said with a smile on her face that I had only seen on young kids doing something they loved to do but hadn’t expected to ever do again.
“We tend to play at least once a week,” Nikki pointed out as she threw the dice and moved forward a few spaces. “You better get used to it.”
“I will,” Nelli said going next. “What else do I need to get used to?”
“Elvis,” I joked and Elvis gave me a dirty look while the girls laughed.
“It’s too bad you can’t go to school with us,” Elvis said deflecting the attention off him. Elvis was good at getting information from people, so I listened closely, “You go to one of those private schools around here don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Nelli said.
“It’s hard to get into those schools. You must be really smart.”
“Or loaded,” Nikki said and then she covered her tracks, “Sorry, it’s just well-known that money can get you into anywhere. I didn’t mean to imply that’s how you got in.”
“Nikki’s really smart,” Elvis said, “She hates people who can go to those schools because they’re loaded and not because they like to be academically challenged.”
“That sounds like a disability,” I said, and Nelli laughed but Nikki didn’t.
“I’m pretty sure money is what got me into the school,” Nelli admitted, “But I do well. I like to be academically challenged.”
I threw the dice next and landed on the same square that Nelli occupied. She had bought the property so I forked over the rent.
“Diego doesn’t like to be academically challenged,” Nikki threw out there and I glanced in her direction. “If he had it his way, he’d never go to school.”
“I just think that there’s more to be learned outside of school, than there is inside of school,” I explained as Nikki bought a new property.
“I agree,” Nelli said looking at me and I committed to memory this new look that she was giving me. Not one of understanding, but one of regret and knowledge.
***
Diego and Nikki acted like friends. They definitely didn’t act like boyfriend and girlfriend. As we played the board game, they talked like two people who were very comfortable with each other, but who had no real attraction to each other. This didn’t make sense, and I couldn’t really put my finger on why. John had once told me that he had read in a magazine that boys were never friends with girls who they weren’t physically attracted to, so if he was right, then Diego had to be physically attracted to Nikki. There was no reason for him not to be. She was pretty and blonde and smart and self-confident and very nice. There was nothing to not like. Elvis saw this. Elvis was definitely attracted to her.
Nikki was definitely attracted to Diego. She made efforts to carelessly touch him or stay close to him, but it wasn’t enough. She was holding back, and I think she was holding back because he held back and she didn’t want to give too much of something she wasn’t going to get in return. I felt bad for Nikki, but a part of me wanted her to dump him so that I could get with him instead. I had no problems going after who I wanted and when I wanted, the problem was that I hadn’t found any guy that I really wanted like that. Not until now.
It was my turn to throw the dice and I landed in jail. Diego was there already. We both bypassed our next three turns to stay in there together. Nikki threw the dice a little harder than she needed to, and she looked between us a few times, but she never lost her focus on the game. I had lost my focus a long time ago.
“When’s your birthday?” I asked Diego randomly.
“January,” he said, “I’ll be sixteen.”
“And yours?” I asked Nikki.
“April.”
“Are you planning anything big for your sweet sixteen?” I asked her.
“No,” she said.
“But it’s your sweet sixteen. It’s important.” I doubt she had a Quinceañera like I had had, so she obviously was going to have a big party for her sixteenth birthday. It only made sense.
“Important to who?” Nikki asked me. “Not all of us care to be princesses.”
That was true, but I didn’t think it was true in Nikki’s case. I didn’t press the issue further and wondered what exactly her situation was. Her house had been a nice house in a very decent neighborhood. The furnishings and her room along with her closet had not shown any signs of lower class status. There was nothing about Nikki that seemed like a sweet sixteen wasn’t in her future, but I guess I just didn’t know enough about her yet.
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“Thanks,” I said because I knew this was true. “I like what you wear too,” our styles were maybe a little similar.
“I have these same pants,” she said pulling out the leather ones I had worn to her party. “Mami got them for me in January.”
That would’ve been when they first came out. “I got them a few weeks ago,” I told her. That would’ve been when they had officially gone out of season and sent to the discount stores where people would have to dig through hundreds of clothes to find the steal before someone else found it first. I had found these pants first much to the dismay of another girl whose hand hit them a millisecond after mine. My tug was harder than hers, and the pants found their new home.
“The important thing is that you got them,” Nelli said with a smile as she kept looking through my pants. In the week we had known her, we had learned that Nelli’s dad was a big executive at the biggest record company in the city, and her mom was a model turned trophy wife and socialite. We also learned that Nelli expected the finer things in life, and was amused whenever we were amused by this.
“So what do you want to do once the boys get here?” I asked her. “We can watch a movie or play Monopoly.”
“What do you guys normally do for fun?” Nelli asked as she tried on one of my sweaters.
“Watch movies or play Monopoly.”
Nelli looked at me unsure and then took the sweater off and perfectly placed it back in its place, “That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.”
“What do you and your friends do for fun?” I asked her back as I watched her move onto my tops.
“Lay out by the pool, or go shopping.”
“That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun,” I retorted and she smiled at me, then came and sat on my bed with me. My comforter was a flowery design with pink rose petals and peach geraniums on a white background.
“So how long have you and Diego been together?” She asked me. Long enough to give you a good slap for kissing him. Diego had told me about the kiss in school on Monday. He said he had pushed her away and I believed him.
“Like a year,” I told her. “We’re really close.” I added for effect. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No. John wants to be my boyfriend, but I don’t like him like that.”
I didn’t bother to say that it sure looked like she liked him like that at the party, but I didn’t want to bring that up right now. “Do you like anyone like that?”
For a moment, our eyes locked and they spoke without us interfering. I heard the doorbell ring and got up to open it. Mom wasn’t home again. She was putting in some extra hours at the hospital, which meant the house was all mine for now. It was Diego at the door with Elvis and I let them both in.
“I went to pick him up,” Diego explained as he gave me a quick peck on the lips. I liked that. “Oh, hey, Nelli,” he then said. I liked that less.
“Hey, Nikki,” Elvis said leaning in as if he wanted to give me a kiss too. I pat him on the back and then pushed him in toward the living room.
“Hey, Elvis,” I said, “This is Nelli. Nelli, this is Elvis.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nelli said politely and Elvis’ mouth just hung open. He didn’t end up saying anything.
“So what do you guys want to do?” Diego asked as he looked between me and Nelli.
“She likes to lay out by the pool and shop,” I pointed out as I reached over to tuck the tag of Diego’s red T-shirt back where it belonged.
“I’m up for anything,” Nelli compromised. “We could watch a movie or play Monopoly.” Well played, Nelli. Well played.
“I want to do something different,” Diego said.
“You ever been on a yacht?” Nelli asked him. No. None of us had.
***
Nelli’s bikini was black and white stripes, Nikki’s was red and white stripes, I was wearing red swim trunks, Elvis was wearing black ones. Nelli’s father’s yacht was starch white and 52 feet long. He had named it Encantada which was Spanish for “enchanted”. On the bright blue glistening water of Biscayne Bay, the four of us looked like a magazine ad for some trendy teenage clothing store. Nikki always looked ready for her close up, and Nelli seemed to perpetually be always performing, so as they lay side-by-side working on their tans, I sat and sketched them while Elvis set up the Monopoly board.
It was hard to not compare and contrast them: Nikki with her pale skin, Nelli with her tan skin. Nikki with her straight, blonde hair up in a pony tail, Nelli with her black, curly hair up in a pony tail, Nikki’s green eyes that reflected some of the blue of the sky, Nelli’s brown eyes which seemed to grow darker as the sun shined brighter, Nikki’s long and lean body causing her bikini to fit her but not fill it out completely, Nelli’s average and curvy body causing her bikini to fit her and fill it out completely, and the cherry on top was that they had on matching shades to protect their eyes. I wasn’t sure how Elvis could not be staring at them as much as I was.
“Okay, I think I found a way for the money to stay in place so the wind doesn’t make it fly away,” he said, and then I saw him peek at the girls.
“Good,” I said as I continued to sketch.
“What do you want to be?”
“I’ll be the dog.”
“Appropriate,” he said as he put the dog on the game board. He picked the hat for himself and then asked the girls what they wanted to be. They both said the shoe, and then they simultaneously laughed ruining the perfect still life I had been observing. I put down my sketch pad and scooted over to the table to get ready to play.
“Do you guys want something to drink?” Nelli asked as she went into the stateroom. Nikki came and sat beside me, re-doing her pony tail as she looked at the pieces on the board.
“Just Coke is good,” Elvis said.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Water,” Nikki requested. Nelli returned with all of the above and a water for herself as well. The game was inconsequential. Whenever we played it was usually a toss up at who won, and that was no different with Nelli playing as well. It was a game of chance and luck, and while there was definitely some strategy to be had, we had all learned a long time ago that he or she who builds first, usually wins.
“I haven’t played Monopoly in forever,” Nelli said with a smile on her face that I had only seen on young kids doing something they loved to do but hadn’t expected to ever do again.
“We tend to play at least once a week,” Nikki pointed out as she threw the dice and moved forward a few spaces. “You better get used to it.”
“I will,” Nelli said going next. “What else do I need to get used to?”
“Elvis,” I joked and Elvis gave me a dirty look while the girls laughed.
“It’s too bad you can’t go to school with us,” Elvis said deflecting the attention off him. Elvis was good at getting information from people, so I listened closely, “You go to one of those private schools around here don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Nelli said.
“It’s hard to get into those schools. You must be really smart.”
“Or loaded,” Nikki said and then she covered her tracks, “Sorry, it’s just well-known that money can get you into anywhere. I didn’t mean to imply that’s how you got in.”
“Nikki’s really smart,” Elvis said, “She hates people who can go to those schools because they’re loaded and not because they like to be academically challenged.”
“That sounds like a disability,” I said, and Nelli laughed but Nikki didn’t.
“I’m pretty sure money is what got me into the school,” Nelli admitted, “But I do well. I like to be academically challenged.”
I threw the dice next and landed on the same square that Nelli occupied. She had bought the property so I forked over the rent.
“Diego doesn’t like to be academically challenged,” Nikki threw out there and I glanced in her direction. “If he had it his way, he’d never go to school.”
“I just think that there’s more to be learned outside of school, than there is inside of school,” I explained as Nikki bought a new property.
“I agree,” Nelli said looking at me and I committed to memory this new look that she was giving me. Not one of understanding, but one of regret and knowledge.
***
Diego and Nikki acted like friends. They definitely didn’t act like boyfriend and girlfriend. As we played the board game, they talked like two people who were very comfortable with each other, but who had no real attraction to each other. This didn’t make sense, and I couldn’t really put my finger on why. John had once told me that he had read in a magazine that boys were never friends with girls who they weren’t physically attracted to, so if he was right, then Diego had to be physically attracted to Nikki. There was no reason for him not to be. She was pretty and blonde and smart and self-confident and very nice. There was nothing to not like. Elvis saw this. Elvis was definitely attracted to her.
Nikki was definitely attracted to Diego. She made efforts to carelessly touch him or stay close to him, but it wasn’t enough. She was holding back, and I think she was holding back because he held back and she didn’t want to give too much of something she wasn’t going to get in return. I felt bad for Nikki, but a part of me wanted her to dump him so that I could get with him instead. I had no problems going after who I wanted and when I wanted, the problem was that I hadn’t found any guy that I really wanted like that. Not until now.
It was my turn to throw the dice and I landed in jail. Diego was there already. We both bypassed our next three turns to stay in there together. Nikki threw the dice a little harder than she needed to, and she looked between us a few times, but she never lost her focus on the game. I had lost my focus a long time ago.
“When’s your birthday?” I asked Diego randomly.
“January,” he said, “I’ll be sixteen.”
“And yours?” I asked Nikki.
“April.”
“Are you planning anything big for your sweet sixteen?” I asked her.
“No,” she said.
“But it’s your sweet sixteen. It’s important.” I doubt she had a Quinceañera like I had had, so she obviously was going to have a big party for her sixteenth birthday. It only made sense.
“Important to who?” Nikki asked me. “Not all of us care to be princesses.”
That was true, but I didn’t think it was true in Nikki’s case. I didn’t press the issue further and wondered what exactly her situation was. Her house had been a nice house in a very decent neighborhood. The furnishings and her room along with her closet had not shown any signs of lower class status. There was nothing about Nikki that seemed like a sweet sixteen wasn’t in her future, but I guess I just didn’t know enough about her yet.
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