Page 56 of When Sinners Hate
“Hmm.”
Dante and Wren walk in behind us at the same time as Mother starts ushering us towards the dining room. We allsit, which is followed by drinks getting refilled by the staff and laughter echoing around the room with no regrets about anything. This is always the way on birthdays, regardless of who we are outside of those days. Arguments are put aside, and anything to do with business gets forgotten until we’ve all recovered from the hangover we’re about to start causing. Plates clatter and glasses clink, adding more noise to the chaos that’s in store.
“So,” Mother says, as the three shot glasses in front of each one of us get loaded, and flute glasses placed next to those. “Here’s to who we are. Tequila for our past, and Champagne for our future.” I pull the salt and lemon closer, spreading some salt on my hand and offering it up to Lexi.
“I don’t like tequila,” she says.
“Get used to it. We’re downing all three shots, then chasing it with Champagne. And probably drinking more of it. Get your lemon ready.”
She looks at me, almost stunned about what the hell is going on in here. “Okay.”
“We’ve had some changes this year, bad and good, but we’re still here. So, before anything. To Elias. You’re missed. Greatly.” We all raise a glass and drink. “But vengeance will come with time,” Mother continues. Damn right it will. I’ll do it myself. “For now, we celebrate life. Knox?” He looks over at her. “Happy birthday.” She picks up her glass, licks the salt, downs the first shot, and offers him the lemon at the same time as he does.
“You ready?” I ask Lexi. She nods and licks her own salt, before getting on with the rest of it. I chuckle at the look on her face as the sour taste lands, then get real damn close to get the lemon in her lips. She swallows, visibly shakes the taste off, and picks her next glass up. “Good girl. You’re going to get along just fine in this family.”
She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, frowning the taste away. “That’s awful,” she says. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s the past.”
Next shots downed, and the rest of the family laughing and sneering at the feel of cheap-ass tequila going down their throats, and we all pick up the Champagne to swill the flavour away.
“Fuck that gets nastier every damn year,” Knox spits, pushing the shot glasses away. Dante laughs and picks up the bottle, more interested in that than he is in the Champagne.
“You’re a goddamn pussy about this. Every fucking year you’re acting like you’re growing down, not up.”
“Fuck you. It’s not my fault you’ve got no palate left.”
Mariana bursts out laughing and holds her Champagne glass up, toasting the air. “To Knox. My asshole of a brother who I might just like today.”
Cheers of happy birthday get rallied around the table, and he nods and gives his thanks for the offer. It’s all as it should be, as the food is laid down. The whole middle of the table disappears beneath plates of true, authentic food. Burritos and tacos. Mole and tamales, tostadas and sopes. It’s a riot of colour and smells, all of it harping back to who mother was before us and where we came from. Same as it always is. It’s poor man’s food, served as traditionally as it can be in this mansion full of wealth and luxury.
Presents pass between us as we’re eating and drinking. For my part, or maybe our part, that comes in the version of a set of Camaro keys tossed over the table.
He catches them and looks at the fob.
“It’ll be with you tomorrow,” I say, picking up a taco. “Lexi drove it around San Diego. I haven’t even tried to break it.”
He looks at me, clocking her name change. Add in the fact that we were hand in hand when we arrived, and everyone’smaking the connection without me saying a damn word about anything.
His gaze goes back to her, his smile turning warm now he’s acknowledged my permission to invite her in. “How’s it handle?” She glances at me and then over at him, maybe trying to work out who was asked. “Lexi?”
“Oh. Perfectly. Although, I didn’t get to open her up fully so I wouldn’t truly know.”
“I’ll take you to the track then,” he replies. “You get the first test.”
She stiffens beside me. Probably just as mystified about that as she is about this sense of family and happiness around her. “You would?”
“Yeah. If there’s one thing this family plays with to the max, it’s cars.”
“And drink,” Dante says, swilling down another shot and smiling at her for once. “While driving.”
Wren slaps him about the head. “You need to stop that shit.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She giggles as he kisses her and pulls back, shoving some lemon at her face.
“We can all go,” Shaw says. “It’s about damn time I tried putting Abel in his place again.”
I laugh and throw another shot back. “That weak-ass Charger hasn’t got a chance.” My own face screws up at the taste this time without salt. “Jesus, that really is nasty as hell.”