Jack in the Green

  But still…

  She points to a small black pebble that seems to hold the night just under its surface.

  "That one," she says.

  Luz smiles. "I thought so, too."

  Maria's with her girls at the San Pedro Skating Center. She met Consuela through work. Veronica used to go out with Maria's brother and they stayed friends after the break-up, much to Pablo's annoyance. The girls sit on metal chairs, plastic cups of beer in hand, cheering for their team.

  It's loud in the center. The wheels of the girls' skates on the wooden track compete with the shouting of the crowd and the band playing on the small stage on the far side of the center. The VVers are skating hard, but Los Vampiros' new jammer is in the zone and she's racking up the points. The girls should be unhappy that their team is losing, but like everyone else, they're entranced by the poetry of Baby Luna's movements as she darts and bobs in amongst the other girls on the track.

  When the current jam is over the whole center erupts in spontaneous applause. It's the end of the second period. Baby Luna pumps a fist in the air, grinning at the crowd before she joins the rest of her team exiting the track.

  "Man," Connie says. "Can that girl move."

  Maria nods.

  Veronica nudges her. "Hey. Check out the cute gringo checking you out."

  Maria looks across the track and sees him immediately. It's the boy who was with Luz and the rest of the gang that robbed the house in Desert View. He's still wearing his green hoodie, but the hood's down, letting his red gold curls spill out to frame his face. He's even better looking than she remembers.

  He grins and there's a knowing look in his eyes when he catches her gaze. She ducks her head. She has the oddest feeling that he can read her mind.

  Veronica gives her another nudge.

  "You should talk to him," she says. "Just go over and say hello."

  "Yeah," Connie adds. "What've you got to lose?"

  Everything, Maria thinks. She has no idea why that seems possible. But she gets up from her chair.

  "Sure," she says. "Why not?"

  Before she can lose her nerve, she's circling the track, aiming for where the handsome red-haired boy is sitting. His gaze tracks her movement, but she's feeling more confident now. It helps that she's turning a few heads along the way. She knows she looks good—much better than she did in the sweats she was wearing this afternoon while working: white tank with a fringed black vest, jean mini-skirt, red cowboy boots. Her hair's up in a loose chignon, her makeup's light and fresh. A silver and turquoise Taxco bracelet that used to belong to her grandmother dangles on her wrist.

  The red-haired boy has his crew sitting with him—there's a vibe that connects them all. It seems more like a brotherhood vibe than a gang thing, which is good because you don't bring a gang into 66 Bandas territory. To his right are two dark-haired barrio boys in skater shorts and oversized tees. To his left is the big black guy who kicked down the door of the place they robbed this afternoon. Dreadlocks frame his round face. On the next seat over is another red-haired white boy who could be the leader's brother or cousin. There's a family resemblance, but he's…prettier is the best way she can describe it. He doesn't have the same look of steel in his eyes that the leader does. The leader is the only one still wearing his green hoodie.

  When she gets close enough, the black guy and the other red-haired boy move over a seat, leaving an empty chair beside the leader. The leader stands up, still smiling, but now he reaches out a hand. She takes it without thinking. He doesn't shake, he just holds her hand in his. His hand is warm and she doesn't want to take hers away. She feels like she might get lost in his hazel eyes.

  "Great to see you again," he says, pulling her gently toward him.

  She gets a little ping of worry. Are they going to spirit her away, use her up and then dump her in some arroyo so that she can't finger them to the cops? She wouldn't be the first.

  But for some reason she trusts him.

  "My name's Jack," he adds.

  Then he introduces his crew. The barrio boys he calls the Glimmer Twins. She sees they're holding hands. She smiles at them. The black guy is Ti Jean and she can hear the Caribbean in his accent when he says hello.

  "And that's my cousin Will," Jack adds, nodding to the other red-haired boy, who smiles back at her.

  Maria can't quite place Jack's accent. It's British or Scottish, or some mix of the two. She imagines Will must sound like him.

  "I'm Maria," she tells them.

  She lets Jack steer her to the empty chair. She tugs at the hem of her skirt, but it's too short to make any difference. She presses her thighs close together.

  "So how do you know Luz?" she says to Jack.

  "Now that's a story," he says, "though it's not the easiest to tell. Lucia is a part of a lot of stories and they all kind of tangle into each other. Maybe we could go for a drink after the next bout and compare notes."

  "What makes you think I'll go anywhere with five boys I don't know?"

  "You could bring your friends," Ti Jean says.

  Will nods. "Yes, you really ought to invite your friends," he says, his accent sounding like Jack's. "Why not call them over right now, so that we can meet them?"

  "Maybe I will and maybe I won't," she says.

  She's about to ask them where they're all from when she spots the person she's been looking for ever since Veronica pointed Jack out to her. Luz. She's standing at the front of the stage, just under a speaker. The band is rocking and Luz is grinning. She pumps a fist in the air to the infectious beat.

  Maria leans closer to Jack and puts a hand on his shoulder.

  "I need to see someone for a moment," she says. "Don't go away."

  "Boy or girl?" Jack asks.

  She looks at the Glimmer Twins, still holding hands.

  "Does it matter?" she asks.

  "Only to what could be," he tells her, looking right into her eyes.

  She smiles.

  "Hold that thought," she says.

  She stands up and makes her way over to the stage.

  When they are sixteen, Luz shows up at Maria's house while Maria is making dinner. She slouches in a chair at the kitchen table and watches Maria cook tortillas in an iron frying pan. When each one is done, Maria puts it in a small quilted-cotton pouch that she keeps in the oven. On the stovetop is a pot of carne seca. Another holds a spicy mixture of beans and rice. Chopped tomatoes and lettuce and a heap of grated cheese wait on a cutting board.

  "I'm going away," Luz says.

  Maria has known for a long time that this day was coming. The barrio has always been too small to contain the force of nature that is Luz. She just didn't think it would be so soon.

  "When?" she asks.

  "Tonight."

  "Where will you go?"

  Luz shrugs. "I don't know. L.A. for starters."

  "But what will you do there?"

  "What are the two things I care about the most?"

  "You mean beside looking good and having fun?"

  Luz grins. "Styling and having fun—those are just a given. There's no point in living without them."

  She takes out the black pebble that she's carried with her for over a year and shows it to Maria, holding it between her thumb and forefinger.

  "I'm talking about magic," she says. "And fighting injustice."

  "You can't fight injustice with magic," Maria says.

  "Maybe you're right," Luz tells her. "But maybe not. I think it's all we've got left."

  "And you're going to find magic in L.A.?"

  "Probably not. But I've got to start somewhere. And Adelita has a place in Venice Beach, so I can crash with her for a week or so."

  Maria wants to beg her not to throw her life away for something that doesn't exist. Magic's only in stories and there is no justice for brown-skinned girls like them. But she knows Luz too well. She can't be talked out of something like this.

  "Good luck," she says.

  Maria doesn't see he
r again until Luz is robbing the banker's house in Desert View.

  Maria's not sure what sort of a welcome she can expect from Luz. It's been a few years now and clearly their lives have gone in very different directions. She's a maid working in rich people's homes. Luz robs those same houses. They probably have nothing in common anymore.

  But Luz's eyes light up as soon as she catches sight of Maria. She enfolds her in a tight embrace.

  She says something, but Maria can't hear her over the band. Maria motions towards the door and mouths, "Let's go outside!"

  Luz nods and they leave the center. The desert night is cool and the breeze coming in from the Hierro Madera Mountains feels good on their skin. It's quieter, too, though they can still hear the band. There are people all around, smoking and talking.

  "You look amazing," Luz says.

  "So do you."

  And she does. She's sleek and trim, her hair twisted into a long braid that hangs halfway down her back. Her Capris ride low on shapely hips and a sleeveless T shows off muscular arms.

  "How long have you been back?" Maria adds.

  "Not long. I wanted to come see you, but…"

  Luz's voice trails off.

  "You didn't want me to get involved with your gang," Maria finishes for her.

  "You know about that?"

  Maria nods. "I saw you guys break into that house today."

  A big smile spreads across Luz's face.

  "You're the hot tamale that Jack's been going on about?" she says.

  For a moment Maria allows herself to be distracted. "He called me a hot tamale?"

  "He hasn't stopped talking about you. He says you're his missing half." She bumps a fist against Maria's shoulder. "And that's after only one glance."

  Maria tilts her head toward the center. "I was just talking to him inside," she says.

  Luz studies her for a moment and the big smile comes back. "Ai yi yi. You like him, too!"

  Maria feels a hot flush rising up her neck.

  "What are you doing?" she says to change the subject. "How can you have joined a gang? We always hated the bandas."

  "I didn't join a gang," Luz says. "I started one. And we're doing this to even the playing field between the haves and have-nots."

  "By stealing?"

  Luz sighs. "Remember the pebble and what Abuela told me about it?"

  Maria nods.

  "I used it to bring a spirit to me."

  "A spirit."

  Maria tries to keep the disbelief from her voice. Luz doesn't seem to notice.

  "I was trying for someone like Joaquin Murrieta," Luz says, "or even El Zorro. You know, take from the rich and give to the poor?"

  "You're really doing that?"

  "Of course. I'm not a thief—at least I'm not robbing anyone for my own benefit. I knew I couldn't rally the people to my cause—I mean, who's Lucia Chaidez? I needed a figurehead that they could recognize. But when I called for the kind of spirit I wanted, who I got was Robin Hood."

  "Robin Hood."

  Luz nods. "Except he calls himself Jack Green."

  Maria glances back to the center. "You mean Jack, in there..?"

  She wants to think her friend has gone a little loco since she went away. Because how can such a thing be possible? But this is Luz, and Luz could always make the improbable happen.

  "And it's not just Jack," Luz says. "He brought his crew with him."

  "He wants to go for a drink later," Maria finds herself saying. "I'm here with Connie and Veronica."

  "The same Veronica who goes out with Pablo?"

  Maria nods. "Except they broke up and now she's my roommate. And Connie's a friend from work."

  "What do they know?" Luz asks.

  "About what you…do? Nothing."

  "Then we should all go for that drink."

  "You know the police are looking for you, right?"

  "They're looking for Los Murrietas," Luz says. "Not us. They don't know who we are."

  "The cops came by to question me because I was working next door. They wanted to know if I'd seen anything."

  "What did you tell them?"

  "What do we ever tell them?"

  "Good for you."

  "But you need to be careful," Maria says. "They seem pretty determined to catch you guys."

  "That's why we wear the hoods. They can't identify us. And even if they got a face, they couldn't match it to anything. The boys are all spirits."

  Maria's still not exactly sure what that means. Everything about Jack seemed very real to her. His eyes, his warmth.

  "But you're real," she says.

  "This is true. I'll just have to be careful. And you should be, too. Jack can be a lot of fun, but you have to remember he's just an archetype. It's not like he's a real boy."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Nothing. Never mind. We'll just have some fun. Let's go back inside. I think the next bout is starting up."

  Everybody hits it off. Connie and Veronica are as delighted with Ti Jean and Will as the boys are with them. Jack is full of good humour and more attentive to Maria than any guy she's been with before. The Glimmer Twins are content with each other. And if Luz feels like the odd woman out, she doesn't show it.

  Los Vampiros clean up in the last period, but there was never any doubt that The VVers were going to lose tonight. They played their hardest ever, but they didn't stand a chance with Baby Luna so in the zone.

  Maria, Luz, Maria's girls and their new friends whoop and cheer, then go to the taquería around the corner to continue the party. Maria and the girls have to work tomorrow, but they're having too much fun to call it a night. This won't be the first time they go in tired and a little hungover.

  The boys can drink, but it doesn't seem to affect them. They seem particularly fond of hard liquor—tequila, Scotch and Irish whiskey being the favourites. At one point Jack holds a shot of tequila up to the light and peers through the clear liquid before downing it.

  "Veritably," he says, "this is the nectar of the gods."

  Maria and her girls exchange glances, then laugh. Who talks like that?

  He motions to the bartender for another. Maria doesn't even try to keep up with him.

  They all end up back at Maria and Veronica's apartment. Because of the visit the cops paid her earlier in the day, Maria worries that they might be watching their building, but she doesn't see anything suspicious.

  Veronica's laptop is hooked up to a sound system in the living room. She picks a playlist, turns the volume down low, and a moment later one of Malo Malo's quieter songs comes out of the speakers. She's been watching Jack all night, trying to figure out what Luz means about him not being real. Maria decides to stop worrying. She takes Jack by the hand and leads him through the kitchen and out the back door to the fire escape.

  He lifts her hand to his lips and kisses the back of it, then turns it over and kisses her palm. Oh yes, he's real enough. The gentle warmth of his lips stirs her more than any groping embrace could. She puts her hand behind his head and their lips finally meet in a soft kiss. Then his hand is up the back of her shirt, making tingly circles on the bare skin of her back. She reluctantly pulls away when it begins to edge around to her front.

  "Not when we haven't even had a proper date," she says, smiling at him.

  They both know that sooner or later they'll end up in bed together, but Maria doesn't want to come across as some loose chica who would put out on a first date—especially since they haven't even had a date yet. And this isn't the right time or setting. She knows she's too tipsy. Jack is definitely drunk—or he should be, considering how much he consumed this evening. Her apartment is full of people, many of them wanted by the police.

  But Jack is so damned handsome.

  They gaze at each other—Maria can literally feel the air spark between them—then Jack smiles.

  "Fair enough," he says. "I can wait."

  She leans back into his shoulder. It feels good. It feels like they fi
t together, as though this is meant to be.

  "This is such a strange world," he says.

  She pulls back and looks up at him, not quite sure what he means or how to respond.

  "There's so much noise," he goes on. "It never stops. Cars and voices and TVs. I can even hear the electricity in the wires. The humming is constant."

  "You should go out into the desert," she says. "Get out far enough and all you can hear is the wildlife and the wind."

  "I've been. Lucia took us when we first got here. And that was strange in another way. She said she was bringing us to a forest, but there was no green wood like at home. It was all giant cacti."

  "It's a saguaro forest," she tells him. She waits a beat, then adds, "Where's your home?"

  "Farther away than you could ever imagine."

  He hasn't answered her question and Maria doesn't press him. There's a wistful note in his voice. She finds herself thinking again about magic pebbles and spirits, and Luz saying Jack wasn't a real boy.

  She leans into his shoulder once more and closes her eyes. If this isn't real, she doesn't know what is.

  When she opens her eyes again she's lying on top of her bedspread, still fully dressed. It's morning. The apartment is quiet.

  Last night feels like a dream.

  She looks at the clock beside her bed.

  "Oh crap," she says.

  She's going to be late for work. She taps on the door to Veronica's room on her way to take a shower. It isn't until she's back in her own room getting dressed that she notices the note on the night table.

  See you tonight for a real date? 8 pm at the taquería?

  Veronica laughs when she comes home that night to find Maria preening in front of the mirror.

  "Look at you," she says. "Somebody's got a hot date. Anybody I know?"

  "Jack."

  "At least he called you. Ti Jean said he would, but he never did."

  "I'm sorry."

  Veronica shrugs, then cocks her head to one side. "You wearing that?"

  Maria's heart sinks. She looks in the mirror at the short, tight green dress she's trying on. The heels that hurt her feet. She chose the green for Jack, like she's wearing his gang colours.