Page 100

October 20th, 1992

Silvia was grateful for the slow day at work. The record store was devoid of customers, allowing her to watch Anthony as he bent over in front of a stereo system that had two cassette decks. He had a finger poised to hit the stop button the second the song came to an end, his eyes closed in concentration. She noticed a wet streak on one of his cheeks just before he stood upright. Anthony glanced at her self-consciously before turning away to wipe at his face. He wasn’t weeping exactly, but the music had made him emotional enough to tear up.

“Wow,” she said gently. “You must really like New Order.”

“It’s more than that,” he said hoarsely before clearing his throat. “You know how music can be a time capsule? Like when you start to listen, a song can take you back to a certain place. Or remind you of how you felt.”

“Yes,” she said, adoring how sensitive Anthony could be. He tried to hide it, but there was a softness to him that she found oddly appealing. “I know exactly what you mean. Those are the sort of songs I love most. I try not to listen to them too often.”

“How come?” Anthony asked.

“I don’t want to wear out the magic, I guess. Or let the associations become too diluted.”

“That can happen,” Anthony said with a nod. “But if you take a long enough break, it all comes back again.”

She watched as he hit the eject button on the master cassette and returned it to the case. Anthony had ridden his bike with her directly from school, and as soon as they arrived, he began working on this project. “Who’s the mixtape for?” she asked.

“A new friend of mine,” he said with a bashful smile. “Do you know Cameron Huxley?”

She thought about it and shook her head. “The name is vaguely familiar, but no.”

“I didn’t know him that well either, until recently. We’ve been hanging out a lot more. Ever since you stole my best friend from me.”

She laughed. “I hope you don’t really feel that way.”

“I do,” Anthony said with a twinkle in his eye, “but it’s fine. Listening to music is easier when Omar isn’t around.”

“For sure,” Silvia said with a smile.

Just the other day, Omar had shown up at the storebeforeher. He’d already been inside when Silvia arrived to begin her shift, which she had teased him about mercilessly. Although she really did like how often he stopped by. He always kept her entertained. Or busy, considering his most recent filming aspirations. Omar had moved beyond comedy sketches and was getting more experimental. Together they wrote a monologue about how she watched customers fulfil their desires and leave again, while she remained stuck in place. The end result needed work but had promise. Omar had filmed the store from different angles and was trying to figure out a way to include her monologue as a voiceover.

“What’s he up to today?” she asked as Anthony searched for the next cassette he needed.

“He didn’t tell you?”

“Nope. He mentioned that his sister needed help again but wouldn’t say what.”

Anthony spun around to face her and grinned. “He’s selling Girl Scout cookies.”

Silvia stared at him. “What?”

“Yup. With his sister. Yasmin is crazy competitive. She still goes door to door for the extra sales, but she’s not allowed to without her big brother there. Omar finds it incredibly embarrassing.”

“He shouldn’t! I think it’s sweet.”

Anthony laughed. “Be sure to tell him that and see how he reacts.”

Omar might pretend to be embarrassed, but she’d already witnessed how good he was with kids. The fishing trip had gone wonderfully. Omar had been exceedingly patient with Hugo, showing him how to put a worm on a hook and dodging that same hook when teaching him how to cast. He’d even handled it well when Hugo caught his first fish and began to cry when the flopping creature smacked him in the face. Omar had taken the rod from him, fell onto his back, and begun hollering while pretending the fish was kicking his ass. Hugo was so surprisedthat he’d forgotten his own injured pride and started laughing instead.

Silvia had such a good time that, when they’d left with half a dozen fish, she’d driven straight home to drop them off. Now he knew where she lived, which was a big deal to her. Although she did make him wait in the truck. Silvia wasn’t ready for him to meet her parents yet.

That would probably seem paranoid to most people. Then again, when Becky McMahon broke up with Troy Walker last year, he went around telling everyone that she was having sex with her own stepbrother. Which was insane, because Becky and Troy had been dating for six months. Basically forever. He was a super-nice guy too. And yet, when the relationship came to an end, Troy went off the deep end and started spreading horrible lies. So you simply never knew. Omar was sweet though. Enough that Silvia sometimes wondered if she was ready for more.

Anthony returned to the counter with a newly selected tape in hand and began pushing buttons on the stereo.

Silvia nibbled her lip while watching him. “Can I ask you something?”

Anthony stood upright. “About what?”