Bloody Twist by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera

Author:Carolina Garcia-Aguilera [Garcia-Aguilera, Carolina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-625674-40-1
Publisher: Jabberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.
Published: 2020-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

“Oh, Osvaldo, thank you. This looks wonderful, so fresh, and smells even better,” Osvaldo had just placed a large dish of the most delicious looking fillet of grouper on top of a mound of yellow rice in front of me. Next to the dinner plate, he proceeded to place a crescent-shaped dish filled with slices of avocado, the only green that I would eat. “Please tell Aida that she’s spoiling me.”

Osvaldo beamed at the compliments, a broad smile spreading across his wrinkled face. “This fish was caught just this morning. Aida was fortunate to be at Publix just as a shipment was being delivered. This fish was still swimming in the ocean just a few hours ago, Lupita.”

The old man busied himself arranging items on the table: the salt and pepper shakers; the dish with three cut-up limes (Cubans smothered their food with lime; no scurvy for us); the water and wine glasses; the cutlery. As he did so, he gave me a comprehensive report as to what each and every member of the family was doing: Fatima and the twins had gone to a movie, Lourdes was at a retreat, and Papi was playing dominos at Tío Henry’s house.

Even though Aida had been informed that no one would be home for dinner, she had still prepared a meal just in case any of our plans changed, something that often happened in the Solano household. That night, I’d been the fortunate recipient of her backup plan.

I knew Osvaldo wouldn’t leave until I had tasted the food, so he could report my reaction back to Aida. I was more than happy to oblige, so I filled my fork with a huge mouthful of fish and rice, which I swallowed almost without chewing.

“Oh, this tastes even better than it looks.” I winked at Osvaldo. “If that’s possible.”

The old man swelled with pride. “I will tell Aida.” Osvaldo hurried out of the room, leaving me alone for the first time since I’d returned home.

The day had seemed endless. Between dealing with the Loredo twins and the Chihuahuas, I was wiped out. All I really wanted to do was to have a quick dinner, take a bath, then go to bed. I had to be up early the next morning as I had a lot to do. I was so exhausted that instead of drinking the pitcher of mojitos that I had been dreaming about all day, I had chosen to have a single glass of white wine. The last thing I needed was to get sloshed by myself and start the day off tomorrow with a hangover.

I was disappointed to eat alone; even though it had only been three days, an eternity in a Cuban family. I hadn’t spent any time with my family since taking on the Meadows case, but the truth was that I was relieved. I could just chill out and not have to be sociable. It had been a long, action-packed day, and I was bone-tired, so perhaps it really was for the best to be on my own.

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