Direct Evidence by C.J. Shane

Author:C.J. Shane
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rope's End Publishing
Published: 2022-12-23T00:00:00+00:00

10 Quinceañera

Dan Ennis looked at himself in the upstairs bathroom mirror in his home. He adjusted his tie slightly and made sure his suitcoat was free of any lint. He brushed his hair again. He hoped he looked okay. He felt nervous. Letty was coming to pick him up in a few minutes, and they would go to an event called a quinceañera. She’d told him already that there would be a lot of people at this celebration. Letty was related to most of them.

That must be it, Dan thought. He was going to meet her Mexican-American family, a big bunch of family members he’d never met. He’d first met Letty’s baby brother, Will, and his girlfriend, Clarice, when he treated Letty at the hospital’s Emergency Department where he worked as a physician. He’d been out to the reservation to meet her O’odham family, too. He got along well with her O’odham brothers and uncle, and most of all with her grandmother. Letty’s grandmother reminded him a lot of the Buddhist monks he’d lived with in Thailand when he was struggling to get over the trauma of war and those endless bottles of alcohol. Letty’s grandmother was like a monk herself. He loved sitting with her in quiet contemplation on the early morning at her home far out in the desert.

Yeah, that’s it. He was nervous meeting the other side of Letty’s family. The Mexican-American family might not like him at all. Maybe they wouldn’t approve of his relationship with Letty. But Letty seemed to think that everyone would love him. Oh, rats! Dan said to himself. When did you get so insecure, Ennis? Get over yourself.

Dan could hear Letty call out to him. She’d let herself in the front door with the key he had given her months earlier.

“I’m up here.”

Less than a minute later, Letty had climbed the stairs and entered his bedroom.

“Hey, Dan, ready to go?”

Dan turned around and looked at her.

“Oh, my god, Letty!”

“What?” She frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s you! You’re drop-dead gorgeous.”

“Oh, Dan.” Letty waved her hand dismissively. “I am not.”

“You’re such a dummy. Why don’t you know how beautiful you are?”

“You’re the dummy.” She reached out and pulled him close to her. “Do you like my new dress? It’s red.”

“I can see that. Very svelte, very red, super sexy. It shows off all your curves. Does that dress come off easily? I hope so.”

Letty laughed. “You look pretty good yourself, Dr. Ennis. All the women at the party are going to be impressed.”

“Yeah, you said that before. I hope they like me.”

“Oh, they will. They will definitely like you. Come on, let’s go.”

They left Dan’s house and Letty drove them to the party being held at a large, rented hall in South Tucson. On the way there, Dan asked questions.

“Quinceañera has to do with being fifteen years old, right?”

“Yes, it’s a traditional coming-of-age event for girls. This quinceañera is for my third cousin’s daughter. Her name is Rosie.”

“Is this sort of like those cotillion balls, like in the American South?”

“I guess.

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