Unconditionally

Chapter Twenty-six

"Life without Mexican food is like no life without food."

Haze: my mom is fixing some bean quesadillas tonight

It's a Tuesday in the month of July, and I just finished helping Sill with some gardening in the back yard. New mulch had to be added to some of the flower beds, and she forced me to cut the grass. Cutting the grass is not one my specialties. With the finish project, the lines that the mower leaves isn't always straight, and I sometimes skip over patches of grass without even realizing it. I suck at cutting grass, and Sill knows it. When Uncle Henry comes home he usually fixes it up.

Grass and dried sweat seem to be my second skin at the moment, so I take a shower to wash all the grim and dirt off. With a yellow towel wrapped around my body and my hair dripping water, I go back to my room to put some clothes on before heading to Haze's. I find my favorite pair of shorts and a purple tank top to put on.

Once I have my under garments and my clothes on, I slip my feet in the thongs of my flip flops before replying back to Haze.

MC: be there less than five

Haze: doubt that. lol.

I roll my eyes even though it's true. I seem to run late with everything except work, Saturday morning being an exclusion. I tell Sill that I'm heading over to Haze's to eat dinner at her place. Sill smiles and nods her head.

"Will Ashton and Carter be there?" Sill calls out as I walk away.

I turn around in confusion. "I don't know. Why?"

Sill shrugs her shoulders and adjusts her shirt.

"I was just wondering, Mackenzie."

I stare at my aunt for a moment before walking cautiously away from her watching eyes. I'm just eating bean quesadillas for goodness sake! Inside my car, I pull down the sun visor to fix my hair. I find some bobby pins in the cup holder and an old hair tie that I kept there for softball practice. I quickly pin hair into a poof and wrap the rest of my hair in a messy bun. I then start up my car and reverse out of the driveway.

With the windows down and my radio blasting, I fly down the road to Haze's. I pass by Ashton's, and I'm half-tempted to stop at his place just to see and talk to him. Last night we talked over the phone about nothing important. It was nice hearing his voice before going to bed. I'm not sure which one of us fell asleep first, but I do know I woke up with my phone pressed against my cheek.

When I reach Haze's place, the windows are opens, and you're able to see the curtains moving from the slight breeze that we have here in Arkansas at the moment. Haze opens the front door and walks over to me with a smirk on her face.

"You're late, sweetheart."

I roll my eyes as I close the car door and lock it up. Of course she would be timing my arrival.

"You didn't need to time me. You already knew I would be a few minutes late." I tell her as we walk up the porch steps.

When we step inside, the strong scent of beans and meat makes my stomach grumble. There's always a big difference from restaurant Mexican food and actual Mexican food made at home. Haze's mom is leaning over a pan that's on the heated stove and doesn't hear us come in.

"Madre." Speaks Haze.

Her mom jumps in surprise and whips around ready to attack us with a wooden spoon.

"Claro, no vuelvas a asustarme así de nuevo o lo lamentarás!"

Haze widens her eyes and lifts her hands in surrender. I cover my mouth to keep my laughter from escaping because I know I'll get a taste of Sophia's Spanish anger too. After Sophia finishes glaring at Haze, she notices me standing by her daughter. She smiles and quickly kisses both of my cheeks in greeting.