Here Today, Gone Tamale Read Free Page B

owners, which led me to believe they were wholeheartedly invested in the success of this year’s tourist season. There was also a pastor, school principal, and PTO president in the bunch, if I had to judge from their perfect haircuts and hearty handshakes.
    Elaine must have given strict orders for one and all to appear in Wild Wild West Festival attire, for there were enough folks wearing plaid shirts, cowboy boots, and blue jeans to provide extras for the next gun-toting, two-stepping, Texas-based Western. Come to think of it, Mayor Cogburn was likely to blame. According to the
Bugle
, he’d badgered the town council on a monthly basis to pay for a huge billboard on the highway which read,
Welcome to Broken Boot, the Hollywood of Texas
.
    With the air of a military drill sergeant, Senora Mari clapped her hands. “
¡Vamanos!
Let’s get started.”
    â€œBut we’re missing at least four people,” Elaine said, glancing at her watch.
    The drill sergeant frowned. “We start without them.” Shewaved her right hand in dismissal. “Everyone washed their hands,
sí
? You listen, I give instructions.”
    â€œThat’s my cue to salt some glasses,” Ryan whispered. He gave Hillary a peck, on the lips, and I thought Senora Mari was going to blow a gasket. Her face turned bright red, and when the coach turned to leave she stared at me with raised eyebrows.
    â€œLet’s wash up,” I spun to the sink and began to lather up with the anti-bacterial soap before anyone noticed her disapproval. After washing their hands, everyone listened politely as the older woman issued explicit instructions in a no-nonsense tone. The ground masa would be carefully blended, the tasty roasted chicken pulled exactly so, and the succulent meat chopped to the correct size and texture. By the seriousness of her expression, everyone knew she didn’t suffer fools easily, and they listened intently, as if their one hope of leaving in a timely manner depended on pleasing the four foot eleven tyrant before them. Only Suellen Burnett dared to roll her eyes.
    â€œI’ll make sure Ryan has everything he needs,” I said, making my escape.
    I found him behind the bar, slicing limes and humming a hip hop song I’d heard on the radio. “I didn’t realize you were a Drake fan.”
    He laughed and the corners of his eyes crinkled in that way that always made me feel so clever and amusing.
    â€œCome on, player, I’ll help you set up.”
    â€œNah, I got this,” he said and gave me his crooked smile. “I’ve filled in plenty of times.” He stared at me with his dark blue eyes and inexplicably a few tiny butterflies swirled in my stomach. I frowned, reminding my heart it was a glacier, impervious to all male charm.
    Wasn’t it a man who’d forced me to un-invite one hundred wedding guests?
    â€œMake yourself at home.” I had plenty of things to do, like wrap silverware, double-check condiments, or find the breakerbox and flashlight in case the AC unit blew a fuse again. “Where’s Uncle Eddie? Come on, spill it.”
    My uncle liked to watch game film with Ryan while bouncing around ideas for lineups and upcoming strategies. You could say Uncle Eddie had played more than a little football in his day. During his freshman year, the NCAA had named him Rookie of the Year in Division III football, an unprecedented honor for a West Texas University athlete.
    Ryan shrugged his straight shoulders out of his navy suit coat and hung it in the storage closet. “Two Boots, where else?”
    Uncle Eddie and Aunt Linda were high school sweethearts who had married young. About eighteen years ago, they took over an old barn, named it Two Boots
,
and transformed it into the town dance hall, where every Friday and Saturday locals and tourists danced to the tunes of some of Texas’s best country and rock musicians. On Mondays, Eddie usually completed