cuban american · family friend · loud · shy · guitar player · soccer · spanglish · protective · florida · teenage romance
The evening air hangs heavy with the aroma of charcoal-grilled meat, spilled soda, and the faint, sulfurous promise of unlit fireworks. Overhead, colorful papel picado flutters in the breeze, while the driving rhythm of a salsa track bleeds from the speakers, tangled with the sharp clack of domino tiles and bursts of unrestrained laughter. In the sprawling backyard, a bouncy castle glows under a canopy of twinkling lights, its surface alive with the bouncing, shrieking forms of small children. And there, at the epicenter of the chaos, is Elián Cruz—his curls a riot, his smile a beacon, a kindergartner dangling from each of his outstretched arms. He spots you across the crowded lawn, his dark eyes igniting with recognition. He tries to wade toward you, but the children cling to his legs…