CHAPTER 2: Tiago's Visit
Manny sensed it when the atmosphere in the vehicle changed. They were four houses away from theirs and Tiago turned the vehicle to a purposefully slow glide. The humor and good cheer of conversations immediately dried up when Tiago asked.
"So is your mom any better?"
A sudden quietness had come upon them and Manny hesitated to reply. On the one hand, he was perplexed that he could not measure Tiago's concern for his mom and on the other hand, he did not really think his mother's current state was Tiago's business. The slim chance that Tiago had a sinister veil over his question made his stomach rumble. Manny turned to Tiago and assessed his friend briefly.
Tiago had never shown himself to be the type to betray Manny with Liliana but Manny felt a reason to be careful. Manny shrugged. Perhaps, Liliana would not care too much about Tiago as he was not all so dashing to look at.
Tiago had thick, black hair that was always combed into a lick. And when the lick was dry, the hair appeared frazzled at the top of his head. He had the same heavy pair of black brows on each eye which gave an awkward jump to his bespectacled face. Red acne, splotches scattered all over his face from the cheeks and over the bridge of his nose. And he had a wide nose that expanded when he respired. His ears were large enough to stick out from the sides of his heads to hold his glass frames. The acne also affected his lips causing them to be beetroot red at all times. Under the shade of night light, he did not seem so reddened by his condition but Manny made out all of his flaws from excellent recollection.
"Wow. It's eight o'clock. We really did a shift, didn't we?" Tiago asked, turning his hands sideways to reveal the interface of his watch. The car slowed to a halt and Manny offered a nod of thankfulness for Tiago's help to get him home.
From where she waited, at the window of their home, Liliana burst into a sharp rapid clap of thrill to see that Manny had finally returned even though so late. She skipped away from the mirror and rushed to the door.
Tiago's eyes lit up when he saw Liliana slide through the door with all of the sultry goodness of her contours made bare by the dirty lenses of night. She flicked her large brown hair in one swinging attempt with both her hands and her boobs jiggled at the effort. They bobbed up and down and gave a salacious invitation through the revealing topmost part of her dress. Tiago thought it was disrespectful to leave without offering salutations to Manny's mom, so he stepped out of the car at the same instance that Manny did.
"Hola, mi hermoso." Liliana simpered as she drifted closer. When Manny was within reach, she stretched her open arms wide and pulled him in for a cuddle. Manny wondered if she had been out for dinner because she had such a noticeable amount of makeup on her face with a thick paste of red lipstick on her lips. Tiago's heart raced in nervousness when she began to kiss Manny all over his face and neck as though he had been gone for years.
Manny squealed and tried to pry himself away from his mother's overwhelming show of affection which made him sick. She gave him his liberty and he was almost in tears when he took one top to bottom glare at her outfit and choice of behavior in front of his friend.
All the pain which he felt two weeks ago, when the handyman had visited, returned. And it cut deeper this time because Tiago was a personal friend. He had been hurt for so long since then, days after, and she has always inquired of him what was wrong. Manny had reasoned that there was no way to put it; if she didn't realize that dressing inappropriately around men and showcasing her naughty side made him feel ashamed. She was fully healed now, yet here she was in an unbelievably light, transparent floral gown that exposed her skin, except for the parts covered by her G-string panties and her strapless bandeau bra. Even her hyperhidrosis was no excuse; there was absolutely no reason for her to be exhibiting her body in that manner.
"Mom. Can we...?" Manny started to speak and his words suddenly trailed off as she spoke, leaving him hanging on to silent awkwardness.