A Valentine's Day Mess

Story-telling is an ancient art, even in New Mexico. Manny and Claudia reunite after three months apart and story-telling becomes their way of understanding the ancestral memories that they share. But story-telling won't protect them from Angelito—for that they need strength and good luck.

2. Manuel y Marisol

"Settle down, Manny. You're as nervous as a cat." His mom said. "They'll get here when they get here. Why don't you go wait on the patio where you're out of my way?"

It was the second weekend in May and the last weekend Manny would have before his last end-of-semester crunch. His mom took the opportunity to have the Candelárias to dinner, so he made the long drive home.

The shadow of the house was stretching toward the pool when the Candelárias reached the Nielson's house. Manny couldn't stand outside and wait. He took two hesitant steps toward his sister before she caught sight of him, then Claudia squealed, "Eee! Manny!" and threw herself at him.

Manny knew

why

they hadn't seen each other since Valentine's Day, but as he held his sister's firm body and inhaled the scent that rose from her neck he wondered

how

they did it.

The rest of the Candelárias followed Claudia. Pascual, the oldest boy, herded the four younger kids ahead of him. Gil followed them and Idália Candelária, with her mother on her arm, came last.

Manny stood next to Claudia to shake Gil's hand, then hugged the Señora. Idália gripped his arm and told him, "Mi hito, you're almost done with school. Congratulations!" She covered her mouth with her finger tips and asked, "You don't mind me calling you that, do you?"

"Of course not!" Manny answered, but his attention turned to Abuela Ortiz. Manny faced her with a mix of affection and trepidation, and he wondered how the frail old curandera could be so imposing. Abuela smiled and reached to hug Manny, and only then could he relax.

Claudia pulled Manny aside and said, "Mom wants me to get the kids into the pool and tire them out a little so they will calm down. Will you help me?" Manny nodded his reply and she went on, "I have my swimsuit under this, but I'll need a towel and somewhere to leave my clothes.""

"My room." Manny said. He started down the stairs with Claudia behind him and as soon as they were away from the others she changed the subject.

"Manny, do you remember Manuel and Marisol?" she asked. He led her through the TV room where they spent Valentine's Day and around the corner into his own room before he answered.

Manny closed the door behind them, then turned back to his sister and said, "Marisol and Manuel were our biological mother and father. I remember them the way they remember each other. I have their memories, and their parents memories, and the memories from I don't know how many more generations."

Claudia stepped close to Manny and, with her eyes fixed on his face, she started to unbutton her shirt. Her red bikini top was just visible when Manny pushed her hands away. He opened her shirt himself, pulled it out of her low-slung jeans, and reached to touch her soft skin—first on the curve of her hips, then her waist.

Manny thought that maybe all he needed was to touch his sister, feel her in his arms, and stroke her soft skin. Claudia changed that when she lifted her lips to his ear and said, "Their voices were the first I understood. Ever since then I've thought about the way that Manuel loved Marisol." Claudia gripped Manny's hands by his thumbs and pulled them to her breasts. She pressed herself into his hands and watched his expression. "For almost three months now, each time I remember them it makes me want you in me."

The excitement on Manny's face was what Claudia needed to see. Her nipples hardened under his touch. She tugged his shorts open, pushed both of her hands down to grasp his already-stiff rod, and said, "We have people waiting upstairs, so we don't have much time. How long will it take you?"

"If you don't let go of my cock then I'm going to come in your hands," Manny gasped.

Claudia pulled her hands out of Manny's pants and said, "Manny! Wait until you're in me!" She bit her lip and looked up to say, "I didn't bring condoms. Do you have some here?"

"The same ones you gave me for Valentine's Day." Manny said. He pulled Claudia into the bathroom and locked the door behind them. Claudia leaned back against the counter and started to unsnap and unzip her pants, and he opened the drawer beside her to find the remaining condoms.

Manny surprised his sister by turning her around to face the mirror. "Bend over," he said and tugged her jeans and her bikini panties down around her knees.

"Dios Mio, Manny!" Claudia gasped, "Wait a second!" She struggled to free one leg so she could step her feet apart, then she bent over the sink. She offered Manny her already-wet pussy and watched him in the mirror. The concentration that showed on his face was unbroken while he rolled the condom on with one hand and opened her with the other. He pushed the tip of his sheathed cock into her; she rose on her toes in anticipation and pressed her butt back against him.

Claudia felt her brother push into her, and she closed her eyes and caught her breath. When she looked up into the mirror again, she found Manny looking back at her. Their eyes were locked on each other while he sucked her musky nectar off his fingers, then he grasped her hips with both hands and thrust himself deeper into her. Claudia felt her brother's shaft fill her, and his penetration forced her to gasp his name.

Manny's nostrils flared with excitement; the muscles in his arms and his chest knotted and strained. His thrusts forced a string of gasps from Claudia and picked her off the floor. She gripped the faucet lever for support; the water came on and ran cold on one thrust, then hot on the next, then cold again.

He watched Claudia's excited expressions while he plunged into her, then he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Manny groaned aloud through clenched teeth; he squeezed against her soft butt and unloaded as deep inside her as he could reach.

Claudia laid her cheek on her arm and struggled for breath while her brother came. She felt his thrusts gradually slow as his climax passed, then his cock slipped out of her.

Manny leaned back against the sink to catch his breath, while Claudia shut the water off and relaxed. Before she straitened up, she turned her head to him and said, "Híjola, Manny. That felt good."

"I'm sorry that went so fast," Manny apologized. "I couldn't stop."

"Ay, Manny, that's how it had to happen," Claudia said. "I bet Abuela Ortiz already knows what we're doing, but if that took much longer our parents would wonder, too."

Claudia slipped the condom off Manny's softening cock then smiled up at him, "Besides, I like the way you get so excited." She dropped the used condom into the waste basket then pulled her panties off her ankle. "Now you need to get into your swimsuit," she said and bent to pull her panties on again.

It took nearly an hour for Manny and Claudia to get the kids tired out, but then they started going to Idália one-by-one. She toweled them off while they asked about dinner and begged for snacks. Only Manny and Claudia were left in the pool when Manny's mom looked out the kitchen door and called, "Manny, ten minutes 'til dinner. Will you help me with the table?"

As much as Manny and Claudia tried, they couldn't find time together until Idália was getting the kids ready to leave. Manny overheard Gil tell his dad, "We're taking my mother-in-law home to Vallecitos for the weekend. We'll visit the family and attend her cousin's funeral. Claudia and Pascual are staying here to take care of chores."

Manny glanced at Claudia and found her motioning him into the kitchen. She said, "You heard that, right? I just talked Pascual into staying at his friends house, so I'm going to be alone at the farm—well, except for Tío Pedro, but he won't be in our way."

Manny looked up to find his mom smiling at them. She said, "It makes me so happy to see the way you two get along," then she turned away to talk with Idália.

Claudia waited just until Mrs. Nielson was out of earshot. She rose on her toes with her eyes on Manny. She had an edge of urgency in her voice when she whispered, "Can you come see me tomorrow? We could spend all weekend alone together!"

*****

Manny couldn't sleep. He was tormented by his need for Claudia, by her musical laughter and her smile, and he wondered what his sister was doing. Claudia watched the full moon through her window; she touched herself and wished for morning.

Once the sun was up, Manny's phone became his constant companion. He kept it on the bathroom counter while he showered, he kept it on the table at breakfast, he kept it in his pocket while he talked with his mom, and he cursed its silence until the moment it rang.

"I can't believe how long they're taking to leave!" Claudia complained. "It takes like three hours to get to Vallecitos."

Manny thought for a moment then said, "It'll take me twenty minutes to get to the farm. I'm going to leave now and wait at the café on Alameda. From there it will only take me a few minutes to get there, right?" Manny was a little confused about how to get to the farm.

He was toying with his second cup of coffee and watching the traffic pass when his phone rang again. Claudia squealed in his ear, "They're gone! I'm waiting for you!"

Manny couldn't leave fast enough. He shoved money at the waitress and followed the route that Claudia described. He turned up a tree-lined lane and was relieved to see the farm house ahead. He parked in front of the house then sent Claudia a message saying, "I'm here," then he dug into the arm rest to find the one thing that he brought with him—a handful of condoms. He shoved them into his pocket, and then with each step he took toward the door his strides grew longer and faster and his cock grew firmer.

Claudia threw the door open before he reached it. She gestured with one hand and babbled while she closed the door behind him, "I couldn't believe that took so long. It was one thing, then another, then another."

"You weren't dressed like that while they were still here, were you?" Manny asked while his eyes traveled down his sister's body. Claudia wore a loose-fitting sweat shirt and nothing else that he could see; her legs were sleek, bare, and tan below the shirt, and her breasts moved freely beneath it.

Claudia looked down at herself and laughed, "I was taking my clothes off when I called you."

"I couldn't sleep last night for thinking of you," Manny rasped. He pressed Claudia against the closed door and rested his hands on her hips.

"I didn't sleep much either," Claudia admitted, then squirmed and laughed, "Ay, Manny!" when he pushed his hands down the back of her panties.

Manny pulled his sister up against him to taste her mouth and she met his tongue with hers. Claudia's breath burned on his cheek until she pulled his shirt up, and they both laughed while she struggled to pull it over his head. They hadn't moved two steps from the door, yet both of them were panting with excitement.

The foyer was separated from the living room by a plastered pony wall with carved wooden bultos lined up along its top. Manny glanced at the wall, then Claudia squealed again, "Ay, Manny!" as he picked her off the floor. He set her on the wall with the colorful santos and sent the little statues clattering across the bare tile floor.

Manny slipped his hand up between his sister's thighs to grip the crotch of her panties and pulled them off from her. He tossed the panties into the corner, then pulled her sweatshirt over her head and cast it aside.

Claudia panted, "Why do they make these things so hard to get into?" She fumbled at the front of Manny's shorts then pushed her hands down to his aching cock.

"I have condoms in my pocket." Manny said, with his lips by his sister's ear. Manny slipped his fingers through her soft pubic hair and pushed one finger into her, then two fingers. By the time Claudia had his cock sheathed her pussy was dripping with fresh nectar.

Claudia lifted her legs around her brother's waist and tugged him to her. She said, "I'm ready right now."

He bent his knees to get into position, then he thrust up and into his little sister. Manny felt her body yield; she felt her brother's hard thrusts fill her, and clutched at his arms, and gasped for air.

Manny's penetration lifted Claudia off the wall. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he held her with his arms under her thighs. He pressed her into the corner of the foyer and thrust into her again, and then again. Manny slowed only when Claudia banged her head against the wall; he leaned to her ear to ask, "Are you okay?"

Claudia answered by gasping, "Don't stop!"

Manny needed to be better than he was the night before and he knew he was succeeding when he felt his sister's fingers dig into his back. She buried her nose against his neck and turned her head to kiss his shoulder. She dragged the skin over his straining muscles through her teeth, then Manny felt her body tighten around his shaft. Claudia closed her teeth on his shoulder, and her climax wracked her body.

Manny was on the verge of his own orgasm, and as Claudia released her grip on his shoulder his essence erupted inside her. Each of his repeated thrusts lifted her until his spasms faded, then he leaned his head against the wall and tried to catch his breath. When he could talk again he said, "God, Claudia I can't believe how good that felt."

Claudia kissed his face and his neck and said, "That felt really good to me too, but I think we're dripping. Can you let me down, like slowly?"

Manny let her slip to the floor, then she stepped back and slid the used condom off his cock. Claudia took the condom then crouched to pick up their clothes. She glanced up and down her brother's naked body and said, "I have everything else. Give me your shoes and socks, too."

Manny leaned against the wall and pulled off his running shoes and his socks, and Claudia added them to the wad of clothes in her arms. "What are you going to do with those?" Manny asked.

Claudia got a gleam in her eye and started backing away from her brother. "Hold you hostage," she said. "You can't leave until I give them back to you." She turned away, then her ponytail bounced behind her as she ran across the living room and down the bedroom hallway.

Manny sprinted after his sister. He caught her from behind and picked her off the floor. Claudia dropped the clothes and kicked at the air, squealing, "Manny, let me go!" She tried to pry Manny's arms apart and break his grip, but she couldn't budge him.

He saw a room at the end of the hallway that was flooded with sunlight; the light reflected from the pink walls and spilled out the door. "Is the pink room yours?" he asked. It seemed like the natural choice.

"Si," Claudia answered, "Manny, let me pick up our things!"

Manny faked a stern and threatening voice and told her, "No, you'll have to do that later. I'm going to have my way with you now—or again, or something." He carried her to her room and dropped her on the bed.

Claudia hid under the sheet and giggled while her brother climbed astride her hips. Manny pulled the sheet out of her grip and pinned her hands over her head, then he leaned down and inhaled the scents that rose from her beautiful black hair and from the soft skin below her ear. He watched her smile and when Claudia tipped her mouth up to him he turned his head and brushed her lips with his. He tasted her lips, and when she offered her tongue he tasted her tongue, and when she offered her mouth he tasted her mouth.

Manny broke their kiss and rolled onto the bed next to his sister. He gathered her in his arms and whispered in her ear, "Now I'll have my way with you. I'm going to hold you and keep you warm, and sleep—I'm so damned tired."

He woke alone to the sound of the wind outside and sand hitting the bedroom window. He stared at the tan sky, at the motes of fine dust that drifted in the still air, and thought how sick he was of the spring dust storms.

Manny dressed in the hallway where Claudia dropped his clothes, then went looking for his sister. The sounds from the kitchen told him that she was cleaning. He paused in front of the big living room windows and looked out at the sheds behind the house and the fields beyond them. Dust and dried leaves whipped across the open fields, swirled between the buildings, and danced on the patio.

"It's awful out." Claudia said. Manny had sensed his sister behind him, so he wasn't surprised. "It makes me want to stay inside," she said, "But I have chores. Would you help?"

"Can I?" Manny asked. "Otherwise I'll be pretty useless."

The wind whipped their hair, and they shielded their eyes from the blowing dust while they worked their way from shed to shed. Most of the animals took shelter from the dry wind, so Claudia and Manny had to shoo them away to water them and clean stalls, and coops, and pens.

All but the old rooster took the interference in stride. The rooster charged Manny and pecked at his bare legs. Manny flinched from the pain and Claudia snarled, "I'm going to kill that little shit someday!" and kicked the bird into a corner. It landed in a confused heap then righted itself again.

Their last stop was at a small barn where a chestnut mare whinnied for attention. "This is Concha." Claudia explained. "Papa gave her to me for my ninth birthday and I named her Concha Isabella Agustina de Candelária. She's my sweety." Claudia laid her head against Concha's neck to hug her, then pulled back to pet her muzzle.

"She's nice. You can pet her," Claudia said, but when Manny reached to stroke Concha's neck she snorted at him, ducked her head, and pushed him away.

"Concha!" Claudia scolded. "Stop that! You're jealous!" Concha bared her teeth at Manny then seemed to relax while Claudia fondled her ears. She explained, "I guess with classes and all that I haven't been here enough for Concha. She isn't usually like this."

Claudia showed Manny how to brush Concha, and then she combed her mane and tail to make Concha feel better. When they were done and on the way back to the house Claudia asked, "Have you had anything to eat?" She tucked her hand around his elbow and pulled herself against him. "I'm getting hungry."

"I'm starving," Manny answered, so Claudia stopped in the kitchen and rifled through the freezer. He looked over her shoulder and asked, "What are you looking for?"

"I wanted to see what they left me for dinner," Claudia said. She stood up to face Manny and wrinkled her nose. "It'll be frozen dinners from the microwave."

Dinner wasn't all bad. They stayed at the table and laughed at each other until their conversation turned to Manuel—their biological father.

Manny shrugged and said, "We can't know what happened in the end, but he may have been doomed before that by family politics and the civil war. He worked at the bank to give Marisol a secure home, but the longer the war went on the more it ate into him. He was raised to believe that even the poor deserved justice. He had to get involved."

Claudia cleared off the table while Manny talked and noticed that the sun had set; a nearly full moon hung over the mountains and the wind no longer knocked at the kitchen door. She told Manny, "You know and I know, like Marisol knew, that however it ended it had to be that way. Manny couldn't live without helping his people, and Marisol couldn't watch him hate himself for not helping."

Claudia peeked out then turned back to Manny and said. "I'm tired of being stuck inside. Let's go for a walk." She wrapped herself in a sweater and tucked her hand around Manny's arm. It didn't take long for their eyes to adjust, and then the moon lit their path.