Chapter One
Quinceañera
“Tazia, cielito, stop fussing, you look beautiful.”
Taz dropped her hand from her head with as forceful of a
huff as she could manage in the ridiculous dress her mother
and aunt had coerced her into. All lace and poof, it suited
her nearly as well as the teased hair and eye-drooping
makeup they'd assaulted her with. “I look like you could
slice and serve me as a wedding cake, mamá.”
“You look like a young lady,” her mama said. “As well
you should, for your quinceañera. You’re fifteen now – a
woman grown. Time to stop being such a muchachota.
You’ll never catch a man’s eye climbing trees and picking
fights like you do.”
“One day,” Taz said. “That’s all I promised.”
Her mama sighed. “Dios muerto, my daughter, what am
I to do with you?” She lifted the curtain, ever so slightly.
“Have you at least decided which chambelán will have the
honour of the first dance with you?”
Taz followed her mother to the window. “Maravilloso,”
she whispered despite herself. The yard was
unrecognizable, her aunt and cousins having turned it from
chickens and grass to a twinkling wonderland – fairy lights
and flowers, guests in all their finery, the band setting up in
the corner, and a cake almost as large and decorated as her
dress. She’d been dreading this day for months – a
quinceañera was a girl’s coming out party, and there was
nothing Taz hated more than being the centre of attention.