Paid for by the Cartel

Chapter Eighteen

     Tinsley felt the gasp leave her body rather than heard it. There was a moment of shocked silence before a roaring cheer tore through the club. Later, Tinsley would remember the next motions in a slight haze. She set her glass down on the bar, unlacing her arm from Letty's and pulling free of Angels' arm. She was running across the floor in a moment, directly at her sister. Itzel finally would look at her, a wide smile taking over her face. Tinsley grabbed her by her shoulders and looked up to studied her face carefully. She didn't even know she was crying until Itzel reached up to wipe her tears away from her cheeks.

     "¿En serio?" Tinsley breathed, she couldn't make her voice raise higher than that. Itzel didn't say anything, just nodded with her eyes filling with tears. Tinsley's hands shook as she took her sister's face in them. Her vision blurred and she pulled Itzel into her a crushing hug. She was overwhelmed by the emotions that were running through her body. Normally she could regulate her emotions, but the rush of emotions currently surging through her body was more emotions than she was used to handling at one time. The only thing she could do was to hold her sister as tight as she could. As long as she could remember, Itzel would talk about having kids but she'd never got around to it. Until now. It took a moment for Tinsley to realize that she was squeezing her sister too tight. She let go instantly and leaned back, "I'm sorry," she whispered. Itzel laughed. A wide smile grew on Tinsley's face, "So that's what you were lying about," she laughed. 

     "I couldn't talk to you because you'd know that I was lying about something and I couldn't be convinced that I wouldn't say anything. Gilly and I wanted to surprise you," Itzel confessed. Tinsley laughed again. Her eyes roamed from Itzel to Gilly who was standing just off to the side. He was getting slaps on the back and shoulders and congratulations from everyone who passed by. She detached herself from Itzel and made her way to Gilly. His eyes were roaming from person to person before they found their way to Tinsley. His impossible smile grew as he opened his arms.

     "¡Felicidades!" Tinsley said. Instead of responding, he just smiled and folded her into his arms in a tight hug. The hug didn't last long until there was a hoard surround them. Tinsley let go of Gilly as he was surrounded by Angel, Coco, and Creep. They surrounded him, congratulating him loudly, and clapping him on the back. Tinsley turned back to her sister. Letty was in the middle of asking a thousand questions excited. Tinsley wrapped her arms around her sister again. A few of the women that hung around the club made their way to congratulate Itzel. There was so much that she wanted to tell Itzel but it didn't seem like the right time. It was a flurry of people and congratulations for the next few hours and pretty soon all the faces began to blur together into a single haze of features. 

     "¿Quieres ir afuera?" Itzel leaned over, whispering in her ear. Tinsley looked up at Itzel, noticing her tired expression and how her expression glazed over with all the people talking to her. Tinsley knew when her sister was done with social interaction. She could outlast Tinsley by hours but the nonstop attention was wearing on her. Tinsley smiled. 

     "Pensé que nunca lo preguntarías," she muttered back. She detached herself from Letty and followed her sister out the door. They skirted around some of the members that were handing around the door as they extended their extolment to Itzel. She just smiled, thanked them, and made her way to the end of the porch where there wasn't anyone else standing. Tinsley pulled a free bench from under the window over to where Itzel was leaning against the railing, "siéntate, siéntate," Tinsley ushered her sister onto the bench. Itzel laughed and waved her hand at her sister. 

     "I'm not that pregnant yet," Itzel said. Tinsley tutted and rolled her eyes. 

     "So how far along are you?" Tinsley asked. Itzel set her hand on her small stomach that she'd been keeping hidden behind baggy shirts.