Carmela + Amos

Chapter 1 - Amos

          If there was one thing Amos Castillo prided himself in, it was the ability to find hidden gems in pawn shops. What he didn't know was that his latest find was about to change his life.

His pulse quickened as his ink-covered, sun-drenched hands stroked the worn leather of a vintage guitar case. After taking a deep breath, he exhaled, and pressed his thumbs on the lock release buttons, followed by the clack-clack of them snapping open.

“Whoa, she’s a beauty,” he gasped, grazing his callused fingers over the rosewood neck with abalone frets. “How much?”

“Nine-fifty,” the pawnshop owner replied.

“Nine—” Amos cut himself short, almost choking on his saliva. He was prepared to pay a thousand for a different guitar in the window display, but this one—this one, he would pay well over a thousand, considering rosewood on guitar necks was rare. He pointed to a tweed-faced amplifier in the corner. “Mind if I test it out before I commit?”

“Go ahead. Knock yourself out. Just don’t break the merchandise.”

When he crouched to plug in the cream-colored SG Gibson, his eyes caught sight of the price tag on the amplifier. Fifty dollars. He shook his head. It was vintage, and he could’ve sworn he saw an identical one on eBay for five hundred. It was evident the pawnshop owner didn’t know the value of his musical instruments. With a sigh, Amos plugged in the rare guitar and strummed a chord. As soon as the deep bluesy notes sang from the wood, he groaned a blissful sigh which reverberated up his chest and past his lips into a smile.

It sounded just as gorgeous as he imagined.

“Are you in a band?” Amos looked up and saw an older woman grinning down at him with skin like cracked clay.

“No, ma’am. I just love playing and collecting guitars.”

“Oh...” She pursed her mouth. “I thought you were someone famous because of the tattoos.”

“Not in this lifetime.” He winked.

The elderly woman frowned and walked away, allowing him to strum a few more riffs. As his tattooed fingers plucked the strings, he already knew there was no way he was leaving without buying both the guitar and amplifier. His brother Carlos was going to flip once he saw the latest score.

However, what Amos needed to be more concerned with, was how his girlfriend, Lorena, would feel about his latest splurge.

∆∆∆

Daylight spilled into the sunroom, casting an ivory glow over the rattan furniture where Amos sat with his brother, strumming their guitars. Music notes floated past the kitchen window where their mother washed dishes and matched each strum with her melodic voice.

“I can’t believe how amazing this sounds.” Amos shook his head, plucking a few more chords.

“You have all the luck with guitars, my dude. What’ll Lorena say, though?” Carlos asked.

“She’ll tell me I have to sell one of my other guitars.”

“Well, I mean, you have a ton.” Carlos shrugged. "But, I bet if you told her to do the same with her Christian Louboutin heels, she'd gouge your eyes out."

“Except, I wouldn't dare tell her that.”

"Because she has you whipped." Carlos chuckled.

"She does not."

“Man, you are so scared of her it’s not even funny! I’m surprised you had the balls to buy that guitar since Lorena carries them in her Louis Vuitton purse.”