Edwin kicked off his work shoes and left them by the front door. They were an unimpressive pair of black sneakers with a brand name not worth mentioning, made from a mix of mesh, rubber, and foam, constructed entirely for function not fashion. The thread was starting come loose at the seam on the left toe, which worried him. He needed them to last a couple more months because he\u2019d just spent an inordinate amount of money on another pair of shoes, a completely impractical pair of Air Jordans. More specifically, the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG in \u201cBloodline,\u201d in black and white leather with red accents throughout.<\/p>\n
Edwin had saved up for months for his first pair of Jordans, and today he finally got the text saying they\u2019d been delivered. He was eager to pick them up, but he was only an hour into his shift at the new tapas restaurant. Taberna Capital wouldn\u2019t open for another week, but Chef wanted the staff fully trained in how to make each dish to his exacting standards. The minute Chef released them, satisfied his crew knew the difference between jam\u00f3n serrano and the much more expensive jam\u00f3n ib\u00e9rico, Edwin raced to catch the first in a series of buses that would take him from DC, across the Potomac River, back home to south Arlington.<\/p>\n
He could tell immediately from the shape of the box that his brand-new babies were inside, all $180 worth of flex and flash. He didn\u2019t bother taking off his coat before grabbing a pair of scissors and carefully slicing the packing tape so nothing inside would be nicked. Then he pulled out the Nike box and placed it on the kitchen counter where he waited a beat before opening the lid slowly, ceremoniously, almost expecting a beam of light to shine from within. Next, he folded back the tissue paper to reveal the perfect pair, nestled safe inside like eggs or even precious jewels. He was almost afraid to touch the blackest black and whitest white leather. He inspected his hands for any residual kitchen grime before lifting the shoes out. The insides were stuffed with cardboard and more tissue, and after removing everything, he picked up a single Jordan, buried his nose inside, and inhaled the heady mix of rubber and leather. They would never be this perfect again.<\/p>\n
The Air Jordans were an extravagant purchase, totally out of character for Edwin, but he did his best to quiet the niggling voice in his head that reminded him he couldn\u2019t afford them, they were a waste of money, rent needed to be paid, his sister Melany needed new soccer cleats, that he was selfish for indulging in something so costly and impractical. He tried to justify the expense. What did the money mean in the scheme of things, over the course of a month, a year, or longer? $180 represented roughly two days of work, two long shifts on his feet, sweating over a sizzling grill. There was no denying he worked harder than anyone else in his family, more than his mother or even his stepfather Vicente, and certainly more than Melany who had her very own bedroom while he was relegated to the sofa. He deserved a treat for once.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d almost succeeded in tucking his guilt away somewhere small enough to ignore, except for one thing: his grandmother, his sweet Lita, could get sick again, and if she did, they\u2019d need to send more money back home. They had already pooled together every dollar needed for her final round of radiation, and Edwin had been happy to help, even happier that she seemed to be doing so well, as if she\u2019d been cured solely from his contributions. Edwin expected neither gratitude nor credit, but even Lita would surely bless this one indulgence now that the crisis had passed.<\/p>\n
Since placing the order, Edwin had watched countless YouTube videos about the proper maintenance of Air Jordans, including how to lace them correctly, what products to clean them with, and how to keep them from creasing at the toe. He was ready. He\u2019d been ready for years, ever since the day his friend Daniel sauntered into their ESL class with a fresh pair in royal blue and black, a gift from his father who\u2019d been building houses down in North Carolina. Edwin had looked them up online later that day: Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG. So far out of his price range, he could never ask his mother, but he had longed for them ever since.<\/p>\n
Edwin took the shoes and packing materials to the closet in Melany\u2019s room. She always griped about sharing even this minute amount of space, as if there were other options in their two-bedroom apartment. After hiding the boxes under a pile of sweatshirts, he retrieved a pair of clean, white socks from one of his bins. He wanted to try the shoes on at least, even if he wasn\u2019t ready to debut them.<\/p>\n
Edwin had just finished putting on a pair of socks and was adjusting the blood-red laces when he heard the apartment door open, followed by the sound of his mother and Vicente\u2019s voices. He stuffed the shoes into the sock bin, covered them up as best he could, and slid the closet door shut. His heart thudded with a familiar panic from his childhood. Whenever he\u2019d played with his Matchbox cars or Star Wars figures, gifts sent by his mother who\u2019d left for America before him, he\u2019d listen for his cousins\u2019 footsteps, ready to stash them back under his bed. Lita had been sympathetic to a point, but she\u2019d usually insist he share his goodies. Edwin had lost enough over the years to learn the value of a good hiding place.<\/p>\n
Edwin walked out of Melany\u2019s room directly into his stepfather and mother\u2019s argument. Vicente was slumped on a kitchen stool, and his mother leaned against the counter holding a stack of mail. When neither acknowledged him, he took a few steps backwards and perched on the arm of the sofa just a few feet away, hoping not to be noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne more job this week and it\u2019ll be taken care of, totally covered,\u201d Vicente said. Edwin could see the outline of his undershirt though his blue work shirt. It had probably looked crisp and professional once, but it was now threadbare and pulled tight across his paunch. \u201cVicente\u201d was stitched on the front pocket in jaunty, red script.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what about the next month? And the next?\u201d his mother asked. \u201cAnd you still have to pay Lorenzo for the jobs he goes out on.\u201d She threw her hands up in disgust before adding, \u201cI don\u2019t know why you even keep him on the payroll.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwice as many employees means twice as many jobs we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut with what you pay him, it\u2019s barely worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edwin wished he\u2019d stayed in Melany\u2019s room because he already knew the argument by heart: Vicente had to make another payment on his new van, the one he\u2019d had wrapped with the new logo and slogan for Aguilar Plumbing: \u201cCall the best, flush the rest!\u201d His mother had been opposed to the expense and furthermore, hated the slogan. Vicente had hoped the slick, new van would boost the business\u2019s profile, but it wasn\u2019t working. On top of that, his mother thought he should get rid of his one remaining employee.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a family. I can\u2019t just drop him,\u201d Vicente argued.<\/p>\n
His mother threw the stack of mail on the counter. \u201cIf it\u2019s a choice between feeding Lorenzo\u2019s family or ours, what\u2019s it going to be?\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother looked at Edwin as if just now noticing him. Her eye makeup, which she meticulously applied each morning, was smudged after a day spent babysitting the little girl who lived downstairs, but her hair was still in its thick, tight braid. She only ever let it hang loose and long once a week, for church.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdy, what are you doing home so early?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust training today. We don\u2019t open till next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down at his white socks. Though it was impossible, he feared they could smell the new leather from the kitchen. The same shoes that had given him such pleasure a few minutes earlier now taunted him from their hiding place.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d his mother nodded grimly. \u201cYou\u2019ll be home for dinner. We can eat as a family for once.\u201d<\/p>\n
She grabbed the stack of mail and started flipping through it, chewing her bottom lip as she separated the bills from the junk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAy, what\u2019s this?\u201d She held up a white envelope with their apartment number on the front.<\/p>\n
Vicente lifted his head to see what she was talking about. She ripped open the envelope and pulled out the contents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does this say, Edy?\u201d she asked, waving the paper at him.<\/p>\n
Edwin crossed the tiny kitchen to take it. It was an official letter, typed in English with the letterhead of the building management company. Ever since his English had surpassed both his mother\u2019s and Vicente\u2019s, he\u2019d become a translator, asked regularly to interpret forms and correspondence from the bank, doctors, utility companies, and more. He scanned the letter to get the gist, his eyes settling on the words \u201crent increase\u201d and the number \u201c$200.\u201d He tried to think of how to soften the news but came up empty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re raising the rent, Mami. Two hundred a month,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n
This unleashed another round of bickering, but this time, Edwin wouldn\u2019t stick around. He retrieved his work shoes from where he\u2019d left them by the front door and slipped out without a word. It was moments like this when he understood why Melany stayed out as much as possible, more than likely at friends\u2019 houses instead of at school like she claimed. Edwin didn\u2019t fault her for that. The apartment they shared was 850 square feet, barely big enough for the four of them to eat, sleep, and breathe without knocking into one another. Their home was full of love but left little space for much else.<\/p>\n
Edwin walked out the front doors of his building directly into a burst of horizontal rain. It was January, but they hadn\u2019t gotten a flake of snow yet, only this merciless, freezing spray. He yanked up his hood and kept his chin tucked into his coat as he trudged up Columbia Pike. He thought he\u2019d take the bus somewhere, but the only place warm and dry he could think of was the mall in Pentagon City. Surrounding himself with places to spend money would only remind him of his own foolish purchase.<\/p>\n
As he walked, the seam on his left toe came apart slightly, only about a quarter of an inch but enough to let in a trickle of cold water. By the time he got to the bus stop in front of the bank, the toe of his sock was soaked through.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, a bus arrived and without even checking the route, he climbed the stairs, swiped his card, and took an empty seat near the back. As usual, the heat was cranked way up, but for once he was glad because he was shivering and his left toes were going numb. He put his ear buds in and turned on Spotify. The new J Balvin song came on and he cranked up the volume, letting the reggaeton drown out his thoughts. He leaned his head against the fogged-up window and closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Edwin knew he shouldn\u2019t keep them, his brand-new Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG in \u201cBloodline,\u201d black and white leather with red accents throughout, but as the beats droned on, he fantasized about wearing them out with his friends, maybe at a club. He rarely indulged in a night out, unwilling to spend the money or waste the time, but a night of recklessness was exactly what he craved now. He could give that cute girl Maya a call or shoot Stefany a text and see what she was up to this weekend. In his mind, he was at the club, the music pulsing, dancing close with one of the girls, it really didn\u2019t matter which one. He was lost in the flashing lights, the crush of warm bodies, nothing existing outside that moment, not his family or his endless obligations to them. As he daydreamed, he tapped his toes along with the steady rhythm, even the frozen ones that were starting to tingle ever so slightly and come back to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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