Sunday Night at the Chancos'

GEM

A finger poking her shoulder. She turned away from her food--a mini feat for her--and glanced to her side to find her niece, pudgy, with a double chin and a hard round stomach: so much like her, which made her feelings toward the child a screwed-up mix of affinity and disgust. The girl had her mouth open and was pointing to a loose milk tooth and a permanent tooth jutting out of the front of the gum, pushed out of its rightful place by the milk tooth that had overstayed its welcome.



JILLIAN

She had held her tears, not because she was trying to be brave, but because she was waiting for the right time to unleash them. She was going to let them go, not because she was afraid and thought something was seriously wrong with her teeth, but because it got her attention and special treatment. And now, now that her aunt was looking into her mouth and telling her not to be scared because it was no big deal, in that loud obnoxious voice that ensured that everyone's attention was on them, she knew: this was the time. With everything she had, she squeezed tears out of her eyes and began to bawl.



JOAN

Her husband's niece seriously always tried to take the joy out of any celebration. She did not mind not being the center of attention every once in a while, even on her birthday, but what she did mind was the fun having to stop, and she was not about to let that happen. And so, seeing an opportunity for another impromptu performance that would earn her a few laughs--all-out laughter if she was lucky--she grabbed a pair of tongs and approached her niece and made like she was going to pull out her loose tooth with them, her trademark silent-comedy face on.



EDWIN

His youngest daughter making a scene, his sister soothing her, and his sister-in-law provoking her: what else was new? But he was the father, and he was the oldest brother, and although no one believed in him much, it was time to take control. He asked for a piece of thread, and he tied it around his daughter's tooth and then gently pulled.



TIM

What kind of family had he married into? He loved his second set of children, and they got along so well with his first, but his wife, her similarly shaped niece, and the rest of her family were the most exasperating bunch. He watched as the niece was rewarded with money and ice cream for her lost tooth and then as she spat and cursed at her father, apparently blaming him for everything. Shaking his head in disgust, he silently wished his wife would be true to her word and leave the country--and him--already.



JACY

She watched her father, saw his tiredness and utter dislike for her stepmom and her family, and wondered if he wished he had stayed with her mother: she thought the answer was yes. She wondered vaguely if there was any chance of her parents getting back together: she thought the answer was no. She wondered if her siblings still hoped for it: she thought the answer was maybe. And then it was time to go, and she worried a bit because the place they made her park her car was teeming with roaches. But they were gone: the whole tooth ordeal took so long, the roaches must've fallen asleep. Or died.