Post by MANOLO DE LA PEÑA on Aug 4, 2022 14:53:41 GMT
He’d never been much into birthdays, even as a kid. It was just another day on the calendar. There was never much to celebrate when he was younger. His dad was never around to sing happy birthday to him and present him with a cake. It was only Ricky who made the effort with a cake from the store that he paid for using cash he found lying around the house. Once Manny started working he would always make sure there was a cake on the table for Ricky as well. Up until his dad started to feed stories into his head. Ricky was a traitor who’d gone over to the dark side. He was beyond help and it was better if Manny just cut his brother off. How could they trust a cop? The very people who worked actively against their family. It was the worst betrayal.
So one year Manny stopped with the birthday cake and never looked back. Whoever his brother had grown up to be wasn’t the person he knew when they were kids.
He wasn’t completely against birthdays though. It was always rewarding to lodge a bullet in the back of someone’s head on their birthday. The day they were brought into the world they were also removed. It was poetic and somewhat ironic.
The days didn’t exactly slip away with him so it was impossible to forget today was Ricky’s birthday. Maybe if he’d slammed a few tequila shots that morning he would have been tempted to hack off his other little finger and mail that to his sibling, but what was the point in throwing something in the mail when his older brother was so close by. In fact, only a few blocks down from Manny’s apartment, sitting in a fancy office surrounded by other snakes.
Today would be a treat for Ricky as Manny was going to hand deliver his gift to him. A cake with the words ‘Happy birthday big bro.’ etched on top with icing, an oversized balloon and a gift bag containing a photo frame with a photograph of Manny, Ricky and their parents. The frame had the phrase ‘A family takes care of their own.’ engraved underneath. He considered taking a lighter and burning away the faces of his parents but resisted.
Manny arrived at the police department around 2pm, heading straight for the front desk. “Good afternoon, beautiful.” He offered the woman behind the desk a warm smile, “I’m here to see Detective De La Peña… I came bearing gifts for his birthday.” He showed her the balloon and gift bag, “Is he around?”
ENRIQUE DE LA PEÑA