Chapter 4: When the Tequila Kicks In

Tequila plans to take it easy while Jasper is overseas, but at the urging of her mother, she decides to take advantage of his absence and live.

Down in Phoenix, Arizona, the climate is considerably warmer than it is up north, though not by very much. Most people tend to associate desert environments with extreme heat at all times, when in actuality, it becomes rather frigid at night regardless of the season. Among the residents is famed fashion icon, Carmen Rodriguez, who happens to be the mother of Tequila, though you can't tell they're related at face value. Their relationship has been rather dichotomous ever since Tequila was a teenager.

Carmen is a Latina through and through, obsessing over crop tops, jumping between Spanish and English at a moment's notice, maintaining a fiery presence that she makes known no matter where she is, and ending many of her sentences with "uh?". She was a model from the age of sixteen up until her late forties, mostly found in ads for lingerie, swimsuits, and athletic wear, and even modeled maternity clothes during both of her pregnancies. Her career remained consistently successful throughout its span, spawning merchandise including a personal clothing line, a celebrity fragrance, and even flesh-lights modeled after her own genitalia. She has since retired, but now works as a mentor to aspiring young women who wish to follow a similar career path.

At the moment, Carmen busies herself pacing back and forth in her living room with her nose in today's newspaper. She has a fuller physique compared to the stereotypical model, and currently it's covered in a cropped turtleneck sweater with scalloped edges, worn under a short-sleeved bolero jacket with black leggings tucked into ugg boots.

"Hmm, well this is interesting. Let's see now, it says- Hijole!" she exclaims. "No! Ay díos mios, it can't be! Tequila, did you hear about this?!"

Dressed in a vibrant yellow flannel shirt and royal blue jeggings, Tequila busies herself slumped on the nearby couch with her undivided attention directed at her laptop, tuning out her mother's outburst as she types away. Unlike the others, having her husband be absent for extended periods of time is nothing new for her. Due to their jobs, they often find themselves traveling a lot, sometimes going up to a week or more without seeing each other. Carmen's cat, a purring gray tabby named "Frijoles the Second," is sprawled out next to her, occasionally being treated to a back-rub or an ear-scratch.

"Young lady, are you even listening to me?" Carmen asks cantankerously.

"No, why?" Tequila replies bluntly. Her accent notably thickens in the presence of her relatives.

Carmen rolls her eyes and rakes a hand through her completely gray hair. Technically, her daughter's hair is gray too, though she keeps dying it red, not ready to show the world her age just yet.

"Ugh, I just read an article saying that the Little Saguaro Amusement Park is shutting down just days after its fiftieth anniversary," she explains. "And for God's sake, could you stop slouching like that? My back hurts just looking at you."

"Womp womp," Tequila says acidly.

"Clearly you don't understand the significance of all this," Carmen sighs. "That amusement park had the love tunnel ride where your father and I created you. I remember it being a good thirty minutes long, so it gave us just enough time."

Outspokenness has been a personality trait that's run in the Rodriguez family for who knows how long, and Tequila's parents are some of the worst offenders, moreso her mother. Ask her about how her children were as babies, and she'll not only go into detail about that, but also about how much fun it was to conceive them.

"Ugh. Mom, you're starting to sound like Grandma," Tequila groans. "Besides, how the hell do you know that's what led to my existence?"

"I like to think of it as my motherly intuition," Carmen explains.

"Good to know," Tequila answers, her deep violet eyes darting back towards her laptop.

"You sure are addicted to churning out novels, aren't you?" Carmen inquires.

"Well yeah, it's how I keep bread on the table," Tequila replies. "Not that I mind it, though, because I do enjoy it. And an author's job is never truly done."

"You know, I'm still slightly upset about how you didn't want to follow in my footsteps in terms of career path," Carmen sighs.

"Yeah, well it's my life. You can't be too mad about letting your own kids pursue their dreams," Tequila replies.

"Sí, I guess you're right. But that's not the only way you've disappointed me," Carmen continues.

"Pray tell," Tequila says.

"You ditched the completely organic diet I raised you on. You stopped going to church and started voting Democrat," Carmen explains.

"Well hey, I guess I've got two left wings," Tequila chuckles, before looking up and noticing the stern glare on her mother's face. "...That was a bad one, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. And I'm just getting started here," Carmen continues. "You also got your tubes tied just days after you moved out, and unless that brother of yours stops fooling around, I might never get any grandchildren."

"Oh yes, because everything in this world revolves around you," Tequila snarks.

"I am fully aware that it doesn't, but it just breaks a mother's heart to see that her own daughter has done everything in her power to spite her at every turn as an adult," Carmen grunts, plopping into an armchair. "And even if that didn't matter, look what you're doing right now: just sitting there, squandering every single day of your life on that laptop of yours."

"And what's your point?" Tequila asks.

Carmen says nothing and instead casually glances at the small table next to her chair. She picks up a framed photograph, containing a collage of various pictures of Jasper, Tequila's lanky, long-haired husband who is currently overseas. Tequila herself had initially offered to serve as well, but he insisted that she stay home where it was safe.

"No way in hell! I've already lost my mom and my best friend! I... I-I'm not gonna lose you too!" she remembers him saying, almost on the verge of tears.

Every part of the collage seems to be snipped from a random other photograph, each from a different location and point in time. Carmen can't help but chuckle every time she looks at it, remembering when Jasper sent it to her as a Christmas gift a few years back. It was in response to a complaint about how there were little to no pictures of him in her house whatsoever, despite him being married to her daughter.

"My point is that if you insist on leading a life completely different from mine, the least you could do is be more productive," she says at last. "I mean think about it. All you do is eat, sleep, write, and run errands when necessary, with the occasional video game session. Why, you haven't even traveled for fun since your honeymoon."

"Yeah, that's true..." Tequila's voice trails off as she halts in her tracks.

"I just don't want to see my own daughter squander her own life like this," Carmen says. "You know, when your father died, it was right after you and Jasper got married. He got to see his hija in an ecstatic mood one last time before he passed, and I want that to be the case with me too."

"Is there something you're trying to tell me? Like, is there some health problem of yours I should know about?" Tequila raises an eyebrow.

"No, no, I'm doing just fine. But I am getting older, and I want you to keep that in mind. I don't want my last moments with you to just be like this." Carmen pans a hand in her daughter's direction. "Look, why don't you just take a vacation or something? I mean sure, it's probably not smart to go international with all the conflict going on, but why not just explore the states? Do something more productive?"

Tequila pauses and thinks for a moment. Her mother does have a point. Despite being a second-generation immigrant who's lived in America for her entire life, Tequila has never taken the time to properly explore the country she resides in. Sure, she's been all over the place for both work and activism (she has all the postcards on her fridge to prove it), and has even traveled to the afterlife before, but has never gone on a solo trip for vacation purposes.

"Not a bad idea," she admits, before abruptly standing up and shutting her laptop.

"Where are you going?" Carmen inquires.

"To get ready for my vacation, duh!" Tequila responds. "Hell, perhaps I can take advantage of Jasper's absence and do things he'd never think of doing. And maybe even get some new inspiration for more books."

Carmen sighs at that last comment, but maintains her tender grin.

"Well. Glad I could give you some meaningful advice," she speaks quietly, watching her daughter exit the front door. "Sure has been a while since I last said that."