Lupe and Selina Play Through the Storm

She reread her team list, and her eyes lingered on the Mexican player’s name, Cece Fuentes. Where had she heard that name previously? “Oh my God, get me that application from Mexico.” Her memories from a time of her life she’d tried to forget came together. Fuentes Coffee is in Mexico. I know that name.

“Here’s the application. What’s wrong?” Bonnie thumbed through the file box with the softball team’s paperwork. “Do you want this transcript, too?”

“What name do you suppose Cece is a nickname for?” A picture of a little girl on her first Eastside softball team formed in Lupe’s memory. She stood away from her desk and turned toward the diamond, where she always felt in control of her team and her life.

“Um, I’m unsure, Selina, I suppose. What’s wrong, Coach?” Bonnie joined Lupe at the window. She read the top line of the transcript from Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow High School out loud. “Oh, see, the name is different here. The text shows Selina Andrade Fuentes.”

A clear image of the girl’s handsome father, Carlos Andrade, startled Lupe. He and the girl went to Mexico twelve years earlier, leaving Lupe with her first broken heart. She sat down and tried to control her breathing.