Page 47 of Blue Sky

What the fuck was she doing here?

I quickly rushed her inside, so no one would see her.

“What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

She pushed by me. “I’m not stupid, mija. I know things. I can find you. I’m your mother.”

“How did you even get on base? Did you fuck the guard?”

She leveled me with her eyes. “Your uncle got me on. You got that nanny position the full town has been talking about.”

Dammit. My uncle sold me out. I was actually surprised it took her so long to find me. “Doesn’t matter. It’s a job.”

She handed me the chamango cup. When I had been young, she used to take me into town and share chamangos with me. It was the best thing ever—juicy mangos mixed with chamoy, an amazing sauce that was a mixture of pickled fruit and powered chilis. Topped with chili powder, lime, and a tamarindo candy, chamangos had been the happiest part of my childhood.

To hell with my mom—I wasn’t going to let this treat go to waste. I sucked on that straw and drank it down.

As I was indulging in my drink, my mom opened her mouth to ruin my bliss.

“Have you slept with him?”

I wanted to slap her. How dare she ask me that? She had no right. No right!

“None of your business.”

Then for the first time in years, I saw my mom cry. Her voice broke. “Listen, mija, listen. I know you hate me. But I need to tell you something. I was once like you. I wanted to leave this town, too. Until I became pregnant with you. Your father . . .” she paused.

I jerked my head back. My father? She never spoke about my father. Never. Even my abuela didn’t know who he was.

“What, what about my father? Who is he?”

“He . . . he was in the Navy. He was here for ten weeks and then left. He abandoned us, mija. He told me he would take me away, start a new life with us. He knew I was pregnant with you, but he left anyway.”

My hand trembled and heat burned my eyeballs. Oh my god, was she serious? Was my father a Blue Angel?

“You are lying to me.”

“I’m not lying. He was a Blue Angel! But he was no ángel. He was el diablo.”

I fought the nausea down my throat. No. No. No. She had to be lying. There was no way this could be true.

“Prove it. You are a liar. You have always been a liar.”

Her hand reached into her worn leather purse, and she pulled out an old picture. A Blue Angel pilot with piercing green eyes the same shade of mine was posing for a picture with my mom, who looked just like I did now.

But that wasn’t all.

The pilot was holding a little girl around Sky’s age.

And that girl was me.

Holy fuck.

My lips burned, and my vision clouded, and it wasn’t from the chilies on the chamango. I felt instantly weak.

“Why have you never shown me this before? He could’ve been any pilot you took a picture with at the show. Why should I believe you?”

“Look in the mirror! Have you ever wondered why you are so pale when me and your sisters are dark? Why you are the only person in our family without brown eyes? Where do you think your green eyes come from? From him!”