With a Tail on Top

“My little Tilde is growing up too fast,” said father to daughter as Sr. Vasquez kissed Junie goodnight. He wished her “Sueños Amables,” just as he had been doing all week. The next morning, she’d go to school as a little girl for the last time.
The first thing that has to be explained to anyone who did not truly know Juñeta Vasquez was her nickname: ‘Tilde’.
Mexicans (or anyone else speaking Spanish) have a name for the little squiggle above the n for certain words like Mañana, Quinceañera, or even Juñeta. It was the tilde. Instead of rhyming manana with banana, they pronounce it mon-yah-nah. The tilde turned the n into a “nyah”, with a slight nasal sound.
Juñeta’s father gave her the nickname for two reasons. First, she had the tilde in her name. Secondly, she always wore her hair in a topknot – a ponytail fixed high on her head. The topknot reminded her father of a tilde.
The Next day went by very slowly for Junie.
The next day went by very slow for Junie. She could only think about one thing, and that was the Fiesta Quinceañera.
Normally, Junie waited for Miguel after school and walked home with him. When he exited the school, he did not see his big sister in her usual place. Instead, it was his mother.
“Where’s Junie?”
“She’s out with Aunt Angelina.”
“Why couldn’t I go?”
“They’re picking up her dress and getting her nails polished for her big day tomorrow. It’s girl stuff. You wouldn’t enjoy it.”
Miguel knew his mother was right. It was girl stuff. Still, he wanted to do something. When they arrived home, Sra. Vasquez went into the kitchen and began preparing dinner. Miguel joined her.
“Do you need any help?”
“I could always use help. I’m making Chile Relleno.”
“Stuffed chili peppers? That’s too hot!” said Miguel.
“I have leftover enchiladas for you,” replied mother.
Miguel groaned.
“I made these especially for your sister.”
Miguel did not like the fact Junie was getting everyone’s attention all of a sudden. He also wished he could be older, so he could have the freedom to do whatever he wanted.
Sra. Vasquez sliced the tops off the Poblano peppers. Meanwhile, Miguel mixed ground pork, cheese, nuts, and raisins in a bowl. When he finished, his mother stuffed the peppers. She dipped the peppers in egg yolks and then in corn flour. She repeated the process, covering each pepper in breading. Then, she placed them on a platter and set it in the refrigerator to wait for everyone’s arrival.
First to come home were Aunt Angelina and Junie.
“Where’s daddy?” asked Junie.
“He should’ve been home a while ago,” noted mother.
“I wanted to show him my Quinceanera dress.”
“He should be home any time now. Go ahead and model it for us.”
Juneta went to her bedroom and put on her dress. Afterwards, she returned to the living room where everyone waited. The dress looked as fancy as any wedding dress. It was white, just like a wedding dress, with light blue ribbons sewn into the lace. Junie also wore white satin gloves and heels.
She wore a tiara on the top of her head. It hid the topknot of her ponytail, with its glitter and rhinestones.
“¡Que Bonita! Don’t you think?”
Miguel shrugged.
“Meego!”
“She looks like one of her porcelain dolls.”
“That’s the point. This is one of the most important moments in a girl’s life.”
Miguel shrugged again.
“Don’t worry about him, this is what my boys do.”
Just then, Sr. Vasquez came in the front door.
“My dear queen Juneta!”
“Daddy!”
Junie gave her dad a bear hug.
“I’m so glad you got to see me in my new dress!”
“Me, too,” he replied, “Do I smell Chile Rellenos?”
Junie nodded.
“For your special dinner,” he added.
Junie went into her bedroom and changed back into a green t-shirt and blue jeans.
“That’s much better,” said Miguel.
“It is definitely more comfortable,” replied Juñeta.
“Now that you’re ready, let’s eat dinner before it gets cold.”
They took their usual places at the table. Also as usual, Sr. Vasquez led them in the Lord’s Prayer before they ate.
Everyone but Miguel had Chile Rellenos. After eating half an enchilada, Miguel stopped. He reached over to the platter full of Chiles and placed it on his plate.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” asked his mother.
Miguel nodded as he sliced the Chile Relleno into bite-sized pieces. He cut into the breading that covered the large green Poblano pepper.
He took one bite. That was enough.
“¡Muy caliente!”
Aunt Anglina quickly handed him a large glass of ice water. He drank it all. Sr. Vasquez passed his glass of water to Miguel, too.
“Meego,” said Aunt Angelina, “Poblanos are some of the hottest peppers in the world.”
“All the grownups are eating Poblanos,” said Miguel.
“Meego, you have the rest of your life to grow up. Enjoy being a child.”
“But…”
“No buts about it.”
Aunt Angelina carefully separated the Poblano from the rest of the Chile Relleno. She moved the hot pepper to her plate. Miguel was careful to take small bites. The stuffing was made of. The breading reminded Miguel of fried chicken.
“Why don’t they just make Chile Rellenos like this?”
“There wouldn’t be any Chiles in the Rellenos.”
“That’s fine with me. Can you make me another?”
Aunt Angelina smiled as she cut away another Poblano and put it on her plate.
“There’s always time to grow up, Miguel,” said his mother, “let’s just not do it today, okay?”
“Okay.”
As everyone continued eating, Miguel looked over to his sister’s plate. She had only taken one bite of her Poblano, scooping out the good parts inside just like her little brother. Maybe he could grow up later after all.