Chapter 40
A
fter a few days, the world returned to a more normal state of calm. Emily and Bobby came back to school, ballet practices were in full swing, and Lilly and Madison had even stopped attacking each other. It was amazing how a crisis could solve almost as many problems as it created.
“So have you talked to your dad?” I asked, as we sat on my back porch sipping sodas and munching on fat-free chips.
“He's taking me out to dinner on Friday night,” Emily said as she pulled her knees up and hugged them close to her chest. “He wants to prevent any âconfusion.' Whatever that means.”
“He still at the hotel?” Madison asked.
“Yup.”
“At least he's making an effort,” I stated.
“I know. It's not his fault.
He
didn't have the affair. But he's also never home... .” Emily fiddled with the lid of her soda.
“Look, your parents are fighting with each other. Not you,” Lilly offered.
“That's very insightful, Lil,” I stated.
“Thank you. I try.”
“What about Bobby?” Madison asked. “Have you seen him?”
“I'm avoiding him like the plague. It's just too weird.” She looked at me.
“Hey, he hasn't spoken to me either. Today was his first day back in school, and he stared at his notebook all through chemistry.”
“I can't believe you kissed him,” said Madison.
“Gee, thanks for bringing
that
up.” I rolled my eyes and stared at the trees in the rear of my yard.
“Don't. He's a nice guy,” Emily offered. “If you like him ...”
“No, no way.” I tossed my hands in the air.
“My mom said she broke it off with his dad... .”
“Still, could you imagine if we actually dated? How could I ever look his father in the face?”
“Well, it wouldn't be his father that you'd be dating,” Lilly stated simply.
A lull fell over us as we stared at the leaves dripping from the trees.
“So, Madison, you still hate me?” Lilly blurted out, breaking the silence.
I nearly choked on my sip of soda. She was blunt.
“What? We're all sitting here acting like everything is normal. I thought I might as well bring it up.” Lilly shrugged.
Madison stared vacantly at her. “I don't know what you want me to say to that.”
“The truth.”
“I don't know you very well,” Madison stated.
“And whose fault is that?”
“Maybe it's the swarm of jocks you've surrounded yourself with since you got here. Or all the guys you've been chasing after simultaneously. Or the best friend you stole out from under me.”
“Mad,” I whined, staring at her with concern.
“I didn't steal Mariana. Not like you stole Evan,” Lilly stated, an eyebrow raised.
“Like I'm gonna apologize for
him
calling
me.”
Lilly rolled her eyes. “You knew I liked him. But, whatever, I'm not gonna make a big deal out of it.”
“Well, good. You shouldn't,” I said.
Lilly's eyes snapped toward me.
“What? You don't remember what you did with Alex this summer? You deliberately kept us apart 'cause you were jealous.”
“I
was not
jealous!”
I cocked my head. “Yeah, you were.”
“Was not. And anyway, these are completely different circumstances.”
“Not really. You felt overshadowed by âthe new person,'” I said, wiggling my fingers for effect.
“That's because all my guy friends were falling all over you.”
“The way the Spring Mills guys are falling over
you
!” I pointed out.
“You had guys falling over you?” Madison asked, peering at me. “You never told us that.”
“That's because you never asked,” I said with a shrug. “Anyway, Lil, you of all people should understand where Madison's coming from. And Madison, Lilly's not my best friend. She's my cousin.”
Madison grunted.
“I know you feel like she doesn't count because she hasn't been around my whole life, but look at the family who has! My uncles practically ruined my birthday party, my cousins are spoiled brats, and my aunts are nit-picking snobs. I mean, can you blame me for wanting to cling to the few family members I actually
do
like?”
Madison and Lilly eyeballed each other.
“I'm still gonna talk to Evan,” Madison stated.
“And I'm still gonna talk to Mariana,” Lilly added.
Just then my father slid open the glass doors to the porch and stepped outside. His work shirt was unbuttoned on top and his tie was loosened. He looked toward Emily.
“You girls all right?”
We nodded. “We're fine, Dad.”
“You sure? You don't need anything?” His gaze stayed locked on Emily.
“Mr. RuÃz, you don't have to pretend you don't know,” Emily said. “The entire town of Spring Mills knows. âSwarthmore professor has affair with UPenn professor, news at 11.' ”
My dad offered a sad smile. “I'm sorry you have to go through this.”
She thrust her shoulders. “At least it's out in the open now.”
He nodded, knowingly.
“Well, if you need anything ...”
“Thanks,” she said.
My dad stepped back inside and closed the glass door.
“Well, at least, your family probably won't move out of PA as a result of this,” I joked.
“And there probably aren't any bastard children you don't know about,” Madison added with a grin.
“See, it could be worse,” Lilly stated.
We all chuckled. It was all we could do.
Chapter 41
T
hursday night, my parents had Teresa over for dinner. With everything that had happened with Emily's mom, they felt compelled to try at least one more time to fix things with my family. They invited my uncles, but only Teresa showed. She didn't even bring Carlos.
“Thank you for a lovely meal,” Teresa said as she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin, her plate clean.
“No, thank you for coming,” my mom stated politely.
The conversation hadn't exactly flowed all night. True to form, my parents acted like the entire scene at my party never happened. No one brought it up. With each passing second, things felt more awkward, and I was rapidly losing my patience.
“The weather's supposed to be nice tomorrow,” my mom said with a benign grin.
I had officially had enough.
“You know my friend just found out her mom's having an affair,” I blurted.
Teresa's head jerked back.
“Mariana!” my father warned.
I ignored him and kept going. “The man she had an affair with, his son goes to school with us. He's a friend of ours.”
Teresa stared at me, her forehead creased.
“Her father moved out. Her mom cries all day. And Emily's wrecked.”
I shrugged, pumping my eyebrows.
“Mariana, I really don't think this is appropriate,” my mother said.
“No, it is.” I snapped my eyes at Teresa, then at my dad. “I get it now. I get why Uncle Diego is so angry. If he feels even half of what Emily's feeling, then I get it.”
“Mariana!” my father yelled.
“What, Dad? It's true. Grandpop should have dealt with this a long time ago. It's the lies that made the situation worse. Emily said that the minute she confronted her mom, the minute she got it out in the open, she felt better. Well, you know what? No one had the chance to confront Grandpop. And
that's
who everyone's mad at.”
Teresa smiled a bit, nodding. “You're right.” She turned to my father. “I didn't know our father. I was raised by a woman your family hates. The woman who did
all this
to you.” She tapped her shoulders. “But that woman is my
mamá
.”
My dad ran his hand along the back of his neck, saying nothing.
“There's something else.”
She glanced at me and then my parents.
“Carlos and I are getting married. I wasn't sure if I should tell you, or invite you, but I guess, I hope you can be happy for us.”
“You're engaged!” I cheered. “Do you have a ring?”
My eyes flicked toward her barren finger.
“Not yet. We're gonna pick one out this weekend. The wedding's going to be in a couple of months. And ... I'd like you all to be there.”
My parents exchanged a look.
“Of course, we'll be there,” my mother said.
“You realize my
mamá
will be there as well,” Teresa stated, cautiously.
My parents locked eyes again just before the phone rang.
Lilly, who had excused herself from dinner early to finish her history homework, picked up the receiver from upstairs.
“Uncle Lorenzo!” she called. “It's for you! It's Uncle Diego!”
No one said anything as my father slowly got up and walked to the phone.
Chapter 42
I
waited for Bobby at his locker Friday morning. I knew he'd been getting to school late. So had Emily. She said it was hard getting out of bed lately. Clearly, Bobby felt the same. So I camped out by our lockers, refusing to leave until he arrived. When the bell rang to launch first period, I was officially late for the first time in my life.
Finally, Bobby turned the corner. When he saw me waiting, he halted immediately. I almost thought he would turn and run the other way, but he trudged forward.
“Hey,” I said, as he blew past me.
He spun the dial on his locker.
“How are you?” I asked.
He grunted, then opened his locker.
“Look, I'm sorry about what happened. At Cornell. Are you okay?”
He looked at me, and I could tell he was livid. I wasn't even the messenger, and I was pretty sure I was still going to be shot for this one.
“Of course everything's not okay. My dad's sleeping in the spare bedroom, my mom cries half the night, and the entire school knows what a pathetic mess it all is.”
“You know, Emily's upset too.”
“I'm sure she is.”
“It's not her fault.”
“I know,” he said, running his hand through his blond curls. “I knew something was wrong ... with my parents. I'm just, I'm so
stupid
.
”
“No, you're not.” I shook my head. “And you don't have to avoid me either. We still have the film festival coming up at Thanksgiving. And I want to help.”
“Oh, God, I forgot. I should just cancel it.”
“No, don't.”
“No one's gonna show up.”
“I will.” I smiled. “An audience of one. That's better than nothing.”
He grinned back.
Â
That night, Lilly and I sat in front of the TV. She had my laptop resting on her thighs as she researched the French Revolution on the Internet.
“You know, maybe things can still work out for you two?” Lilly suggested as she scanned Web pages.
“Bobby and I will be lucky to be friends after this.” I slumped farther into the couch, resting my head on a pillow.
“But, Mariana, I know you like him. If this whole thing didn't happen ...”
“But it did happen.”
“And you're still helping him with the film festival.”
“As friends.”
“Sure,” she mocked, nodding her head. “We'll see.”
She flicked through Web sites as I flicked through TV stations.
Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed the remote from my hand.
“Hey!” I squealed, fighting to snatch it.
“Mariana.”
“Give it back!”
“
¡Caray!
Mariana!” she said, glaring at her computer screen. “
Mira, chica.
Check your e-mail.”
She handed me the laptop, and I quickly navigated to my inbox.
There was only one person I could think of who would e-mail Lilly and me at the same time.
Hola chicas!
Greetings from Utuado. Mariana, I'm glad your birthday was amazing and that you liked my present. I knew you would. Lilly, I hope you're enjoying the States and not driving Mariana too crazy.
I wanted to see if you guys would be around next month. I'm planning to visit the University of Pennsylvania the week before Thanksgiving. A campus recruiter contacted me and arranged the trip. Mariana, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to stay with your family a few nights and maybe check out Villanova. Would that be okay?
I hope you're as happy to see me as I will be to see you. I knew this summer wasn't good-bye forever.
Hasta luego,
Alex
It looked like I was about to get another visitor.