Like some queen bee, she did not like being the last one to learn what was happening in her hive.
“I have no one,” I said, perhaps too quickly, but of all the girls in the school, I feared her the most, because she had some contact with the Mexican community.
“Your cousin is telling people you are so in love with her brother that you don’t have interest in other boys. I know she’s feeding that line to Christian.”
“She knows that is not true.”
“Yes, but I assure you, Christian Taylor likes that explanation. It makes him feel good. He’s passing it out like free candy.”
“But it’s a lie.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care one way or the other. Your business is your own business, and I’m no fan of Christian Taylor.”
And then, whether she wanted to be more friendly with me or just felt an obligation finally as a sister Latina, she said, “Tenga cuidado, chica, usted magulló un ego grande aquí.”
I watched her walk away.
Katelynn had overheard her and stepped up beside me.
“What did Fani say? I hardly ever hear her speak Spanish.”
“She said I should be careful. I bruised a big ego here,” I told her.
“Really? Wow,” she said, as if she had been told what the queen had advised me about something.
“I didn’t need her to tell me that,” I said sharply. Katelynn’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t either, would you?”
“Yeah, but…Fani. This is getting to be a big story,” she added, and rushed off to tell the others.
This was getting to be a big story? If only they valued their schoolwork as much as gossip, they’d all be honor students, I thought.
Later, I saw the look of satisfaction on Sophia’s face. Whatever she had planned and hoped for was now happening, and she was very pleased with herself. She had turned her rumors and innuendos into facts that wouldn’t go away. Christian looked even more arrogant now.
Tía Isabela was not happy when she heard about it all by Friday and immediately assumed it was somehow Sophia’s fault. I discovered that apparently the parents of the wealthy talked about the social lives of their sons and daughters all the time.
“What did you do, Sophia? What did you tell Delia? Why isn’t she going on a date with Christian Taylor? I’m sure you did something, so don’t give me that look of innocence,” Tía Isabela said to begin our dinner conversation that night.
“I didn’t do anything. She decided herself. Or,” she added, her lips dripping with venom, “it was Edward’s doing.”
“Edward’s doing?” Tía Isabela turned to me. “Is that true? Did Edward advise you not to go on a date with Christian Taylor? Don’t lie to me, either. I’ll find out,” she warned.
“No, Tía Isabela. I have not yet spoken to Edward about it. He called me early in the week before Christian had asked me on a date.”
“I see. So, why did you decide not to go out with him? I told you he comes from a distinguished family. I didn’t disapprove, did I?”
“No. It’s simply that I do not like him, Tía Isabela. He is too much in love with himself. He should just go out with a mirror,” I added, and to my surprise, she burst out in loud laughter.
“Well,” she said, catching her breath and looking at Sophia, “maybe when it comes to romance and boys, you really should be taking lessons from your cousin after all, Sophia.”
She couldn’t have said anything more hurtful to Sophia. Her face finally began to shatter, her lips trembling and tears flooding into her eyes. I prepared myself for her outburst, but to my surprise and to Tía Isabela’s, she just stood up, took a deep breath and said, “Believe me, Mother, you will be sorry in the end, not me.”
Before Tía Isabela could respond, she rushed out of the dining room and to the stairway.
“Well, I guess our little stone princess can be embarrassed after all,” Tía Isabela said, and continued to eat.
Such indifference to each other’s pain made me sick inside. I ate what I could and excused myself. When I reached my room, I thought I could hear Sophia sobbing. I hesitated at her door and then decided not to get between her mother and her. In my room, I sat and stared out the window. It was partly cloudy, with the moon looking as if it was trying to avoid being trapped by the clouds. It seemed to slip every which way to remain uncovered. It was how I felt. Trapped and searching for an escape.
Despite the comforts I enjoyed and the affection of both my cousin Edward and his very close companion, Jesse, I could dream only of escape, dream only of a life with Ignacio, no matter how simple that life was to be. Perhaps we both should have remained in Mexico after all, I thought. Yes, we would have so much less, but we would at least be together. On the other hand, he would be without his family, and I knew how painful that was for him. After all, I was without my parents and my grandmother. They were gone from everything but my thoughts and memories, which to us meant they had not yet passed through the third death.