A picture of me attending one of these parties was in the newspaper.
Attending these parties is not going to cause me to forget you. I promise that, and now I have a wonderful surprise to tell you.
My cousin Edward a
nd his friend Jesse want to take me to Mexico during the next school holiday. They want to go to my village. As soon as I know the details, I’ll get them to you. Perhaps somehow, some way, you can meet me there.
I have not told them about you, of course, so we’ll have to figure out a way, but isn’t it wonderful?
I will count the days until it happens.
Love,
Delia
There, I said to myself, I have told him the truth, without revealing anything that would make him sad, and I have even given him hope. However, if and when I sent this letter, I had better be sure the Mexican trip with Edward and Jesse would happen, I thought. Of course, this meant I would have to keep Tía Isabela pleased.
I gazed at myself in the mirror. I was still wearing my new designer sunglasses and hadn’t even realized it.
I wondered if I was really concerned with only pleasing Tía Isabela.
Snapping out of my musings, I folded the letter and put it into an envelope, hoping to deliver it to the Davilas on Sunday. Somehow, I would sneak off, and now that I did not have to depend on Casto for a ride, I should have an easier time of doing it.
Right after dinner, Adan called me. I had just begun my homework.
“I know you’re doing your schoolwork,” he said, “but I just wanted to see if you had mentioned Saturday to your aunt.”
“Yes.”
“No problem, I hope.”
“No,” I said. If he only knew how hard she was pushing me in his direction, I thought.
“Good. Then I’ll make the calls I have to make to set things up for us. Enjoy your new car,” he added.
“I’ll try,” I said.
“Uh-oh,” he said. “I think I hear something unpleasant in your voice. That means you have a rider along, doesn’t it?”
“Sí, señor,” I said and he laughed.
“They should make these cars with an eject button, so you can send your passenger out through the roof like a jet pilot.”
I laughed at the image of Sophia flying up and out.
“It’s good to hear your laugh, Delia. It’s like music,” he said.
I went to sleep thinking of those sentences. “It’s good to hear your laugh, Delia. It’s like music.”
I used to go to sleep thinking of Ignacio.
When I went down to breakfast in the morning, I was surprised to find Sophia already dressed and waiting. Tía Isabela had yet to come out of her bedroom. She would be pleased, I thought. Sophia was dressed quite differently from the way she usually dressed for school. She wore a very nice light yellow skirt and matching blouse, had her hair brushed and pinned, and again wore hardly any makeup. She wore a pair of earrings that actually were coordinated with her outfit, too. Instead of her usual dreary, half-sleepy self, she was bright and cheery.
“Good morning, Delia. I told Mrs. Rosario to make you her scrambled eggs. I know how much you like them. You need a good breakfast today. It’s a big day for you,” Sophia said. “Driving your own car to school. How lucky you are. But I’m not jealous,” she added quickly. “I know my mother will be buying me my own car soon. With your help, I’ll get my school grades up. You’ll want that to happen. That way, you won’t have to drive me everywhere, and you can take someone else in your two-seater.” She winked.
“I’ll help you in any way I can with your work, Sophia, but I can’t take the tests for you. You have to spend more time studying.”
“Oh, I will. I will,” she promised.