It amused me to hear the way Sophia described the car to her friends, emphasizing “we” with everything. She also made it clear that now that I had a car, her mother was soon going to buy her one. In fact, Tía Isabela, according to Sophia, was already researching models and prices.
“You know my mother,” she told Alisha and the girls who had gathered outside the Spanish classroom. “She has to be sure she’s not being ripped off and that she makes the best possible deal. She has friends in the automobile business. In fact, she bawled out Edward for not coming to her first before he spent the money on Delia’s car. She could have saved him thousands, not that he cares.”
She also let some of her friends believe that I would soon be willing to let her use my car.
“Until I get my own,” she emphasized.
Overhearing Sophia’s conversations amused me, but they also confirmed that she was not going through any real personality changes. Her sweet talk and her smiles for me were like flies hitting a closed window. I doubted there would ever be a time when I would open it and let her inside, a time when I would trust her with anything more than hello.
Christian Taylor was quite impressed with my car. During the lunch hour, he went outside with some of his amigos and looked it over. Sophia tried to get me to give her the key so she could show the car to Christian and his friends, but I politely told her I would rather not.
“Then you come out and show it to them,” she urged.
“I want to do some reading for social studies,” I told her. “Maybe later.”
“You’ve got to learn how to relax, Delia. You’re too intense. Social studies class won’t go away.”
“Maybe later,” I repeated, and she pouted.
“You know,” she said, “you could meet me halfway. I’m trying to be a better cousin.”
Halfway, I thought, recalling something Edward had once told me. “You give my sister an inch,” he had said, “and she won’t just take a foot. She’ll take all of you.”
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I do not like Christian Taylor. I’d rather ignore him.”
“He’s just another boy. Don’t get so uptight about him,” Sophia advised. “I can handle Christian Taylor.”
“I can handle a rattlesnake,” I said. “In fact, I have, but I’d rather not.”
“You have?”
“Where I lived, you learn to get along with everything in nature. If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone, unlike Christian Taylor. Snakes may be smarter than us. They’d rather ignore us.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever understand you.”
“Work harder in Spanish class,” I said. I knew it wasn’t what she meant, but I was feeling more confident and wanted to tease and frustrate her.
She made a face and walked off, but at the end of the day, she was waiting at my car with her girlfriends.
“It’s a beautiful car, Delia,” Trudy said. “I bet it can go very fast.”
“Too fast,” I said, “if you’re not careful.”
“Who wants to be careful?” Alisha said, and they all laughed.
I unlocked the doors, and Sophia opened hers and stood there smiling at her friends.
“Just feel the leather,” she told them, and stepped back so each could touch the seat.
I got in quickly and started the engine. “We must go home now,” I said.
“Right. Talk to you all later,” Sophia told them. “Do you want to stop for a frozen mocha or something, Delia?” she asked, loudly enough for them all to hear, before she closed the door. “I’ll buy them for us.”
“No, thank you, Sophia. Your mother might be waiting for us.”
“She’s probably at some meeting.”