“I still can’t get over it,” Serena muttered. “They love that dog.”
“Ya think?”
“Did you notice the rhinestone collar Mom bought? I almost gagged.”
“Be nice.”
“I am being nice!” Serena said. “I just never pictured them owning a dog in the first place. We never had one growing up, and I begged them for one for years. I even promised to take care of it.”
“That’s because they knew you wouldn’t.”
“I might not have skipped a grade and gone to college when I was seventeen like you, but I’m pretty sure I could have handled a dog. And I’ll have you know that I’m in the running for the Charles Alexander Scholarship next year.”
“Mmm, right.” Maria raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“I’m serious. It’s for bilingual education majors. I filled out the application, wrote an essay, got recommendations from two of my professors and everything. It’s sponsored by a private foundation, and I have an interview with the chairman next Saturday. So there.” She crossed her arms.
“Wow. That’s great.”
“Don’t tell Dad, though. I want to surprise him.”
“He’d be thrilled if you won.”
“I know, right? Just think how many more collars they’d be able to buy Copo if he didn’t have to pay tuition.”
Maria laughed. Inside, they could hear their mother humming to herself in the kitchen, the smell of huevos rancheros drifting through the open window.
“But anyway,” Serena went on, “back to last night. Why were you out so late? That’s way past your normal bedtime.”
Maria scowled at her sister before figuring that she might as well get it over with. “Actually, I was on a date.”
“No way.”
“What’s the big deal?”
“Nothing. I just thought that you’d made the decision to be celibate.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Hello? Did you forget who I was talking to?”
“I go out.”
“You might paddleboard, but you don’t go out at night. Instead, you work. You read. You watch bad TV. You don’t even go dancing anymore, and you used to love that. And I tried to get you to come to that warehouse with me, remember? With the salsa dancing on Saturday nights?”
“As I recall, you said there were a lot of creepy guys there.”
“But I also had a lot of fun. And unlike you, I’m terrible at dancing.”
“Not all of us are in college, you know, with classes that start at noon and Fridays off. Some of us have responsibilities.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Serena said, waving it off. “I take it you didn’t get lucky?”
Maria peeked over her shoulder toward the partially open window, making sure her mother wasn’t listening.
Serena rolled her eyes. “You’re an adult, you know. You don’t have to hide your social life from Mom and Dad anymore.”
“Yeah, well, we’ve always been a little different in that way.”
“What? You think I tell them everything?”
“I hope not.”
Serena stifled a giggle. “Sorry your date didn’t work out.”
“How do you know? Maybe it did.”
“I don’t think so,” Serena said, shaking her head. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have been heading home alone.”
Oops, Maria thought. Serena had always been quick-thinking, but more than that, she was endowed with a common sense that sometimes eluded Maria.
“Hello?” Serena added. “Anyone home? I was asking about your date.”
“I don’t think he’ll be calling me.”
Serena feigned compassion, though her amused cynicism was apparent. “Why? Did you bring your computer and work the whole time?”
“No. And it wasn’t me. It was just… bad.”
“Talk to me, big sister. Tell me all about it.”
Maria surveyed the backyard, reflecting that Serena was the only person in the world she could really talk to. “There’s really not that much to tell. For starters, I didn’t plan on having a date in the first place —”
“No! You?”
“Do you want to hear this or not?”
“My mistake.” Serena grinned. “Go on.”
“You remember Jill, right? My friend from work?”
“Super smart, coming up on forty and dying to get married, funny as hell? The one who came over for brunch and scooped Copo up and almost gave Dad a heart attack?”
“Yes.”
“No, I don’t remember her.”
“Anyway,” Maria said, “we were having lunch a few days ago and she convinced me to join her and her boyfriend, Paul, for dinner, after I got back from the conference. But unbeknownst to me, it turns out that they had also invited one of Paul’s friends from work to join us, and —”
“Wait, back up. Was the guy hot?”
“He was definitely handsome. But the problem was, he knew it. He was rude and arrogant and he flirted with the waitress all night long. I think he even got her phone number while I was sitting beside him.”
“Classy.”
“Jill was as mortified as I was, but the strange thing was, I’m not sure that Paul even noticed. Maybe it was the wine or whatever, but he kept saying that the four of us should head out to a club afterwards and that he was so glad we were getting along, that he just knew we’d be perfect for each other. Which is strange, because he’s not normally like that. Usually he’s quiet and Jill and I do all the talking.”