“What? In English,” she said, grimacing.
“How…” I imitated bending over, and she laughed.
“Oh. You bend over very carefully,” she said.
I shook my head. I couldn’t imagine my mother or my grandmother, not to mention my father, permitting me to go to a party in such a dress.
“Stop worrying about it. You want to be in style, don’t you? With my bracelet and some earrings I’m going to loan you, you’ll look fantastic.” She rolled her eyes. “Beautiful, beautiful,” she chanted.
“I don’t know,” I said. “How do you say…it’s not for me.”
Her face hardened. “I’m just trying to help you, to be a good cousin. You want to fit in here, don’t you? You want people to like you, admire you, don’t you? Nobody appreciates anything I do for them,” sh
e whined, and turned away, embracing herself.
“I am sorry. I appreciate your gift,” I said. I looked at myself again. Even though it was too big in places, it hugged at my hips. It looked as if it had never been worn, and she looked as if she had her heart set on my accepting. “It is very beautiful, Sophia. Thank you.”
“Then you’ll wear it? Yes?” she said.
I nodded, and she smiled.
“I knew you would like it. I wore it only twice, but both times, I received many compliments.”
I took the dress off while she searched through her jewelry and then handed me a pair of earrings. They looked as expensive as the bracelet.
“Those are real diamonds,” she said. “Diamonds.”
“Oh, I must not take them.”
“Don’t worry about it. All of our jewelry is insured. If you need any help with your makeup, let me know,” she said. To be sure I understood, she showed me her vanity table and all the makeup she had. I had never seen so much in one person’s possession. She could open a store.
She pointed to my feet and then to the dress.
“Make sure my mother buys you shoes that match the dress,” she said. “I’d give you a pair of mine, but we really have different shoe sizes. My feet are like a cow’s feet compared to yours.” She showed me a pair of her shoes and then put her feet next to mine. They did look much bigger.
I nodded to show I understood. She was sad for a moment and then smiled again.
“All the boys will drool over you. The boys…” She widened her eyes and ran her tongue over her lips. She looked so silly I had to laugh, and she did, too. Then she hugged me.
My aunt is wrong, I thought. She just needs a friend, someone to trust and someone to trust her. We will be cousins after all. I thanked her again for everything she was giving me.
“You will have a good time,” she said.
I took the dress to my room and thought about how I would take it in to make it fit. I wished there was a way to get the hem longer. I was so involved in the work I didn’t hear Tía Isabela come into my room. I hadn’t realized how much time had gone by, either.
“That’s the dress she gave you for your fiesta?” she finally asked.
I spun around. “Oh, I didn’t hear you, Tía Isabela. Yes, this is the dress,” I said, wondering how long she had been standing there watching.
She stepped over and took the dress out of my hands.
“Do you know how expensive this dress is?”
“Sí.”
She tossed it back to me. “Her new generosity is driving me crazy.” She thought a moment and nodded. “All right, if you’re going to wear it, we’ll need to get you a pair of matching shoes Saturday,” she said. “I’m taking you to my favorite department store, where everyone knows me. We’ll get special attention, and in a few hours, we’ll have a very nice start for your own wardrobe.”
Now it was her generosity that was worrying me.