They all laughed.
“Especially if they were right in the middle of it,” Delores said. “This might ruin her love life for some time,” she added, and they laughed harder.
I looked out the window. How could they laugh? How quickly my wonderful night had turned sour. What happened to the fiesta? What happened to my visit home?
We pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. I did not want to get out and go in, but they insisted.
“Remember, we stick together,” Sophia told me. “If any one of us gets into trouble, you get into trouble, get it, mi prima?” she said, poking me in the chest with her right forefinger. “C’mon. I’m hungry.”
I followed them in. The excitement did seem to stimulate their appetites. They all ordered sundaes. I didn’t want anything, but they made me order some coffee.
“And don’t look so glum,” Sophia warned.
“She means don’t look triste,” Alisha said.
Don’t look sad?
My aunt had forced me to do something so provocative with my cousin Edward that he no longer liked me and even thought I was deceitful and promiscuous. He now believed that he might have lost his eye defending someone who didn’t deserve it, which made him feel worse and made me feel absolutely horrible.
My cousin Sophia had tricked me, lied to me, used me to get revenge on her old boyfriend and might very well have gotten a very nice young man and his family into trouble. At the very least, they surely would not want me around them anymore.
Who knew what had happened to the girl they called Jana?
All of these things were directly or indirectly caused by my arrival, and I was not to look sad?
“You’d better keep her locked up for a while,” Trudy told Sophia, eyeing me. “I don’t like the way she’s acting.”
“Don’t worry about it. She knows if she does anything stupid and gets us into trouble, my mother would make life so miserable for her she would wish she were dead,” Sophia said.
I stared at the cup of coffee and said nothing. As if they had already forgotten about what had just happened, they started to talk about an upcoming Sweet Sixteen party a girl named Ashley Piper was having in one of the big hotels. They went on and on about their clothes and the boys they hoped to see there.
They devoured their ice cream sundaes, Sophia eating all of hers first and then dipping her spoon into everyone else’s. When they were finished and had paid the bill, we got back into Trudy’s car. Delores suggested we drive by the house to see if there were any police or anything, but Sophia told her that would be very stupid.
“Besides,” she added, “what house? I have no idea what you’re talking about, Delores.”
Everyone but me laughed nervously. Sophia decided she and I should go home. The plan they set was that if anyone heard anything, she was to call the others right away. Trudy made a turn and headed for my aunt’s hacienda.
“Okay, here’s the story we’ll use right now,” Sophia said when we drove onto the property. “We went to the Mexican house to rescue Delia from what we knew would be a boring party. We spoke to the boys, who were already angry about what Bradley had done. As far as we know, Delia told them everything. We saw them take off in their car, followed them for a while, lost them, and went for ice cream. The waitress will verify it. We don’t know anything else, got it?”
“You’re so wicked, Sophia,” Trudy said, and they all laughed.
“Not as wicked as Bradley Whitfield,” Sophia said. “Or maybe just not as stupid.”
That brought more laughter. I was happy to get out of the car and head into the house.
“Just go to your room,” Sophia ordered after grabbing my arm at the door. “Don’t stop to talk to Jesse if he’s here, and especially not Edward. I’ll let you know what’s going on later if I hear anything tonight.”
I said nothing. I was too numb and tired. I hurried in and up the stairs to my room, where I sat staring out the window into the night. My window looked out onto the front of the hacienda. I saw the lit driveway, the lights on the gates, and some headlights of automobiles passing along the street that ran in front of my aunt’s property. It had become partly cloudy, but there were still stars and some moonlight to warm the dark sky.
I couldn’t stop myself from trembling, even after I was alone in my room. I didn’t know how long I sat there. I did fall asleep for a few moments, because when I opened my eyes, I was confused at first. It was late, and except for the sound of my own deep breathing, I heard nothing.
Just before I was about to rise to prepare for bed, I saw a pair of headlights turn toward the main gate. I watched and then heard a phone ringing. It rang a few times before it stopped, and the gate swung open for the automobile to start up the driveway. Without knowing who it was, I felt my heart begin to race. As the car drew closer to the house, I knew why.
It was a police car.
Doors opened and closed, and I heard footsteps in the hallway. I went to my door and opened it slightly to listen. The front door opened, and I heard the murmur of people talking below. I recognized Señor Garman’s gruff voice. I heard him speak with Jesse, who had apparently spent another night with Edward while Tía Isabela was away and had gone downstairs to see what was happening.
Sophia surprised me. I was looking in the opposite direction and did not hear her approach my door. She pushed it open and shoved me back, closing it quickly behind her. She was in her nightgown and a robe.