“It’s great to me. What works works. I’ll see you tomorrow night,” he said. “I have the number for animal control if you need it for your cousin.”
“Maybe I will,” I said, laughing.
I heard Sophia’s friends leave, and then I showered and changed to go down to dinner. Sophia came to the table timidly but gathered her courage after Señora Rosario and Inez had brought in the food and left.
“If you don’t say anything about me, I won’t say anything about you,” she offered.
“I don’t have to make any bargains. I have nothing about which I am ashamed.”
“Still, it’s better we don’t go ratting on each other to my mother. Deal?”
“Stay out of my room, and never answer my phone again,” I said firmly. “If you don’t—”
“Okay, okay. Who cares what you do in your room or who you see, anyway?”
She pouted and picked at her food, leaving most of it on the plate.
“My mother better get me my own car soon,” she muttered. “Or she’s going to be sorry when my trust kicks in. If I have anything to do with any of these properties and businesses…I’m going to hire my own attorney to look at all the documents my father left.”
I said nothing to encourage her or discourage her.
“I don’t want any dessert,” she told Inez, and rose from her seat. She walked to the doorway and turned. “I’m not going to school with you tomorrow. Christian Taylor is picking me up and will bring me home.”
“You keep saying you don’t think much of him, but you do things with him,” I reminded her.
“We have things to discuss. You can dislike someone and still have things in common, you know.”
“No, I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head and smiling at her.
“That’s right,” she said, her eyes small and cold. “You don’t. You don’t know everything, Delia.”
She stomped out and up the stairs.
Later, Edward called me. “I waited as long as I could,” he said. “How’s the new world going?”
“Sophia is not really changing,” I told him. “But I can handle her. Don’t worry, Edward.”
“No one can handle her, Delia. I do worry. And Adan Bovio? How are things with the possible new senator’s son?”
I told him of Adan’s invitations and the things we were planning to do.
“I’m happy for you if you’re happy, Delia. I saw my mother today, by the way. She actually stopped by while she was in Los Angeles and took Jesse and me for coffee. She’s really buying into your relationship with Adan, so if you end it, let her down slowly. That’s the only advice I’ll give you about it. I’m no expert when it comes to these sort of things.”
“Thank you. Have you thought more about Mexico?”
“You still want to go with us?” he asked with surprise.
“Oh, yes, very much, Edward. Yes!” I said. My enthusiasm made him laugh.
“I just thought you might be spending that time with Adan Bovio, but if you’re sure…”
“Yes, yes.”
“Okay, then. We’ll leave the day after you get out. Jesse says it would take too long to drive our own car, so he suggested we fly to Mexico City and rent a car. We can get to your village that night or the next day or so, depending on what we do along the way.”
“I’d rather we get there quickly and stop to see other things on the way home,” I said.
“Yes, that sounds like a plan.”