She shrugged apologetically. “I’d like to, but Char and I are both broke.”
“I’ll pay,” she offered.
“Are you sure? Eclipse is expensive, even for just one person.”
Julieta bit her lip. “If we all drink water and just get appetizers…”
Lucia flew out from behind the divider that separated her room from the rest of the living room. Elisa groaned a little bit. She hadn’t been aware she was even home—and, judging from the look on her face, Julieta hadn’t either.
“I’ll totally help foot the bill, sis,” she said, jumping up onto the couch.
“Uh, who invited you?” Elisa asked.
“Oh, come on, you can’t have a girls’ night without me.” She pouted.
“It’s not a girls’ night, it’s Mom’s latest ridiculous matchmaking scheme.”
“Uh, since when were those mutually exclusive? Remember our last spring break?”
Elisa was suddenly haunted by memories of the trash-littered beach they’d visited, the sound of her mother encouraging Julieta to pretend to drown in plain view of the handsome lifeguard, and the nauesating, inescapable smell of the peach schnapps her older sister had gotten sick on.
In spite of how objectively horrific the whole thing was, though, it had actually been kinda fun.
“Okay, good point. But you’re not going.”
“Jules,” Lucia said in her sweetest voice, “if you let me go, I’ll split the bill with you. I’m totes loaded right now. I just won a hundred dollars off of Nadine in a bet. She thought that I was exaggerating when I said I don’t have a gag reflex—but guess what?”
“How did you even prove—ugh, wait, no,” Elisa said, shaking her head. “Eclipse is super-expensive, Lulu. You’d probably end up spending a sizable chunk of that…hard-earned cash.”
“But I’ve wanted to check out Eclipse for forever.”
“It’s only been open a month.”
“Yeah, and I’ve wanted to check it out for that whole month. Ergo, forever.”
Julieta looked like she was thinking very hard. “Okay, fine, you can come, too. But no alcohol—not a drop. And no talking to older guys. You can hang out with us, and with Bobby and his family if Mom’s plan actually works.”
Lucia grinned. “Deal,” she said, and she and Julieta shook on it.
…
“I feel like I’ve been tricked, somehow.” Julieta sighed as Maria and Camila got into the minivan after Lucia, Elisa, and Charlene.
“You got Lucia’d,” Elisa said. “It happens to the best of us.”
After Julieta had relented and said Lucia could tag along, she had run off and told Camila about the planned girls’ night. And then Camila had wanted to come, too. Lucia, of course, said that she wasn’t about to go on a girls’ night without her “most favorite older sister and number-one BFF.” Julieta had caved, as always. And then, Maria had found out about the plan, and even Elisa had to agree that taking the other two but not her would just be unfair.
“Now have fun, and remember, Julieta—you were blessed with the Bello beauty gene, so use it where it really counts,” their mother said, reaching into the window to smooth Julieta’s hair one last time.
“Yes, Mama,” Julieta said.
“And remember to text as soon as you’re there,” Mom said to the car in general. “Gotta keep tabs on my babies.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the entire car responded.
Julieta started the engine and they were off, headed toward Eclipse.
“I’m glad my sister didn’t catch wind of this,” Charlene chuckled, buckling her seatbelt.
“I wish she had,” Elisa sighed. Molly Locke, Charlene’s sister, was Lucia’s age, and actually acted like it. Her days were spent watching anime and getting into arguments over her favorite TV shows on Tumblr, which could be annoying in its own way, but at least no one was at risk. Elisa lived in pretty much constant fear that Lucia would one day go too far, and someone would get hurt. Molly was a good influence on Lucia, but her little sister called Molly “too vanilla.”
“So, let’s be real. Am I gonna be able to afford anything at this restaurant?” Charlene asked, pulling her carrot-orange hair back into a bun. This was one of the few times outside of work that Elisa had ever seen her wear makeup. Eclipse was one of those places where looking like a normal, tired, overworked person was not an option. All of the girls had worn their best party dresses, and Elisa had even allowed Lucia and Camila to do her makeup. Or, more accurately, attack her face with eyeliner and lipstick. They did a beautiful job, but they were not gentle about it.
“God only knows. Julieta said she and Lucia could foot the bill, though.”
Charlene shook her head. “I could never ask her to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. She offered.”
“I just don’t feel comfortable letting Julieta spend that kind of money on me,” she said.
“Suit yourself,” Elisa said, sighing at her friend’s stubbornness.
The valet at Eclipse’s parking lot did a double take at the maroon minivan the girls rolled up in. But still, he took the keys from Julieta and left the six of them standing on the curb in front of the restaurant. Well, half restaurant. The other half was more like a nightclub, from what Elisa could see through the glass doors and tall, clear windows. There was a DJ and a dance floor and even some strobe lights. The windows shook ever so slightly from the music inside, the bassline audible even from out here.
It was also packed to the walls.
“How on Earth are we even supposed to get in?” Maria asked as they made their way inside.
“Just let Jules handle it,” Elisa said, pulling out her phone to text her mother.
Just got inside. It’s crowded as all hell in here. See you at home later. xoxo —E
Just as she slipped her phone back into her purse, Julieta made her way to the hostess.
“Hello, may we, uh, get a table, please?” she asked, shouting to be heard.
“Do you have a reservation?” the hostess asked.
She looked like she’d swallowed something sour, and even Elisa paused for a second, caught off-guard. Of course, they needed a reservation. The place had just opened. They were probably booked until Christmas. She wasn’t sure who she was angrier with for not thinking of that—her mother, or herself.
“Um…check under ‘Benitez,’” Julieta said, trying to save face. She paused, then added, “Or ‘Bello.’” Maybe her mother had thought ahead and called them.
The hostess typed on her computer, then looked back up at her, shaking her head sympathetically. “I’m sorry, I’m not finding anything. When did you call? Maybe the computer deleted your reservation by mistake.”
Julieta was about to bite the bullet and admit they had no reservation when the clouds parted, and the sun shined through the storm.
Or, in layman’s terms—when Bobby walked out into the lobby, on his phone.
“Okay, ma’am, can you hear me now?” he was saying. “Yeah, I just had to step out. Now why were you calling? What? No, I don’t need a coupon for a massage. Yes, I’m sure. I’m sure. Thank you. Thank you. I’m sure. Goodbye.”
He hung up and was just about to head back in when he saw the group.
“Julieta,” he said, looking delighted. He walked over and pecked her on the cheek.
“Hi, Bobby,” she said, smiling despite the situation. “We were just trying to find a table, but…”
He thought quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry—I should’ve told you to ask them to look for a reservation under my name.” He turned to the hostess. “They’re with me—Charles.”
Elisa could tell from the look on her face that the hostess knew perfectly well he was bullshitting. But she apparently decided it was more trouble than it was worth to argue, because she just smiled and said, “Okay, follow me. I’m so sorry for the confusion.”
“Oh no, it was my fault,” Julieta said, grinning at Bobby. As soon as the hostess was out of e
arshot, she said, “It’s a good thing you got that phone call. What was it for, anyway?”
“Telemarketer,” Bobby shrugged. “Offering some kind of promotion for a massage parlor.”
Elisa frowned. “Did they say which one?” she asked.
“Uh… Massages by Cassandra, I think.”
Elisa and Charlene exchanged exasperated glances. That figures. Massages by Cassandra was where her mother worked. Of course Bobby just happened to get that call and have to step out into the lobby right after Elisa texted her mother to let her know they were there.
“I wonder what she was planning to do if he’d taken her up on the offer,” Charlene whispered into Elisa’s ear.
Elisa shrugged. “I don’t think she was thinking of anything except how to get us in here.”
“Not us. Julieta.”
“I guess I can’t knock the plan,” Elisa admitted. “It did work.”
Bobby took Julieta’s hand into his own as they reached the table where Bobby’s party was waiting. It was a long table against the back wall, but still with a clear view of the dance floor, and fortunately, there were just enough empty seats for the new additions to squeeze in. There was Bobby’s mother, and his sisters, a few people Elisa had never met, and Darcy. With her comments from the wedding ringing in her ears, Elisa had to fight the urge to turn around and run away.
There was also Colin and his mother, Catherine, for some reason. She knew they were related to Darcy, but she didn’t realize they knew Bobby, too.
Okay, if this is some cosmic joke, it’s not funny.
Darcy and Colin both looked surprised to see Elisa, but while he smiled and got up from his seat to greet her, she slumped back in her own chair, looking uncomfortable.
“I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us this evening,” Colin said, hugging her as soon as he reached her.
“Neither were we,” Elisa said.
Then he guided her to a chair between him and Darcy.
Oh. Joy.
“I’m surprised to see you Benitez girls in this restaurant,” Catherine said. She always sounded like she smoked about a pack a day. “It seems so…sophisticated compared to what you’re used to.”
Elisa’s jaw clenched, but she restrained herself from snapping back and causing a scene.
“We enjoy a nice meal in a nice club as much as anyone, Mrs. Burger,” she said, barely keeping her tone even.
“Still, I wouldn’t want you to break your bank account just to have a nice meal,” she said, voice dripping with that faux concern that drove her crazy. “I don’t imagine your mother makes what one could call a livable wage as a… masseuse.”
“I think you and I just have different ideas of what constitutes a livable wage,” Elisa said, her hands tightening into fists on her lap. She’d only seen Catherine Burger a handful of times in her life, and the woman had never failed to make her disdain for them known. The first time they’d met, Catherine had made a passive-aggressive comment toward her mom about “having more children than is fiscally responsible.” The ensuing fight had led to Mom getting kicked off the PTA for throwing something at the vice president.
Elisa caught Darcy looking at her with a curious expression. If it was pity, she didn’t want it. Just thinking about the idea of Darcy pitying her made her even angrier.
Colin spoke up before his mother had a chance. “The Benitez family has proven themselves many times to be quite resourceful with their money, Mother.”
Huh. Okay. That was nice of him—score one point for the mama’s boy.
Catherine gave Colin a look that probably could’ve killed a small animal.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, stumbling over his next words. “I—I’m just saying, I’m sure if Ms. Bello thinks they can afford to be here, it’s all right. I mean, simply the arrangement of their apartment shows how ingenious they can be, being able to fit six people into such a small space—”
Elisa cut him off. “Y’know, tiny homes are the thing these days. Use fewer resources, gentler on the planet.” Colin was trying to stick up for her, and she even appreciated it, a little, but she really didn’t want him to get into the details of how tiny her apartment was.
“What’s the occasion for you guys?” she asked. “My sisters and I—and Charlene, of course—are here celebrating Julieta’s business doing so well.”
Well, she had just celebrated her thirtieth client.
“It’s Cora and Louise’s birthday,” Darcy said. “Bobby invited all his cousins and told me to invite mine, too, to ‘balance it out.’” She huffed, fiddling with her napkin. “I wish Willow had been available.”
Elisa flushed. “Oh. We—we didn’t mean to crash a birthday party, we just—”
“Oh, there’s always room for one more,” Colin said brightly. “Or, you know, six more, as it were. Besides, Mother and I barely know the twins, either.”
“And I suppose that if Bobby says it’s okay, I’ll have to make peace with the situation,” Darcy muttered, taking a sip of her drink.
Elisa rolled her eyes, but Darcy didn’t appear to notice.
The waiter came by, and Elisa ordered water and a relatively cheap appetizer, as did Julieta and the others, even after Bobby said he’d pay for them. Although it was nice of him to offer, and they would be smart to take him up on it, Elisa half hoped her sister would refuse. They might have been broke, but they still had some pride.
At the other end of the table, Julieta and Bobby were holding hands and talking only to one another, apparently forgetting that there were other people present. To be fair, if she were sitting next to Charlene, Elisa was sure she’d be doing the same thing. It was so easy to ignore everyone when you were talking to one of your favorite people on the planet.
Elisa was between two of the biggest annoyances in the known world.
Colin rambled about the latest project he was doing for his theology degree, going on in explicit and thorough detail and completely missing how everyone except his mother was utterly bored by the time he got through the first sentence.
Darcy hadn’t said much, but she kept at Elisa. It wasn’t one of her nasty looks, but she didn’t exactly seem happy to have her there, either.
Elisa ate her food, pretending to listen to Colin, desperately wishing for the waiter to come by with the check, when she heard the DJ announce, “These next three songs are gonna slow us down a little bit, so grab your best girl—or best guy—and make your way to the dance floor for couples’ dancing.”
Julieta and Bobby rose to their feet, walking over to her end of the table.
“We’re going to go dance,” Bobby said. “Darcy, you want to come with us?”
“It’s couples’ dancing.” Darcy’s brown eyes flicked up to Bobby’s face, and she made no move to get up. “I’m single. Ergo, I will not be joining you.”
“Darcy, come on. You could find somebody to have a couple’s dances with you.”
“Doubtful.”
Julieta chimed in. “Elisa, you could dance with her, couldn’t you?”
Murdering a sibling—that’s number one on my list when I get out of here.
She was about to say “no,” but then she glanced on her other side. Colin was grinning at her. Wanting to avoid a repeat of the awkward moment at the wedding, Elisa took a deep breath and forced out, “Want to dance?” in Darcy’s general direction.
She stared at her for a moment before saying, “Yes. Thank you.”
Industrial lye is how you get rid of a body, right?
Figuring she may as well do this properly, Elisa got up, offering Darcy her hand, which was surprisingly warm. Darcy took it, standing up from the table and letting Elisa lead her out to the dance floor.
“I think you should lead. You’re a head taller than me,” Elisa said.
“I suppose I should.”
The only dance Elisa had any knowledge of was the middle school slow dance: wrap your arms around your partner’s neck and their arms around your waist, swa
y in place—and leave enough room between you that the chaperones won’t write you up for inappropriate contact. Fortunately, Darcy seemed to know what she was doing, so Elisa more or less followed her lead.
“So…” Well, this was about as horrifically awkward as she’d expected. “Um…where are you from? I remember you said you just moved here.”
“I grew up in Columbus. I still live there. But after Bobby bought his home in Netherfield, he offered to let me stay for a few months. I figured I might as well be doing something, so I enrolled in the college. But since we’re only two hours from Columbus, I still go down to see my sister on the weekends sometimes.”
“Oh,” Elisa said. “I can’t imagine being able to just visit someone for months. I’d be worried about overstaying my welcome.”
“I’ve never had to worry about that with Bobby. He and I have been friends since I was a kid.”
“Still, doesn’t it feel a bit weird to live with someone for months on end?”
“Well, there are advantages to having a huge home.”
“I guess so.”
“But minimalism is very popular right now, and I’m with you about the tiny houses thing. My friend has a gorgeous one on the beach in Malibu.”
That was…so not the same thing. “Cool.” Oh, whatever, you didn’t need to impress her anyway.
They fell into an uncomfortable silence, each avoiding looking at the other’s face out of sheer awkwardness. Finally, Elisa cleared her throat and tried again.
“So, um…do you like it at the college? I know you said you were just trying to kill time, but…”
“Well, actually, I decided to go because one of the professors was a friend of my mother’s,” Darcy said. “It seemed a bit silly to take only one class, so I signed up for the literature course, too.”
“Which professor?”
“Greer. He teaches philosophy. I’m in his Philosophy of Language course.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that. I didn’t even know freshmen could take that class.” From what she’d heard, it was pretty advanced. She’d gotten confused just reading the course description online.
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