I had expected him to say that, and I was ready to make my case. “First of all, you’re always giving people money just because they have less than we do. I’ve seen you do it lots of times. If that’s okay, then this should be too.”
Papi lifted his eyebrows and nodded slightly, but he didn’t say anything.
“Second of all, you and Mami always say that family connections are important, but we kids don’t even know half our family. We’ve never met your brothers and their kids, or Mami’s other sister and her family. This would be our chance to get to know them.”
Papi looked at me and smiled. I decided to close with my best argument of all.
“And finally, they’re not paying for a fancy vacation for us. It’s so Tía Nona can have the wedding she always wanted — one with her whole family there. Would you tell her she can’t wear the wedding dress of her dreams just because you can’t afford to buy it? Of course not!”
Papi stopped walking and looked at me. “You know what, Ana María? You really should be a lawyer. Those are excellent points. And, like I said before, you never lose an argument.” He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. Then we started to walk again, his hand resting on my shoulder.
I had convinced him. I could tell. And maybe he was right about this lawyer thing. We didn’t say anything more the rest of the way home, but Papi whistled one of the tunes Sarita had played at the party, and I couldn’t stop smiling.
Chapter 9
Papi called another family meeting when we got home from Sarita’s house. “Ana María and I spoke, and she made some compelling arguments,” he said. “So I have decided — if your mother agrees — that it would be appropriate to allow Nona to pay for our trip to her wedding.”
My sisters and I jumped and cheered, and Mami put her arms around Papi. This was way better than our last family meeting.
Tía Nona rushed over the next morning as soon as Mami told her we would go to the wedding. She drew me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “I’m not surprised it was you who convinced your father. Thank you, my smart girl.”
I breathed in the familiar smell of baby powder from her neck. “You’re welcome,” I whispered back.
Tía Nona kept one arm around my shoulders and turned to the rest of my family. “Let’s buy these plane tickets!”
“I already found some flights that work for us,” Papi said from the computer desk.
Tía Nona walked across the room and leaned over Papi’s shoulder. Her eyes moved back and forth across the screen. “Don’t you want to fly first class?” she said.
“No, that’s not necessary.”
“But — ”
“These flights are perfect,” Mami said. She put one arm around Tía Nona and one hand on Papi’s shoulder.
Tía Nona reached in her bag and pulled out a credit card.
After Papi punched in the numbers of my aunt’s card, I let go of the breath I had been holding in. I heard Gracie do the same thing next to me.
“Now that that’s taken care of,” Tía Nona said, “we need to get the girls dresses to wear to the wedding.” She looked at Mami and asked, “Do you have time to go shopping today?”
“Nona, you don’t have to do that,” Papi said. “We’ll make sure they wear something nice.”
“But I want all my nieces to match, and I promised Muñeca a dress from New York, so it’s only fair that I buy dresses for your girls too!” Muñeca was the daughter of Mami’s older sister, Tía Chea. Mami and Tía Chea wrote letters to each other, and sometimes my aunt sent us pictures of her family, but we had never met them.
Papi opened his mouth like he was about to say something, then he stopped and looked at Mami. She tilted her head a little and gave him begging eyes. Papi closed his mouth tight and sat on the couch. When we walked out the door, he was engrossed in the New York Times. He only grunted in response to Mami’s “We’ll see you later, Tavito.”
***
“Mecho, why don’t you have a car?” Tía Nona asked when we were standing on the subway platform waiting for the train.
“Oh, you don’t want to go anywhere in New York City in a car,” Mami said. “We’d sit in traffic for hours, then spend the rest of the day looking for a parking spot.”
“Well, we could hire someone to drive us,” Tía Nona said.
“Ha!” The laugh burst out of Mami, but Tía Nona didn’t look amused. Mami reined in her smile and said, “That would be very expensive, Nona. And public transportation works just fine for us.”
For her, maybe, I thought. I’d be pretty happy in a comfy car.
The train was crowded but not packed. Mami found three seats together and pulled Rosie and Connie into two of them. “Nona, sit here,” she said, pointing to the third seat.
“No, you sit. You’re the one that’s pregnant.”
“Oh, I’m fine. You’re not used to riding these trains, so you should sit.”
“Mecho, please! I can handle standing in a train. Now, sit.”
“No, really, I’m fine.”
A teenager with headphones in his ears slipped in front of them and sat in the seat. Mami looked at Tía Nona and shrugged. Tía Nona glared at the boy. “Savages!” she said. He didn’t even notice.
We had to switch trains in Times Square. Mami walked behind us with her arms open, trying to keep us all together. She was like one of those triangle things that gathers up balls on a pool table. Tía Nona stopped to watch dancers, musicians, and magicians performing in the station. “Come on, Nona, we need to keep moving,” Mami said a few times.
The second train ride wasn’t as long as the first one. Pretty soon we were above ground again and walking into Bloomingdale’s department store, where Tía Nona had suggested that we go.
“I’ve never been here before!” Rosie said, looking all around.
“Neither have I,” Mami said.
We headed straight to the girls’ department. “Let’s start with the little ones,” Mami said. “Before they get restless.”
Mami, Gracie, and Tía Nona looked at every single dress in Connie’s and Rosie’s sizes. They plucked each one off the rack and had long discussions about their pros and cons.
“This one’s too frilly.”
“This one’s too casual.”
“They’re going to be hot and sweaty in this one. Remember, August is sweltering in the DR.”
“Look at the price of this one!” That was Mami. “And see here!” She held the dress toward Gracie. “It’s not even on-grain. Every well-made dress should be on-grain.”
It was kind of nice to be in this fancy store and not worry about whether we could afford to buy whatever we wanted. But I wished we could just grab some dresses, pay for them, and go. They all looked equally nice to me, so why did we have to examine each one and talk about it forever and ever? I thought I would die of boredom. Still, I knew Tía Nona wanted her wedding to be perfect, so I tried to help. I wrangled Connie into the dressing room and helped her try on a bunch of dresses. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, Mami and Tía Nona settled on matching yellow cotton dresses for both girls, covered in eyelets arranged in a flower pattern.
“Let’s hope we find something similar in the junior section,” Tía Nona said.
Connie was super fidgety while Gracie and I tried on dresses. She even got yelled at by some rude saleslady. Fortunately, Tía Nona was there to put that woman in her place. And thank goodness Gracie and I found the perfect yellow dresses to match Connie’s and Rosie’s. Even though this shopping trip was longer than I thought it needed to be, it was definitely better than shopping with Mami at Chichi’s and Lydia’s. No looking through sales racks or asking for discounts, or anything else embarrassing like that. Tía Nona didn’t gasp or lift her eyebrows when the cashier rang her up. She just smiled and handed the lady her credit card. I was proud to s
tand next to her, a smile on my face too.
Chapter 10
We burst back into the apartment like a blustery fall day. Papi was sitting at the dining room table with his checkbook in his hand and a slew of bills spread out in piles. Connie hopped over to him and shoved her new dress in his face. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she said.
Papi’s lips curved up but his eyes stayed on the papers in front of him. “Yes, beautiful,” he said. He started to write a check.
“You didn’t even look!” There was no fooling Connie.
“Mine is the same, see?” Rosie waved her dress around. “Gracie and Anamay have yellow dresses too. And we got one more for our cousin in the DR. We’ll all match for the wedding!”
Papi nodded. “That’s nice.” He looked at Mami. “What are we having for dinner?”
“Mecho’s tired,” Tía Nona said. “Let’s get takeout. How about pizza?”
That sounded like a great idea to me. But I knew Mami wouldn’t go for it. She thinks the only food that’s real is whatever she ate when she was a kid. If a meal doesn’t involve rice, beans, or plantains, it’s just a snack to her. So she never let us get takeout.
“Pizza, pizza, pizza!” Connie and Rosie jumped up and down, waving their dresses in the air.
Mami looked at Tía Nona and frowned. “Pizza isn’t very nutritious,” she said. “I can whip something up quickly.”
“Oh, Mecho, lighten up,” Tía Nona said. “It’s just one meal, and you said you’re exhausted.”
“You do look tired,” Papi said. He stood up and cupped Mami’s elbow in his hand. “Are your ankles swollen again? Here, sit down.” He led her to the sofa. “Rosalba and I will make a salad to have on the side, okay? Pizza’s not so bad. Cheese has protein.”
Mami let Papi help her onto the couch. “I guess that’s okay,” she said. “But let’s invite Mamá. I know she wants to spend more time with Nona.”
“We’ll go get her!” Gracie said right away. “Come on, Anamay.”
“Why don’t we just call her?” I said.
“This way is more personal,” Gracie said. “You know how sensitive Abuelita can be. She’ll love an in-person invitation.” She grabbed my arm and dragged me out before anyone could stop us.
“What is your problem?” I said when we were out in the hallway. “Why are you being so weird? Well, weirder than usual.”
“I just had to get away from Tía Nona,” Gracie said. “She’s driving me crazy!”
“Why?”
“She’s so bossy! I don’t know how Mami can stand it.” Gracie pressed the down button for the elevator.
“She’s not bossy. She just doesn’t let people push her around.”
“Are you kidding me?” Gracie said. “She was so rude to that poor saleslady, I just wanted to die.”
The elevator door opened. “Who? The lady that was mean to Connie?” I said as we stepped inside.
“She was not mean.” Gracie pushed the button for the fourth floor. “She just told Connie to stop running around the store.”
“Well, Connie’s little and she was bored and Mami didn’t even stick up for her! She just apologized like a wimp.”
“Mami apologized like a polite person,” she said. “I can’t believe Tía Nona asked to see the manager. That was crazy.”
Now we were on four. We stepped out and headed down the narrow hallway. “Well,” I said, “like Tía Nona told them, the customer is always right, and she spent a lot of money there, so she’s a really good customer.”
“You can’t be serious!” Gracie said. “Tía Nona’s a snob and a bully, and I can’t wait for her to leave.”
I could not believe my sister. I mean, Tía Nona had just bought us these beautiful dresses, and she was giving us a trip to the Dominican Republic, and this was how Gracie thanked her?
“But you know what?” Gracie said. She stopped suddenly and faced me. “I should have known you would stick up for her. You’re a snob too.”
“What?!” My voice went up super high. “How am I a snob?”
“Just think about it.” Gracie crossed her arms over her chest. “Your best friend in the whole world is a rich girl from Riverdale.”
“I thought you liked Claudia!”
“I do like Claudia. But that’s not the point. The point is that you think the people in Washington Heights aren’t good enough for you.”
I looked at Gracie. I had friends in our neighborhood. There was Ruben and . . . well, there was Ruben. But that had nothing to do with the neighborhood. I just didn’t make friends as easily as Gracie did. “That’s not true,” I said. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Humph.” Gracie turned and started walking again.
We stopped in front of Abuelita’s apartment. The purple door was still kind of a shocking sight. The building manager told my grandmother she had to paint it dark brown again like all the other doors, and she had smiled and said she would. That was two years ago. Gracie knocked loudly.
Tío Lalo opened Abuelita’s door. “Mamá,” he called back into the apartment. “It’s my two favorite nieces.” He always said that, no matter which two nieces were around.
“I didn’t know my favorite uncle would be here,” Gracie said. She and Tío Lalo laughed and hugged. He reached over with his other arm and pulled me into the group hug. He smelled like beer.
Abuelita and Tío Lalo said yes right away to our pizza-dinner invitation. “But pizza?” Abuelita said. “I’m surprised Mecho’s not making something healthier. She’s always so picky about food. What’s gotten into her?”
“Tía Nona talked her into it,” Gracie said.
“And Papi too,” I added. Why was she blaming everything on Tía Nona? “Papi said the cheese has protein, remember?”
Gracie smirked. “Yeah, whatever.”
I was about to say something else to defend Tía Nona, but then I remembered, pizza’s a good thing. So why were we all talking like it wasn’t? That Gracie just got me all turned around sometimes.
Chapter 11
My parents let me skip church on Sunday so I could go to the Cloisters with Tía Nona. Mami wasn’t all that happy about it, though. “Don’t you want to go too?” she asked Gracie about a million times.
But Gracie was eager to be rid of Tía Nona for a day. “No, no, no,” she said. “You know museums are Anamay’s thing. I’ll be bored to death if I go.”
Juan Miguel had some business meeting, so he dropped Tía Nona off at our building and continued in the taxicab, saying he would come back around dinnertime. Tía Nona and I waited in the lobby for Ruben and Claudia. Ruben’s mom walked him over. “You behave yourself,” she told him as she straightened out the collar on his polo shirt and ran her fingers through his curls.
“Stop it!” Ruben backed away from his mom and frowned.
“I gave him money for lunch and a souvenir,” Mrs. Rivera said to Tía Nona.
“Oh, no, he’s our guest,” my aunt said. “I’ll take care of everything.”
“That’s very generous of you,” Mrs. Rivera said. “But it doesn’t surprise me that Mecho’s sister would be so sweet.”
Tía Nona and Mrs. Rivera were best friends by the time Claudia arrived. She jumped out of her mom’s car and rushed toward my building. She turned around and waved when she reached the glass door to the lobby. Her mom sped away. She never parked her car in our neighborhood because she was afraid it might get stolen.
“It’s so great to meet Anamay’s friends!” Tía Nona said after Mrs. Rivera left. “I’ll bet you’re both smart and talented, just like my niece.”
“Ruben’s the youngest kid in our grade at school,” I said as we walked out the door. “He started school early because he learned to read when he was three.”
“Impressive,” Tía Nona said. Ruben blushed.
“And Claudia’s going to be a singer-songwriter when she grows up. She’s already published a few poems.” Then I told Claudia in English what I had just said.
“I understood you,” Claudia said. She smiled and nudged me with her elbow.
“Oh, sorry.” Whenever Claudia’s parents spoke to her in Spanish, she answered in English. And I always had to translate for her whenever Mami said anything because Claudia insisted Mami spoke way too fast. But she actually tried to speak Spanish as we walked with my aunt, and she was pretty good. By the time we arrived at the Cloisters twenty minutes later, I swear she was almost fluent.
Of course, Tía Nona wanted to practice her English too, so all day we went back and forth speaking in both languages. It was like talking with my sisters, except way more interesting. At the museum, Tía Nona explained the artwork to us. During lunch, she told us about Madrid and some of her other trips, while I ate a delicious club sandwich with french fries. (Not real food, according to Mami.) It was the best day ever, until Claudia mentioned the Eleanor School.
“Did Anamay tell you she might go to my school for eighth grade?” she asked my aunt.
“Yes, and it sounds like a wonderful opportunity.” Tía Nona turned to Ruben. “Are you going to apply for a scholarship there too?”
Ruben shook his head. “My mom doesn’t want me to go to school with a bunch of rich snobs.” He looked at Claudia and quickly added, “No offense.”
But how could she not be offended? I would be, if someone called me a rich snob. So, of course, Claudia was too. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at Ruben.
“Does anyone want dessert?” Tía Nona said in a super cheerful voice.
“The chocolate cake looks good,” I said. Then we had a way-too-long conversation about dessert, just Tía Nona and me. When the waitress came, Claudia glanced at the menu and right away ordered the raspberry sorbet. Then she snapped the menu shut and glared at Ruben. He wouldn’t look at her.
“I’ll have the vanilla ice cream,” he said to the waitress. “No fancy desserts for me.” Then he clinked the ice cubes in his glass of cola until the server came over with our food. It was a long few minutes, with Ruben clinking, Claudia glaring, and Tía Nona chattering away about sweets from around the world while she glanced back and forth between the two of them.
Ana Maria Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle Page 5