urge to jump up and physically run interference between Ellie and my oldest sister. Not that I could stop Desiree from making her signature cutting comments if she wanted to unleash them. Luckily, Desi is nothing but polite and curious . . . or is it intrigued? Everyone is. Soon Ellie is being bombarded by question after question. I’d intervene on her behalf if I thought she needed it, but she handles the questions, even the more probing ones, with ease, her Spanish flowing effortlessly. Plus, I learn a few things, like she prefers ponies to Barbies, sweet to salty, she drives a Jetta that she got for her sixteenth birthday, and she has two nieces and no nephews.
When my grandmother stands up and announces that it’s time to get dinner started, Ellie offers her assistance, but she’s told in no uncertain terms that guests don’t help. Daniela invites/begs Ellie to see their bedroom, and the other two immediately join the chorus.
Ellie looks to me for . . . permission, I guess. I shrug subtly, telling her it’s up to her if she wants to take that on. I’m assuming she knows she’ll be stuck in there for a while. In return, she directs a little grin my way as the girls tug her out of the room.
Desiree’s snort of derision yanks my attention from the now empty doorway. “No mames, Scotty.” She’s gaping at me, my grandmother and Mari also staring, with similar looks of disbelief on their faces. “No mames,” Desiree repeats, just in case I didn’t catch what loosely translates to Are you fucking kidding me? the first time.
“What?” I ask tetchily, feeling the smile I didn’t know was on my face falling away.
“Did you see that?” Mari says, horrified. “They’re already having conversations with their eyes. I think I’m going to gag.”
“We’re going to need an enormous bucket,” Desiree adds.
I’m about to tell my rotten sisters where to go, when my grandmother starts gushing. “Oh, mijo, she is wonderful! An absolute dream!”
My irritation dulls considerably in the face of her approval. “You like her?”
“I love her. The girls love her. And so do you, obviously. I am very pleased.”
I shoot my sisters a smug look.
Mari makes heaving noises as my grandmother turns to retrieve dinner ingredients from the fridge, coming back out with an onion for each of my sisters.
“Abuela!” they chime in synchronized outrage, then Desiree grouses, “That’s Scotty’s job.”
“Not today it’s not. You know I don’t appreciate that vulgar language in my house.”
“That was her,” Mari cries, jabbing a finger at Desiree. “What did I do?”
“You made fun of your brother.”
“Yeah,” I tell her with a smirk. “You made fun of me. Shame on you, Mari.”
“And you,” my grandmother says, “are not off the hook. We’re having mole de olla, so get the big pot out for me, please.”
I repress a groan. That pot is way in the back of the bottom cupboard and I have to haul everything out to get at it.
“And why did you tell me that she is not Latina, mijo?”
Pulling my head out of the cupboard with the pot in tow, I look up at her from where I’m crouched on the floor. “She’s not actually Latina.”
“But her Spanish is better than all of yours,” she accuses. “How can that be?”
I set the pot on the stove and she waves me to the sink where there are vegetables that need washing. “She’s a Spanish major in college.”
“With that accent?” Mari says skeptically.
“She lived in Spain for a while.”
“?En Barcelona?” Desiree says, affecting a ridiculously strong lisping Spanish accent that has Mari in fits of giggles.
My sisters then proceed to make a game of concocting a ‘story’ to explain how Ellie’s Spanish got so good just to continue with their severely exaggerated lisping. I swear I try not to laugh, but it’s impossible not to succumb. Honestly, I don’t think Ellie would mind and they’re not being too mean about it. Even my grandmother can’t resist a few chuckles before she puts a stop to it.
“Fine. Spoil our fun,” Desiree says, her face animated with playful impudence. “We still need to discuss the real issue here anyway.”
From my place at the sink, I throw her a hard look. “What’s that?”
“The fact that you guys are going to have gigantic babies together.”
There’s a bit of a pause before the raucous laughter starts. I give them the stink eye, but soon I’m sucked in by the fun.
It’s been a good half hour