"Okay, I think that does it," said Pilar to Skye. In the Spanish language she continued, "You are now Senorita Rutherford."
Much to Pilar's delight, Skye smiled and replied in Spanish, "When I left Phoenix this morning, never in my wildest imaginings, did I envision smashing into a motorcycle driven by the hottest guy alive, pissing him off royally, finding my brother living in an RV and managing a trailer park, and then playing dress up for an International Potluck."
Pilar grinned and reverted back to English. "And believe me, when Lilac gave instructions for everyone to wear costumes, she meant it. She even posted a sign at the rec room stating, 'Anyone who doesn't wear the duds from another country will be turned away'."
"Remind me to stay on Lilac's good side."
Pilar chuckled. "I've never seen her so gung ho since your brother made her our Event Planner." Shifting her gaze away from Skye, she asked, "Does Max speak Spanish?"
"Not very well, but he does speak French fluently. You know…the language of love." She winked at Pilar.
Thankfully, Pilar didn't have to reply when Willie jerked the door open. Excitedly, he said, "Mom, are you almost ready? Everyone's walkin' over there."
Pilar admired her son's attire. Dressed as a vaquero and outfitted charro style, it had taken her three weeks to put his costume together by searching the two local junk shops and enlisting the help of Pinky in sewing his trousers. Pilar had lovingly attached shiny silver buttons as botonaduras down his pant legs and decorated his jacket with colorful braiding. Dottie, at the dime store, had discovered a child's sombrero in a back room to complete the outfit.
Pilar responded. "Give us two minutes, son, and we'll be ready."
Willie started to close the door but stopped and said, "Mom, you look really pretty. And so do you Miz Rutherford."
Skye did a little curtsy. "Muchas gracias, señor!" Willie grinned and blushed.
After he closed the door, Skye said, "You have a great son."
"I know. We have so much fun together. I can't imagine my life without him."
Skye confided, "Someday I'd like to have a child, maybe two or three." She smoothed a hand down her skirt and changed the subject. "I hope you didn't give up anything on your costume to make mine."
Pilar reached for her shawl on the back of the couch. "Oh, no. This outfit belonged to my mother. My father, who is Hispanic, bought it for my Caucasian mother as a Christmas gift. When she died, he gave it to me."
"Well, it's stunning and so colorful."
Pilar adjusted the sleeves of her red, off-the-shoulder peasant blouse, and then draped her green lace shawl with red fringe over her shoulders. Fingering the white lace on her full green skirt, she suddenly felt as if her mother were smiling down from heaven. It was a good feeling.
Pilar handed Skye the other shawl she'd retrieved from the bottom of a storage box. The deep blue silk matched Skye's eyes and looked lovely against the frilly white peasant blouse and the red and blue ruffled skirt. Skye slipped it over her shoulders and tapped her feet on the carpet. "I feel like doing the Mexican Hat Dance."
"And I wouldn't put it past Lilac to ask you to."
Skye grinned. "You're so friendly and sweet, I see why my brother is smitten with you."
Pilar paused in opening the door. "Oh, like I said before, we're–"
Skye finished her sentence, "–just friends."
Pilar hastily exited her trailer and called for Willie. As the three of them walked toward the center of the trailer park, Skye asked, "Do you know what my brother's costume is?"
Pilar shook her head, but Willie grinned. "I do. He wouldn't let me tell anyone, though."
They reached the gathering and entered a room plastered with posters from around the world and an Irish folksong softly playing. Pilar had delivered her contribution to the potluck earlier, and now, scanning the room, she saw her crock pot of pozolé being stirred by Vera Hightower. In the past three months, the woman had metamorphosed from morose to happy. She looked up and waved at Pilar. She was wearing a Japanese kimono.
Pilar gave Willie instructions for checking in with her later and then guided Skye to meet Vera. Vera was arranging rolls on a platter. Pilar said, "Your kimono is beautiful."
The older woman smiled brightly. "My boy surprised me with it on his first tour of duty many years ago. He was a good son, always remembering his mother. He brought me wonderful gifts from all over the world. I just started taking them out of storage to enjoy them. Makes me feel close to him."
Pilar thought about how wearing her mother's clothing had done the same for her. "I know exactly what you mean. This outfit belonged to my mother."
Vera started to get teary-eyed and so did Pilar. She gave Vera a quick hug and said, "I'd like you to meet Max's sister, Skylar Rutherford."
Skylar grasped Vera's hand. "Please call me Skye."
Vera said, "I'm Vera Hightower. Call me Vera." Her eyes twinkled when she said, "So you're the gal that's got Kade all discombobulated. Why, Pinky was telling me he just about came unglued when you bumped into his motorcycle. Sure wish I'd been there to see the fireworks. But…" she winked, "I got a feeling the sparks might fly again because he just walked in and he's not looking too happy."
Both Pilar and Skye turned to see Kade walking across the room. When he spotted them, he swerved and continued in another direction. The music changed to a mariachi tune.
Vera chuckled, "In my experience, a man who goes out of his way to avoid a certain woman is fighting a battle of attraction."
Skye shook her head. "Yeah, he's fighting something—loathing and hatred."
Pilar frowned at her cousin. He was usually so easygoing and didn't let setbacks dictate his behavior.
Skye leaned toward Pilar and patted the pocket in her skirt. "I brought my mini camera. Your cousin looks better in that Zorro costume than Antonio Banderas did in the movie. Let's go talk to him."
Pilar had to admit Kade looked handsome, as evidenced by the number of female heads, young and old, turning in his direction. Glancing at Skye askance, she asked, "Are you sure you don't want to give him more time to cool his jets?"
"Not really. I just want to get close enough for a picture. Any emotion, even anger, makes for a good photo."
"I don't think he's going to let you photograph him."
"Of course not. That's why I'm going to do it on the sly."
Mrs. Hightower smiled conspiratorially at Pilar and Skye and said, "I didn't hear that." She made a zipping motion across her lips and returned to organizing the food tables.
Skye started across the room and Pilar followed. When they reached Kade, he said, "Hello Pilar." He nodded at Skye.
Skye said, "So, looks like you're still chewing nails. Did my brother deliver my dossier so you can prosecute me to the full extent of the law?"
Pilar almost laughed at Skye's humor. Her cousin didn't think she was funny. He replied, "He did. And you're not off the hook. I've called my insurance company and reported the incident."
Skye shrugged. "Okay. You're the man. But like I said, my record is clean so it won't change anything. If you want to make me eat crow, this isn't the way to go about it."
Pilar noticed a tick in Kade's left eye. That only happened when he was really pissed. He appraised Skye from head to toe. "Ms. Rutherford, I couldn't care less whether you eat crow. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some friends waiting for me."
Pilar had never seen her cousin so rude. What was his problem? She started to apologize for him, but got distracted when Skye pulled a tiny camera from her pocket and snapped a picture of Kade walking away.
Skye whispered, "Great backside."
Pinky entered the room with Max and shifted Pilar's attention away from the Skye and Kade debacle. She sucked a breath.
Max, dressed as an English Lord in a black waistcoat and black tailcoat, with a pristine white shirt spilling ruffles from beneath the "v" of the waistcoat, could have passed for the real deal. Black trousers, tucked into knee boots, completed his attire. Pinky, dressed as an English lady, had her hand tucked into Max's elbow and, except for her pink hair, was the picture of a dowager of the ton.
After Pilar closed her gaping mouth, she and Skye hastened toward Max and Pinky, as did everyone else in the room. Pinky, delighted by all the attention, curtsied and proclaimed, "You may call me Lady Pinky."
Everyone laughed and when one person started to clap, all the party goers joined in. Max bowed and then bent to lavishly kiss Pinky's hand. The elderly woman turned scarlet and giggled like a teenager. Suddenly, everyone was asking questions and Max caught Pilar's eye. He winked and then turned his attention back to his admirers.
Skye, standing beside Pilar, said, "I can't believe my brother is having this much fun. He's been a workaholic for so long I was beginning to think he was a younger version of our grandfather." She laughed loudly and then said, "I'm beginning to think Desert Princess Trailer and RV Park in Oasis, Arizona, is a magical place." She snickered, "It even has its own troll, Kade Blackwell. All he needs is the kiss of a princess to turn him back into a prince."
Pilar glanced sideways and saw Kade standing a few feet away. By his frown and the look he cast at Skye, he had overheard her. Pilar had to hide a grin when Skye lifted her hand and gave a little wave to Kade. Her cousin turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd.
The remainder of the evening was delightful and the food delicious. At least a dozen countries were represented and everyone was encouraged to give a short explanation as to why they'd chosen their particular dish. Hank said he'd made enchiladas because they were easy, and then Gator made a quick appearance and said he'd cooked chili beans because they were a redneck's food of choice, Desi said the Armenian dish of sarma had been his mother's recipe, and Pinky said crumpets and scones seemed a good idea because of her costume. Max made everyone laugh when he said he'd begged Pinky to make something for him because he was a lousy cook. He pointed to his offering and grinned. "That, my friends, is Yorkshire Pudding at it's finest."
Pinky, back in the limelight, started listing the ingredients and giving instructions for making the pudding. Several of the guests began slowly backing up and Pilar secretly laughed. Pinky would be reciting that recipe for days to come.
Throughout the evening, Skye must have taken a few hundred pictures with her little camera. Pilar wondered if a camera that small would do justice to the photos and when she asked Skye about its capability, the woman laughed. "That camera cost more than my most expensive one and takes pictures to die for." She then held the view screen in front of Pilar and clicked through some photos.
"Wow!" Pilar exclaimed. "Would it be possible for me to get a copy of some? I'll pay for them, of course."
"Hey. No problem. I'll make duplicates of the best ones and the cost is on me."
"No. I'll pay you–"
Skye leaned toward Pilar and interrupted, "Did you see how many I got of your cousin? Do you want copies of those, too?"
Pilar said low, "I saw them. He'd be pissed if he knew."
Skye whispered, "He's gorgeous when he's pissed. Maybe I can show him the photos and take more while he's cussing me out."
Pilar joked, "You are one brave woman. Like I said before, I've never seen him act like this. As for the pictures, I just need a couple of him for my family album."
Skye chuckled, "Okay, you got 'em."
Pilar turned her attention to the thinning crowd. As far as she was concerned, the evening had been as much fun as the How-Do-Ya-Do Mixer. Max's idea to have park-hosted parties every month was a hit and created wonderful comradery. Pilar wondered if the same feeling could be duplicated by the town hosting such gatherings. Maybe she would mention it to the mayor next time he dined at Desert Princess Diner.