Chapter Five

In Which Julieta Bursts Like a Fire Hydrant

The success of Operation Eclipse, as it became known around the Benitez household, had given Julieta enough confidence to call Bobby and ask him for a proper date. Elisa supposed that if their relationship had survived Mom interfering to speed things along—not once, but twice—then maybe they really were right for each other. And he did make Julieta really, really happy.

Four weeks later, she and Bobby had gone on five whole dates. They’d officially moved up the ladder from dancing and kisses on the cheek to Julieta coming home suspiciously late with her makeup and hair messed up.

Elisa was happy for her. It was high time someone in this apartment got a love life. Maria never dated at all, and Lucia had only had one proper boyfriend. For all her bravado, when it came to guys, she missed far more often than she scored. Camila had had a girlfriend or two prior to transitioning, and had been on a few dates since then, but never anything serious. Elisa personally thought that this was all right—Camila was only sixteen. But everyone deserved to have someone special in their lives.

Elisa had never actually been on a date. Except for that time Wyatt Berkowitz took her to the Snow Ball in middle school and gave her a very awkward, very hesitant first kiss. But she was pretty sure that didn’t actually qualify.

If your mom had to do the asking for you, it didn’t count. And if your mom asked by calling his mom, it especially didn’t count. So, in a way, it was kind of fun to watch Julieta’s relationship play out.

It was like getting all the excitement of a new relationship without actually having to deal with the stress of being in one.

And no one was living vicariously through this whole thing quite like their mother.

“It’s almost nine,” she commented, glancing out the window at the darkened sky.

“Julieta said she’d be late,” Elisa said from where she sat at the kitchen table, reading the latest book Professor DeCaro had assigned. They’d made it through Lord of the Flies—praise the goddess—as well as Go Set a Watchman, and were now reading A Clockwork Orange. Elisa liked it but wondered if she’d get her literature nerd card revoked for saying the movie was better.

“It’s not like her not to call,” Mom said, but she didn’t sound worried. Instead, she sounded delighted. “She and Bobby must be busy.”

She groaned, looking up. “Okay, Mom, I’m happy for them, too, but this has officially gotten weird.”

“Oh, come on, I’m allowed to be happy. Julieta’s very responsible, it’ll be fine,” Mom said, waving her hand. “Besides, if she weren’t, Bobby seems like the type of man who’d have the decency to marry her if it came to that.” She thought that over for a second. “Say, there’s an idea…”

“Mom, no.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I promise I’m not that desperate.”

“Yeah, somehow, I’m not convinced,” Elisa said, shaking her head.

There was a knock at the door. They exchanged surprised glances.

“Who’d be coming over this late?” Mom asked.

“Maybe Julieta forgot her key.”

Alejandra went to the door and opened it.

It was Bobby.

Immediately, her mother flushed red. Elisa was pretty sure she knew why. The apartment wasn’t a wreck, but, well…when you had six people living together in such a small space, all of whom were working or in school full-time, sometimes things fell through the cracks. Mom had changed out of her nice work clothes and into a pair of sweatpants and an old T-shirt, and she’d piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun.

Bobby didn’t seem to mind at all. “I’m sorry for coming over so late, Ms. Bello,” he said. “May I come in?”

“Where’s Julieta?” Mom asked, reluctantly standing aside to let him into their “unsightly” home.

“Back at my place,” Bobby said. “She got pretty sick while we were out today. It was…messy.” He grimaced. “Being in a moving car is pretty awful for her right now, so I told her she could stay at my house until she feels better.”

They both stared at him.

“In one of the guest rooms,” he added quickly. “Don’t worry, Ms. Bello, it’s all very appropriate.”

“How long do you think she’ll be there?” Mom asked.

Bobby shrugged. “The doctor said it’s a virus that’s been going around—it could last anywhere from three days to three weeks, depending on how bad she got it.”

“The doctor?” Elisa said, alarmed. “Did she have to go to the hospital?”

“Hm? Oh no, no, no,” Bobby said. “It’s not that bad, I don’t think. My family has one on call, so I had him come over to check her out.”

“Oh,” Elisa said. She should’ve just been glad Bobby had a doctor available for Julieta at the drop of a hat, but mostly she just felt jealous. Her family tended to put off seeking professional help until they’d exhausted all other options—she was sure none of them had been to a routine checkup in years.

The only sister who saw the inside of a doctor’s office with any sort of regularity was Camila. Starting at her fifteenth birthday, she’d seen a small handful of experts and physicians so she could begin hormone therapy. Their mother’s brother, Javier, footed the bill, which was the only way they could afford it.

“Anyway, Julieta sent me over to get her things, and I figured I’d tell you all when I got here,” Bobby said. “I should’ve called ahead. I’m sorry, but I just didn’t think of it. I’m sure she would’ve wanted to call you herself, but she’s so sick, she basically just quarantined herself into one of the bathrooms.”

“I understand,” Mom said. She tugged at a loose lock of her hair—a nervous habit she’d passed on to all of her daughters. “Elisa, go help Bobby get some things out of her room.”

Elisa nodded, gesturing for him to follow her.

“Jules mentioned you two share a room,” he said, as they stepped inside. “I’m going to guess that… this side is hers.” He pointed to the neater, cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing side of the room.

“Correct,” Elisa said, stepping over the pile of books she had on the floor next to her bed. “We share the closet, but she got some colored hangers, so we can tell whose clothes are whose. Hers are pink, mine are blue.”

“She’s very organized, isn’t she?” he said.

“She has to be. Oldest of five, running her own business—if she didn’t have some system to keep things straight, she’d go insane.”

Bobby reached to unplug Julieta’s laptop and put it into its case. “Speaking of her business…do you think there’s any way I can talk her out of working while she’s sick?”

She let out a lovingly exasperated laugh, shaking her head. “Nope. Last year when we all got the flu, she was working on her latest client’s request while curled up in six blankets and drinking hot tea.”

“I believe it. She was still throwing up when I came over here, and when I asked if there was anything specific from home she’d like to have, she just said ‘bring my laptop and work spreadsheets’ in between heaves.”

He was smiling fondly as he spoke. So he still liked her, even when she was vomiting. That was a good sign if there ever was one.

“That definitely sounds like my sister. But bring her quilt, too. She’ll be glad to have it while she’s away from home.” Elisa stepped away from the closet, four days or so worth of clothes in her arms. “You can always come back and get more clothes if she’s there longer than a few days. Plus, I assume you have a washing machine.”

“We’ll make it work.” He paused to look at the small bookshelf on Julieta’s side of the room. “What are her favorite books? She’ll have to take a break from work sometime.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. But anything by Terry Pratchett is a good bet.”

Tossing a couple of Discworld books onto the pile on the bed, he said, “Am I selfish for being glad Julieta’s staying with me? If she weren’t, I’d be over here twenty-four/seven to check on her.”

Elisa smiled. “That’s not selfish. That just means you like her.”

He went slightly pink, but said, “I suppose that isn’t much of a secret.”

“Just don’t say so to my mother. She’s already embarrassingly supportive. I don’t think Julieta could stand the shame.”

He grinned. “Not a bad problem to have, if you ask me.”

“You clearly don’t know my mother.”

…

Julieta had been at Netherfield Park for a week. She’d been online semi-frequently, but usually had her status set to “busy.” Fortunately, Bobby texted Elisa with updates every few hours, so she knew that Julieta was better, and that the puke-per-day average had gone down significantly but she was still mostly staying in bed.

Still, texts weren’t quite the same. Elisa missed her big sister’s voice. Especially when her only company for most of the week had been Lucia, Maria, and Camila. She loved them dearly, but being the acting oldest sibling was exhausting. She didn’t know how Julieta did it.

So, a week after Bobby had come over to fetch Julieta’s things, she decided to see if she was up to talking on the phone.

Bobby picked up, even though she had called her cell.

“Hey, Elisa—Jules told me to go ahead and pick up for her, she’s in the shower.”

“Are you?” Elisa asked.

He sputtered for a second before saying, “No—no. I’m standing outside the bathroom door. I just heard her phone going off in her room—”

She laughed. “Relax, I’m just teasing you. I was calling to see how Julieta’s doing.”

“She’s… Well, she’s still feeling pretty crappy,” he said. “And I know she misses you.” Suddenly, his voice brightened. “Hey, why not come over to visit for a couple of hours? I’m sure she’d love to see you.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Pretty sure. Her fever’s down. The doctor said that the meds he gave her are working, so you shouldn’t catch whatever this is.”

Elisa paused, then said, “Okay. I’ll be over soon. What’s the address?”

“Eighteen thirteen Lancaster Drive. See you soon. Bye.”

“Bye.”

She and Bobby hung up, and she went to find her mother.

“Mama, can I borrow the car?” she asked, sticking her head into the kitchen.

“Sure,” Mom said, not looking up from what she was doing. “Where are you headed?”

“Bobby invited me over to visit Julieta.”

She looked up. “No.”

“What?”

“I cannot have you over there interfering. Not when those two lovebirds are finally getting some real, quality alone time.”

“Mom, she’s sick. She’s spent most of her time there curled up in her room.”

“With him taking care of her, fetching things for her, catering to her every need. Come on, Elisa, you’ve read enough romances to know where that’s going.” Elisa felt the heat rush to her face as her mother shot her an amused glance. “Yeah, I know what’s in that shoebox underneath your bed.”

“That’s not the point,” Elisa said quickly. “Julieta’s probably homesick. I don’t see how my being there for a couple of hours could hurt.”

“You are not taking the car over there.”

“Mom—”

“Don’t ‘Mom’ me. You’re not taking the car. End of discussion.”

And she went back to what she was doing without another word.

Elisa hesitated.

“Okay. I won’t take the car,” she said.

She grabbed her coat, her phone, and pulled on her favorite pair of boots, then headed out the door before her mother could work out what she was doing.

According to Google Maps, it was a three-hour walk to Netherfield Park, and she still had a solid four hours before it got dark.

The things she did for her sister. And to spite her mother.

Okay—mostly to spite her mother.