Had I seen her this excited since we arrived? “I know, I know.” Nerves did a tango in my tummy.
Sliding off the bed, Lexi came over to the balcony windows where I was standing. She gently put her hands on my arms. “Hey, are you thinking about Marco? I saw how he looked at you today.”
Twisting away, I flapped one hand. “Nonsense. You have a great imagination.” What had she seen?
“No really, Mom. He was totally checking you out.”
My nerves sang as if I were careening down a zipline. “That’s ridiculous. I have to get a one-piece suit.”
“No way. You’re very…well-preserved.” Then Lexi squinched her face together, knowing the term wasn’t quite right.
“What? Am I an olive?” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Dinner that night was quiet. Lexi and I had been blitzed by the sun, I think. Marco and Ama took the lead discussing food for the party, along with the shapes of the ice sculptures.
“But it’s summer.” How many times would I remind myself to think before I spoke? This wasn’t my party and certainly not my money. If they wanted to decorate with ice sculptures, that was up to them.
“But of course.” Marco brushed my interruption away. “We will have to enjoy ourselves very quickly then, no? Before the ice melts?”
Ama chuckled but Gregorio burst into laughter. “Oh, Papa.”
His father gave him a stern look. I nearly dropped my fork. Was this the term Gregorio used for his father in their private quarters? “Papa” sounded so cozy and I wanted to believe that they had that kind of relationship.
“Your Majesty,” Gregorio amended before laughter again rumbled deep in his stomach. “Sometimes you make me laugh.”
“And why is this?” Marco’s features were set in sharp angles.
The man didn’t like to be laughed at. I thought back to my conversation with Lexi that afternoon. Parenting often meant that your children pointed things out that you didn’t want to hear. But Marco didn’t know that.
“Nothing, Father.” Gregorio took the napkin from his lap. “May I be excused?”
Ama darted Marco a sharp look. How I wished I’d taken supper in my room. Sometimes I felt as if we were seeing a movie play out before us, Lexi and me. No family is perfect. I knew that. But the tension between the two of them had a deeper base. At least that was my guess. And what roll did Ama play in all that?
Shortly after that, Lexi and I excused ourselves too. But the night was young, and I didn’t feel like going upstairs yet. “Let’s go out to the patio.” Although I would have loved to sit by the pool, that area was visible to the family. I wanted privacy.
So we found our way out to the fountain, where the breeze was cool and the shadows lengthened.
“Hey, let’s try the maze.” Lexi pointed to the high bushes that had been my downfall on that first day.
“No way. I’m not trying that in the dark.” We perched on one of the stone benches that encircled the fountain.
“Man, these are hard.” She fell silent. We sat together, listening to the fountain bubble and splash. “Mom, sometimes I wish we were home.”
Well, so much for sharing that peaceful moment.
What she really meant was she wished she were near her friends, who had gotten her into plenty of trouble. “This is only for the summer. Make the most of it. In October you’ll look back at this and wonder if these days had been real.”
“Yeah. No one’s having a ball back home.” Her cheeks split into a grin.
“Speaking of the ball, Ama picked out two dresses for us.”
Her brows went up. “Really? Are they decent?”
“Oh, very decent. Wait ‘til you see.” Throwing back my head, I glanced up at the moon, now a slice in the sky. “Just think, Lexi. This same moon is smiling down on our friends right now.”
“You make it sound as if they’re right around the corner.” Her words sounded sad.
“Do you wish they were?” Now, why had I asked this question? I knew the answer.
