Delia’s Crossing (23 page)

“See you, Delia,” he said, and unlocked the door. Just as he stepped out, we heard Sophia in the hallway.

“You moving in already, Jesse?” she asked him as she stepped up.

“I don’t think I could live under the same roof with you, Sophia.”

“I wonder why not,” she said, laughing at him. She saw me standing in the doorway and pushed past him to enter. Jesse looked back, shook his head, and continued down the hallway.

“Hello, idiot,” Sophia said to her brother.

“I wonder who that is,” Edward said. He pretended to sniff the air. “Smells like my rotten sister.”

“Funny, funny. I brought you something,” she told him, and went to the bed to reach for his hand. Then she dipped into her purse and pulled out what looked like two joints. “Don’t light up until I tell you,” she warned, and looked back at me. “You keep your mouth shut, Delia. It’s good for him. It will take away discomfort.”

Edward stuffed the joints under his pillow.

“You look like hell, Edward,” Sophia told him.

I closed the door softly but didn’t approach them.

“Thanks,” Edward said. “Actually, with my eyes bandaged, you never looked better.”

“Ha ha. You’ll probably have scars.”

“Thanks again, Sophia. You know how to make someone feel good.”

“I’m just telling you the truth. You’re always lecturing me about facing the truth.”

“Right. Forget it.”

“Bradley’s laughing at you,” she told him, and glanced at me. “He’s not a bit sorry about what happened.”

Edward was silent, but his face hardened.

“He’s going around school telling everyone you were just plain stupid believing what a Mexican girl told you. He’s making up other stories about you, too.”

“What other stories?”

“Telling everyone you have a thing for Delia, that she told him you were sleeping with her and you were simply jealous.”

“That bastard.”

“Exactly. And what has mother done about all this? Zip. She hasn’t even complained to the Whitfields.”

“Don’t worry. I’m down now, but I’m not through with him,” Edward said. “When I get back on my feet…”

“Good,” Sophia said.

Edward smirked. “What bothers you more, Sophia, what happened to me or what he did with Delia?”

“Both bother me the same,” she said.

“At least she’s honest,” Edward said to me.

I wasn’t sure if I understood it all, but I could see Sophia was pleased.

“If you need me to do anything for you, let me know,” she told him.

“Is that really you being nice and considerate?” Edward asked her, and she laughed.

“See, Delia?” Sophia said to me. “I can’t be nice to my brother, either, without being doubted. You’re the only friend I have in this house now.”

Edward stopped smiling. “What are you up to, Sophia? How come you gave her your bracelet? You never took it off from the moment you were given it, and you flashed it so much you could have worked for the jewelry store.”

“I’m trying to change my selfish ways, Edward. I had a wake-up call,” she told him.

Wake-up call? I wondered. How does that change you?

He just laughed. “I’ll believe it when I see it, and that will be a while,” he told her.

“Whatever,” she said. She started out. “I have to get to my homework.”

“Huh? You worried about homework? You really are on some drug.”

“Very funny. I’ll see you later,” she told him, and paused next to me to whisper. “Come into my room later. I have exactly the dress you’ll want to wear to the fiesta. You just have to take it in a bit like you did with my other things. This isn’t old, either. It will just look better on you than it does on me, and I don’t wear it. Understand?”

“Yes,” I said, “but Tía Isabela is taking me to buy clothes this weekend.”

“What? My mother is taking you to buy new clothes?”

I nodded.

“I can’t remember the last time she went shopping with me. What’s got into her?” she wondered aloud. She looked very suspicious for a moment, suspicious enough to set my heart in a pitter-patter, especially when she looked a little harder and longer at me. Then she shrugged it off. “She’s probably just feeling guilty about it all,” she decided. “Still, I have a dress she would certainly not buy for you. It cost eight hundred dollars.”

“One dress?”

“Yes,” she said, laughing. “One dress, and I have a dozen that cost more,” she added, and left the room.

While we were talking, Edward slipped down in his bed and had his eyes closed. I stared at him a moment and then walked out, too, closing the door softly behind me. I stood in the hallway, thinking. Sophia had gone into her room and closed her door. The
hacienda
was quiet. Below, Tía Isabela was waiting for me to make my spy’s report. I couldn’t avoid it. What would I do? What would I say?

If I told her what Sophia had given Edward and where he had put it, they would know immediately that I was the one who had told her. And if I told her about the tequila, they would know that I had told her about that as well. I was terrified, because I didn’t believe myself capable of lying to her. She would know immediately that I was holding something back.

I remembered once when my mother and my grandmother were talking about a neighbor of ours, Señora Delgardo, who they both thought drank too much tequila during the day. They pondered whether or not to tell her husband.

“He must know himself,” my grandmother decided. “How could he not know?”

“But if he does, why does she still drink so much?” my mother asked. “Why does he permit it?”

“He knows but says nothing, maybe.”

“Why not?”

“Maybe he knows that yelling at her would only make her drink more.
Debe saber más verdades que dice,
” she said, which meant more truths should be known than said. “She knows her own truth. She has to say it to herself.”

It might be the same with Edward and Sophia, I thought. My aunt yelling at them and punishing them after I turned them in might only drive them to do it more, but could I convince her of that? Dare I even suggest it?

Slowly, I descended and walked to her office. She was sorting through some papers at her desk when I stepped through the open doorway. She sat back and looked at me.

“Well?”

“Jesse has left, and Sophia has returned and is now in her room,” I began.

“I don’t need you to tell me that. What did you see, observe? What were they doing?”

“They were practicing Spanish,” I said. It was the truth. I was comfortable saying it.

“What?”

“Jesse brought Edward a disc, a CD of lessons in speaking Spanish.”

She stared at me, incredulous. “What else?”

“They asked me some questions, some words to translate, and then Sophia came when Jesse had to leave because of an uncle coming to dinner at his home.”

I was still standing on the truth. I didn’t wobble, but she looked quite dissatisfied.

“What happened then?”

“Sophia told Edward that Bradley was not sorry for what had happened. She said he was making up stories about Edward and me, telling people I said such things to him.”

“Why did she tell him that? The fool. She’ll just get him more agitated. What else?”

Even though hearing this annoyed her, she seemed pleased with that information.

“You are right. It upset Edward.”

“Exactly. And then what? Come on. I don’t have all day. What else did Sophia say? What did she tell you?”

“She is giving me one of her expensive dresses for my friend’s fiesta on Saturday.”

“I told you I was taking you to buy you clothes Saturday.”

“I told her. She was upset about it.”

“Oh, she was, was she?” She smiled and nodded. “Good. Maybe it will seep into her thick head that if she acts decently toward me, I could be very nice to her.”

That would be like buying your love,
I wanted to say, but I pressed my lips shut.

“Then what?”

“She left to do her homework, and I saw Edward was falling asleep, so I left,” I said. I was still speaking the truth. I had just not spoken all of it. Finally, I dared to add, “If you yell at Sophia because of what I told you, she will know I told you, and she will not trust me near her. I will not be able to tell you anything else.”

I could see her consider and then nod.

“Don’t worry. That’s not enough yet for me to reveal our confidence.” She smiled coldly. “You’re smarter than you pretend to be, Delia.”

I started to protest, but she put up her hand.

“Don’t bother denying it, Delia. I know you better than you think. It’s all right. I’m not upset about it. In fact, I admire you for it.”

I nearly dropped my jaw. She was giving me a compliment?

“A little deception goes a long way,” she told me. “It’s never good to reveal everything. Sophia, who has lived a protected, soft life, doesn’t know how to be subtle, shrewd. She’s too obvious, because she’s not in any danger, and she couldn’t care less about pleasing me. Or anyone else, for that matter.

“You and I grew up in a different world. Even at a very young age, we had to live by our wits. Just don’t try to fool me, Delia. I’m an expert when it comes to deception.

“Now, then, tonight, after everyone has gone to bed, I will come for you. We will go to Edward’s room. He won’t know I’m there. You will enter and pretend you’ve come to see how he is and if he needs anything. Before we go, I will tell you what to do.

“That’s all for now,” she said, waving me off and turning back to her papers.

I started to turn away.

“Oh. Don’t worry about what you’re to wear when you go into his room. I’ll be bringing you one of my sheer nightgowns. That’s all you’ll wear,” she added, and looked down at her papers.

All I’ll wear
?

My heart stopped and started, and then I fled from her office.

R
ight after dinner, Sophia called me into her room to give me the party dress.

“Try it on,” she told me. I was hesitant, but she kept insisting. “It’s a Valentino. I forgot. This one was more than a thousand dollars.”

“A thousand dollars!”

I held the stretch jersey knit in my hands, actually terrified about wearing something that cost as much as some people made in a year back in my village.

“Go on,” she urged. “You’ll be the hit of the fiesta.”

Slowly, I took off my skirt and blouse.

“You have a great body, Delia,” she said. “No wonder Bradley went crazy. I’ve just got to lose some weight,” she muttered, gazing at herself in the mirror.

The dress had a mock turtleneck with three-quarter-length sleeves. There was white lace at an empire waist, with a straight skirt. It was a beautiful shade of yellow, but it was much shorter than I had expected, barely reaching two inches above my knees. There was too much material around my torso. But she acted as if it was nearly a perfect fit.

“You have the right-size boobs for the top, Delia. Just take it in a little here,” she said, squeezing the material together behind me to make it fit snugly around my waist.

I held the material where she had held it and turned to look at the dress in the mirror, especially the back of the dress.

“
Cómo me inclino
?”

“What? In English,” she said, grimacing.

“How…” I imitated bending over, and she laughed.

“Oh. You bend over very carefully,” she said.

I shook my head. I couldn’t imagine my mother or my grandmother, not to mention my father, permitting me to go to a party in such a dress.

“Stop worrying about it. You want to be in style, don’t you? With my bracelet and some earrings I’m going to loan you, you’ll look fantastic.” She rolled her eyes. “Beautiful, beautiful,” she chanted.

“I don’t know,” I said. “How do you say…it’s not for me.”

Her face hardened. “I’m just trying to help you, to be a good cousin. You want to fit in here, don’t you? You want people to like you, admire you, don’t you? Nobody appreciates anything I do for them,” she whined, and turned away, embracing herself.

“I am sorry. I appreciate your gift,” I said. I looked at myself again. Even though it was too big in places, it hugged at my hips. It looked as if it had never been worn, and she looked as if she had her heart set on my accepting. “It is very beautiful, Sophia. Thank you.”

“Then you’ll wear it? Yes?” she said.

I nodded, and she smiled.

“I knew you would like it. I wore it only twice, but both times, I received many compliments.”

I took the dress off while she searched through her jewelry and then handed me a pair of earrings. They looked as expensive as the bracelet.

“Those are real diamonds,” she said. “Diamonds.”

“Oh, I must not take them.”

“Don’t worry about it. All of our jewelry is insured. If you need any help with your makeup, let me know,” she said. To be sure I understood, she showed me her vanity table and all the makeup she had. I had never seen so much in one person’s possession. She could open a store.

She pointed to my feet and then to the dress.

“Make sure my mother buys you shoes that match the dress,” she said. “I’d give you a pair of mine, but we really have different shoe sizes. My feet are like a cow’s feet compared to yours.” She showed me a pair of her shoes and then put her feet next to mine. They did look much bigger.

I nodded to show I understood. She was sad for a moment and then smiled again.

“All the boys will drool over you. The boys…” She widened her eyes and ran her tongue over her lips. She looked so silly I had to laugh, and she did, too. Then she hugged me.

My aunt is wrong, I thought. She just needs a friend, someone to trust and someone to trust her. We will be cousins after all. I thanked her again for everything she was giving me.

“You will have a good time,” she said.

I took the dress to my room and thought about how I would take it in to make it fit. I wished there was a way to get the hem longer. I was so involved in the work I didn’t hear Tía Isabela come into my room. I hadn’t realized how much time had gone by, either.

“That’s the dress she gave you for your fiesta?” she finally asked.

I spun around. “Oh, I didn’t hear you, Tía Isabela. Yes, this is the dress,” I said, wondering how long she had been standing there watching.

She stepped over and took the dress out of my hands.

“Do you know how expensive this dress is?”

“Sí.”

She tossed it back to me. “Her new generosity is driving me crazy.” She thought a moment and nodded. “All right, if you’re going to wear it, we’ll need to get you a pair of matching shoes Saturday,” she said. “I’m taking you to my favorite department store, where everyone knows me. We’ll get special attention, and in a few hours, we’ll have a very nice start for your own wardrobe.”

Now it was her generosity that was worrying me.

“It’s time,” she said. I hadn’t seen her put the nightgown down when she first came into my room. Now she reached for it and handed it to me. “Edward’s awake, listening to that CD of Spanish lessons. It’s perfect timing. Get undressed and into the nightgown,” she ordered.

I looked at the flimsy garment. “I am still not sure of what I am to do, Tía Isabela.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to show you exactly,” she said. “Get undressed.”

My fingers were trembling over the buttons and on the zipper of my skirt. She wanted me to take off my shoes and socks as well and put on a pair of slippers. While I was undressing and putting on the nightgown, she went to my door and locked it.

“Okay,” she said. “We’re going to practice this.”

“Practice?”

“I’m going to pretend I am Edward.”

“You?”

She went to my bed and set herself the way Edward was in his, with the pillows behind her.

“We’ll enter the room,” she began. “I’ll remain just inside the doorway, but you go right to him and tell him you are there to see how he is. I’m sure he’ll be very happy about it. Then you sit here,” she said, patting the space beside her on the bed. “Go on, do it. Do it!” she repeated when I hesitated.

I moved to the bed and sat beside her.

“Turn yourself more toward me, toward Edward,” she directed, and I did so. “Now, you reach for his hand. Go on. Reach for his hand.”

I did.

“Good. Tell him you never had a chance to thank him for what he tried to do. Tell him you really appreciated his concern for you. Go on, say it. I’ll help you with any English words.”

I did as she asked, and she corrected my English and had me repeat it.

“While you speak, you are holding his hand as you are doing now with mine, only take your other hand and gently stroke his hand and his arm. Go on. No, stroke, don’t pat,” she instructed, and demonstrated until I did it as she wanted. “Okay. Now, I want you to tell him you like him very much, and you wish you could do something for him that would make him happy. Let me hear you say it.”

I said it, but she didn’t like the way I was saying it.

“You sound too frightened. Say it like you mean it. Stop behaving like a child,” she snapped. “We’re going to do this right.”

I said it again, and she made me do it three more times, until she was happy with the way I sounded.

“He’ll be a little confused, maybe, so take his hand and gently press it to your breast. Go on, do it. Gently. Hold his hand there. He’ll realize you’re basically naked. I want you to move his hand slowly over your breast, over your nipple. Go on. Do it!”

I did, but I felt very strange and frightened by the way she looked at me. She really was pretending to be Edward and reacting as she hoped he might. I felt as if I had wandered into someone else’s mad dream.

“Good. He’ll either smile and say something nice to you, or he’ll be silent, stunned, and, as they say, turned on. You know that expression?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so. Drop your hand and his into your lap, but hold on to his hand. Slowly, everything has to be done slowly. It’s more erotic that way. Good. Move his hand between your legs, and press yourself toward him.”

I started to shake my head.

“Go on. It’s nothing.”

“If I do this, he will hate me, Tía Isabela. He will think terrible things about me.”

“Or he’ll smile and let you get yourself and him turned on. He’d have to be made of stone not to react to this.”

I felt tears coming but swallowed them back. She was looking at me very intently.

“I want you to do one more thing, Delia. I want you to lean over and kiss him on the lips, softly. Remember, everything is gently, softly. Then start to rise. If he holds on to your hand, stop and let him touch you again. If he lets go, it’s all right, but ask him if he would like you to come back to see him tomorrow night. Go on, do it all,” she said.

She let go of my hand, and I asked the question. My voice was shaky, but she thought that sounded good, sounded as if I was aroused myself.

“Good, now, let’s start again,” she told me.

“Start again?”

“I want this to go perfectly right. Step back to the door. Go on.”

I went through it all again, with her correcting me, guiding me. She wasn’t happy with how I was performing. As strange as it sounds, rehearsing like this reminded me of rehearsing for a school skit. Maybe, if I could pretend I was someone else, I could get through it, I thought. After the third rehearsal, she said I was ready, but she seized my shoulder, squeezing so hard it hurt.

“I know you’re not happy about my asking you to do this, Delia, but it will help me to understand Edward more. You’re doing this for me and, in a way, for him. It’s not so terrible. You’re not going to sleep with him. I wouldn’t want you to do that, even if he wants to do it, understand? That would make me very unhappy, unhappy enough to hurt you,” she said, taking on that cold, threatening tone again. Her fingers tightened.

“What I really hope is that you’ll stir up his interest in other girls, and maybe, after he recuperates, he won’t be so involved with that Jesse Butler,” she added, speaking more to herself than to me.

After another moment, she released her grip on my shoulder. I wanted to rub it, it hurt that much, but I took a deep breath instead.

“Okay, let’s go.”

She went to the doorway and stood there looking at me. My legs wouldn’t lift me off the bed.

“If you don’t do this…”

I moved quickly to her side, and we stepped into the hallway. She indicated that we should be very quiet as we walked down to Edward’s room. At the doorway, she smiled at me.

“Remember, I’m depending on you to do this right. Everything should be done slowly, gently. Understand?”

I nodded, and she opened the door. Edward was sitting up in his bed, and the CD was going just as she had described. She put her hand on my shoulder and pressed to move me forward and into the room, while she remained just inside the doorway. Although he was listening to the CD, Edward heard me entering and quickly turned it off.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s Delia,” I said.

He smiled. “Hey, just in time. Listen to this.
Qué hora es
? What time is it?
Dónde está el baño, por favor
? Where is the bathroom, please?
Cuánto cuesta?
How much does this cost? How’s my pronunciation?”

“Very good,” I said. I looked back at Tía Isabela. She urged me forward.

“You mean,
muy bueno.
”

“
Sí,
” I said. I glanced back at Tía Isabela and then moved to Edward’s bed. I took a deep breath and sat just where I had sat during our rehearsal. I could see that it surprised Edward immediately. “I have come to see how you are, Edward.”

“You mean…”

“Yes,
cómo está usted
?”

“
Bien, gracias.
”

I could feel Tía Isabela’s eyes on the back of my neck. I reached for Edward’s hand. He smiled.

“I never thanked you for what you tried to do for me,” I said. “I really appreciated your concern for me.”

I couldn’t help it. I knew I sounded as if I were either reading it off a piece of paper or reciting something I had memorized. His face looked surprised, confused, and he tilted his head just a little as I started to stroke his hand and his arm the way Tía Isabela had demonstrated.

“I like you very much, and I wish I could do something for you that would make you happy,” I added.

“Oh, you don’t have to…”

I brought his hand to my breast. My heart was pounding. Surely, he felt it, I thought. He didn’t speak. I could feel Tía Isabela behind me. I didn’t turn, but I sensed she had inched closer to watch. I closed my eyes and moved Edward’s hand over my breast.