How Tia Lola Saved the Summer

by Julia Alvarez

  “It won’t be scary, will it?” Little Cari has used up her quota of courage for today. After all, she has come as far as she has ever been from home to stay with some new friends Papa made in Vermont.

  “Not scary at all,” Tía Lola assures her. “A nighttime treasure hunt.”

  “A treasure hunt at night? But how can people even read the clues or see where the treasure’s buried?” The middle one scoffs. But she does sound a tiny bit intrigued.

  “I have ways to make you see in the dark!” Tía Lola says mysteriously. “Remember, this is a magical camp!” Then, turning to Valentino, she says, “Señor Valentino, let’s show the guests to their rooms.” And as if Valentino had been living here all his life, he trots up the stairs, leading the way.

  Miguel is scratching his head, wondering if Tía Lola can secretly communicate with animals as well as people. Cari and Juanita troop behind Tía Lola and Víctor, who is still shaking his head in disapproval. Victoria and Mami follow.

  “Can she work magic?” It’s the middle one with the musical name, Esperanza, hanging back, already glued to Miguel.

  “We all can,” Miguel says before he can stop himself. Some male survival instinct kicking in.

  But instead of looking impressed, Esperanza narrows her eyes at him. “So, if you can work magic, will you make my wish come true?”

  Miguel shrugs. “Depends.” Oh boy, what is he getting himself into?

  “Make this week more fun than Disney World.”

  “Disney World?”

  “That’s where we were supposed to go for vacation. But then Daddy comes home from some work trip all la-di-da about Vermont.”

  Miguel has to admit that Disney World does sound like a lot more fun than a week in the middle of nowhere—even if a camp has suddenly been thrown into the bargain. But he feels he has to defend the state that’s now his home. “Vermont is great,” he says, his voice a little less confident than he’d like it to sound.

  “So, prove it!” Esperanza says. Then, with a toss of her short, bouncy black hair, she heads up the stairs behind the others.

  It’s going to take a lot more magic than even Tía Lola can manage to get through this week, Miguel can see that.

  Day one of the Swords’ visit has begun with a stab to his confident heart.

  Two

  saturday night

  A Nighttime Treasure Hunt

  Miguel is upstairs in his temporary quarters, arranging his stuff the way he likes it. Tía Lola has been using this attic room for her sewing projects, but she has moved her machine and materials to one corner so that Miguel can spread out. Since his new room happens to be directly above Juanita’s room, Miguel can actually look through the heating vents and see the tops of the girls’ heads.

  Every single sound comes up through that vent, including Valentino’s sighs of reminder that it is a beautiful, if waning, summer day in Vermont. They could all be outside getting some fresh air and exercise.

  “So have you been?” Esperanza asks Juanita. She is trying to build the case that everyone in the world has gone to Disney World.

  Juanita lets out a sigh. “Mami keeps saying that maybe the next time we go to the Dominican Republic, where she’s from, we can swing by on the way.”

  “Wow, two cool trips in one!”

  “Well, Mami hasn’t actually said yes,” Juanita explains. She might be feeling bad about getting two special trips when Essie didn’t even get one.

  “They never say yes. It’s like parents take a class on how to torture their kids. ‘Let’s wait and see.’ ‘I’ll think about it.’ ‘If you get all A’s in every subject for the next zillion years, I promise I’ll take you to Disney World.’ ” Esperanza is hamming it up, but then, she has found a receptive audience. Juanita is laughing her head off.

  “You’re making Papa sound terrible,” Cari says in a hurt voice.

  “I know,” Victoria agrees. “And it’s not like Papa promised we’d go to Disney World.”

  “He was considering it, okay?”

  “But considering is different from promising,” Victoria points out. “Papa would never break a promise, you know that.”

  “Then he broke his consideration!” Esperanza seems to like getting the last word in an argument.

  As far as Miguel can make out, what happened was that Esperanza kept pestering their father to go to Disney World this summer. After the hundredth time, their father said they would have to wait and see. This was enough of a yes for Esperanza, so that when their father came home from a work trip with the idea of spending a week in Vermont, she was bummed. Especially when he refused to barter that week in Vermont for a week in Disney World later in the summer. A trip to Disney World would involve the cost not just of hotels and meals and rides, but four plane tickets. This was a big expense for a family that might soon be relocating to Vermont, where the father would probably have to take a job that involved a pay cut.

  “That’s when she went ballistic,” Victoria says, shaking her head at her sister’s dramatics. “By the way,” Victoria adds, changing the subject before they get into an argument over whether Essie asked about Disney World three times or a hundred times, “I really love your room. It’s like a tropical wonderland in here.”

  “Tía Lola helped me,” Juanita admits modestly, for a change.

  Miguel actually thinks Juanita’s room is over the top. Garlands of colorful cut paper crisscross the room. The posts of her bed have been painted to look like palm trees with fronds forming a green canopy in the center. There is also a small purple couch that unfolds into a bed, where Esperanza will be sleeping. That’s how the girls have decided it. Meanwhile, Cari and Victoria will be in the guest room, which is connected to Juanita’s room by a door. “It’s like our very own private suite,” Victoria points out.

  “Our very own private sweet! Yuuumy!” Cari chimes in.

  “A suite, not a sweet.” Esperanza doesn’t exactly call her little sister “dummy,” but her tone of voice suggests that’s what she thinks of anyone who doesn’t know the difference between an s-w-e-e-t and an s-u-i-t-e. Miguel would never admit it to Esperanza’s face, but he himself isn’t one hundred percent sure what a suite is. Of course, he does know it’s not something you eat.

  “Maybe you’ll still get to go to Disney World, you think?” Juanita would have to bring up a sore point. But then, very nicely, as even Miguel would agree, Juanita offers to sleep on the fold-out couch and let Esperanza have the splendid bed. That way, even if she isn’t in Disney World, Esperanza can at least pretend she’s in Florida.

  After an afternoon of settling in, Tía Lola boots everyone out of the house. She has to get the treasure hunt ready. “Don’t come back until it’s dark,” Tía Lola orders, waving goodbye. Since it’s summertime, they will all have to entertain themselves until it’s almost nine.

  “What about Valentino?” Cari asks as they are climbing into the van. They will be eating dinner in a restaurant, so they’ll have to leave the dog behind.

  “Valentino es mi asistente,” Tía Lola announces. Valentino hasn’t been in Vermont a full day, and he has already been promoted from guest pet to personal assistant. Lucky dog, all right, Miguel is thinking. He wishes he could stay, but begging off dinner with their guests probably doesn’t qualify as being a good host. Besides, they’re going to his favorite restaurant, Amigos Café, owned by Rudy, who also happens to be the coach for Miguel’s baseball team.

  Saturday night, the place is packed. But Rudy has reserved a big round table for their party of seven. “Hey, captain,” he greets Miguel, playfully cuffing him on the arm. “Tomorrow we start the heavy lifting.”

  “So, what exactly starts tomorrow?” Víctor asks after Rudy leaves them to study their menus.

  Mami explains that Miguel’s baseball team will be having long practice sessions every day through Friday, as they have a big game next Saturday. “Rudy’s their coach.”

  “I’m on the team at my school,” Esperanza p
ipes up. “Papa helps coach when he has time. So, can I play?”

  Mami looks unsure, but Miguel is very sure. “This is a boys’ team.” Miguel can feel his mother’s eyes boring a hole into the side of his head.

  “That’s against the rules! Right, Papa?” Esperanza turns to her lawyer father. “You can’t keep girls from playing in Little League.”

  “We’re not a Little League team,” Miguel is quick to inform her. Actually, all his teammates were in Little League. But now that school is over, he and his friends have decided to stay together as a summer team. Rudy has agreed to coach them.

  “That’s still discrimination.” Esperanza will not quit arguing. “You can’t keep someone out of something on account of they’re a girl, right, Papa?”

  Víctor stands up for Miguel. “But Miguel and his friends already have a team going. They’re not recruiting boys or girls. And right now, they have to concentrate on their game so they can win. We’ll cook up our own game, just as girls,” he adds, winking at his own joke.

  “And don’t forget, there’ll be lots to do at Tía Lola’s camp,” Mami reminds the pouting Essie.

  “I know, I know!” Juanita is jumping out of her chair with excitement. “We can be the cheerleaders for the team!”

  “Now, there’s an idea!” Mami nods enthusiastically.

  “Not an idea,” Miguel says more fiercely than a good host should. “Baseball games don’t have cheerleaders.”

  “That’s right,” Víctor says, again siding with Miguel. “It’ll just distract the players, especially if they’re not used to it. After all, we want them to win, don’t we?”

  Everyone nods vigorously, except Esperanza, whose nod—if there is one—is hidden behind her menu.

  As they are getting ready to leave, Rudy comes over to say goodbye. “Hasta mañana,” he says, bumping fists with Miguel to confirm that they will be seeing each other tomorrow. Rudy loves any excuse to practice the Spanish that Tía Lola has been teaching him.

  Miguel is starting to feel really excited about the upcoming game. Also a little worried. Maybe on account of not having practiced since school let out, the players haven’t yet come together as a team. That’s why Rudy has decided on long, hard practices daily. By the big game Saturday, the team should be unstoppable! They better be. Miguel sure hopes Tía Lola gets those new uniforms done in time.

  “Don’t forget to notify the team,” Rudy reminds Miguel unnecessarily. It’s part of being team captain, setting up practice time and location.

  Miguel has already called everybody. He has also decided it’s too much hassle to try to relocate tomorrow’s session. He’ll see how it goes. Maybe this camp idea is part of Tía Lola’s plan to keep the girls entertained and out of his way. “Only one I’ve got left to call is Colonel Charlebois,” Miguel tells Rudy. Their former landlord is an avid baseball fan and attends every single one of the practices and games. He is also super-generous, paying for the team’s equipment, uniform materials, and transportation when they play in another town. That’s why they’ve named the team Charlie’s Boys, in his honor.

  “He’s over there, at his usual post, if you want to tell him now.” Rudy nods at an old man dressed in an army uniform, a napkin tucked under his chin. It’s like he’s going to eat, wipe his mouth, and head for war. Many nights, the colonel eats his dinner here, as he lives by himself in a house he bought in town when the big farmhouse he inherited got to be too much for him.

  “Oh, girls, I want you all to meet him,” Mami says warmly. Víctor already met the colonel at Tía Lola’s hearing back in April. If it weren’t for their former landlord’s generosity, letting the rent payments be house payments, Miguel’s family could never have afforded a big, roomy house on ten acres.

  As they head across the room, friends and neighbors say hello, eager to meet the newcomers.

  “It’s like one big, happy family in this town,” Victoria observes.

  “It is kind of that way,” Mami agrees, slipping her arm around Victoria’s waist.

  It’s almost dark. The sun has gone down but swaths of golden light still stretch across the sky. Víctor drives through town, with Mami acting as tour guide, pointing out landmarks to the Swords. They pass Bridgeport Elementary, all closed up for the summer, the playground looking forlorn with its empty swings and jungle gym.

  It gives Miguel a momentary pang of missing school, getting to hang out with his friends all day, racing around during recess. But then he remembers Mrs. Prouty and his difficult year in English class, and the yearning fades.

  “That’s my school,” Juanita points out. “I’m in third. Actually, what am I saying? I’m going into fourth!”

  The girls all tell what grade they will be entering in the fall. Esperanza, who just turned eleven, will be in sixth.

  “I’m going to be in kindergarten, and it’s not going to be scary, right, Victoria?” Cari announces. Her oldest sister reassures her and then adds that she is headed for middle school. “Now, that is scary!” her father remarks.

  “How about you, Miguel?” Victoria asks. “Will you be in middle school, too?”

  Miguel’s confidence begins to revive. “I have to wait another year,” he explains.

  “You’re kidding,” she says. “How old are you, anyway?”

  When Miguel tells her that he just turned eleven in March, she is incredulous. “I guess it’s all the fresh air and exercise of Vermont. You look like you’re, I don’t know—”

  “Twenty!” Cari hollers from her seat in the far back.

  Everyone bursts out laughing. Miguel is glad that it is almost dark inside the van. He’d hate for anyone to see how much he wishes he were twenty instead of eleven with one more year of elementary school to go.

  They pull into the driveway. Just ahead, the house is shrouded in darkness. What’s more, there’s no sign of Valentino. No sign of Tía Lola.

  Victoria lets out a surprisingly powerful whistle.

  “VALENTINO!” her sisters holler.

  Nothing.

  “I’m starting to be scared,” Cari says in a little voice.

  “No, you’re not,” Victoria reassures her, taking her hand. “Remember, Tía Lola promised it wouldn’t be scary.”

  As if to confirm that, Valentino comes bounding out of the dark woods north of the house. For the second time today, he heads straight for Miguel and leaps up, planting his paws on Miguel’s shoulders. That’s why Miguel is the first to notice the new accessory. Tía Lola’s lucky yellow scarf has been tied around the dog’s neck to form a pouch similar to those casks on Saint Bernards’ collars. When Miguel undoes the scarf, out tumble five teensy flashlights and a folded-up piece of paper labeled HERE IS YOUR FIRST CLUE. Miguel unfolds the note and reads aloud:

  “Turn on your flashlights

  it’s darker than you think.

  You can lead a horse to water,

  but you can’t make him drink.”

  “What horse?” Esperanza asks Juanita. “I didn’t know you guys had horses.”

  “I wish.” Juanita sighs.

  “I don’t think it’s real horses,” Victoria guesses. “It’s a saying: ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.’ But what does it mean? Hmmm.” She can’t seem to come up with anything.

  “Tía Lola loves sayings,” Juanita offers, trying to be helpful. She explains how her school gave Tía Lola a whole piñata full of sayings in English for her to learn over the summer. “Tía Lola probably wants to practice using them. Hey, where are you going?” she calls after Miguel. Her brother has suddenly taken off, the beam of his tiny flashlight dancing wildly on the ground ahead. At his side, Valentino is barking encouragingly.

  Miguel is headed for a clearing in the woods where an old well stands. A rusted horseshoe is nailed to one of its posts, probably for good luck, to ensure that the well would never run dry. Inside the bucket, Miguel finds the folded-up piece of paper.

  HERE IS YOUR SECOND CLUE, the outside of t
he note reads. By now the four girls have caught up with him. “You already found another one?” Victoria sounds impressed.

  “Can I read it? Please, can I?” It’s Esperanza, with more eagerness in her voice than she has shown since she arrived in Vermont. Miguel is about to say no, but he remembers his promise to his mother to be a good host. He hands the clue over.

  “I’ve fallen by the wayside

  after so much stony labor.

  Remember to repair me:

  good fences make good neighbors.”

  “I know!” Juanita cries out. She’s like one of those eager contestants who hit the button before the question is even fully asked. But when everyone asks her, “What?” she admits sheepishly, “Just that it’s a saying, too. ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’ ”

  Duhhh, Miguel feels like saying. But being a good host means he has to be nice to the other host, too. So he keeps his mouth shut.

  “Do you guys have a fence around your property?” Victoria asks.

  As a matter of fact, they do. An old, tumbled-down stone wall forms the northern border of the property. There they find the third clue, sitting on top of a boulder, held down by a small stone. This time Victoria reads it. “ ‘Here is your third clue:

  Now that you are here,

  don’t wander far from hence!

  The grass is always greener

  on the other side of the fence.’

  “That’s easy.” Victoria laughs. But after minutes of shining their beams up and down the other side of the stone wall, they are ready to admit defeat. Then, out of the mouths of babes, as Miguel has heard his mami say, comes little Cari’s clue-cracking question, “Is a fence the same as a wall?”

  Miguel is not really sure of the difference. All he knows is that everyone calls the crumbling stone wall a wall or a fence. But where the stone wall stops, a more modern wire fence has been put up. No one ever calls this wire fence a wall. Maybe that is the fence the clue is referring to?