by Annie Bryant
After a minute of sighing, her head popped up like a pogo stick as she announced, “Which brings me to another important subject. We have to make decisions. Tonight, Mom. Tonight! Deidre sent me an e-mail telling me my friends back in Detroit are waiting for their invitations. At the very least I have to let everybody know when and where, especially the girls and boys on my honor court.”
The quinceañera’s corte de honor, or honor court, was usually made up of seven damas, girls, and seven chambelanes, boys who acted as the girls’ escorts. Plus, some girls also picked one special guy to be their chambelan de honor, their date for the big party. I was pretty sure I knew who Elena Maria had in mind.
Mom continued to stare at Elena, with a look of firmness or pity, I couldn’t be sure.
“We really need to book the Chateau Celine soon.” Elena was still in major Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous mode. Mom didn’t blink. “We are having it at the Chateau, aren’t we? Aren’t we? Answer me, Mami!” I knew we couldn’t afford a place like Chateau Celine, so I braced myself for my sister’s freak-out when she heard Mom’s answer.
“Elena Maria, please calm yourself, sweetheart…and listen to me carefully. We are not having it at the Chateau Celine. Your quinceañera is not going to be held in Detroit.”
My sister’s eyes popped out. “Then let’s book it at the Holiday Inn on Beacon Street. I’ll call them tonight.” Wow, Elena even had plan B ready. I was impressed. She was already an awesome cook, now I could see her future catering business being a huge success. I was pretty excited because if the party was held in Brookline all my friends could come.
But Mom was already shaking her head. “Your quinceañera will not be in Brookline, either, dear.”
You could have dropped a ten-pound water balloon on Elena Maria’s head and she wouldn’t have noticed. Or on me, too, for that matter. What was Mom talking about?
Then she surprised both Elena and me with her next announcement. “Your father’s sister, your Aunt Inez, and her husband, Uncle Hector, have offered the use of their ranch in Texas for your party. It’s all been arranged.”
Elena jumped up from the couch. “What? In TEXAS? That’s impossible! No way!”
“Please sit down, Elena Maria. Just listen a moment to what your father and I have planned for you. I think you will—”
“I don’t want to have my most important birthday at a ranch in Texas! That’s crazy!” she cried as she wiped a river of tears from her cheeks. “And who’s going to be there? My cousins? What about my friends? Who will be my chambelan de honor?” she asked. “This has to be a joke! Tell me you’re joking. Uncle Hector and Aunt Inez let their chickens run all over the place and everything!”
My reaction was the complete opposite. Texas! Whoa! Chickens. I could barely remember my uncle and aunt’s ranch, only that it was in the middle of nowhere, that the house was big and dark, and that there were cows…and a rooster. But, wow, what an adventure! “Yee-haw,” I yapped. Oops! I clapped my hands over my mouth.
Elena shot me a look. She was not happy with my enthusiasm.
“I think you’ll find the ranch has changed a lot since you were last there,” Mom explained calmly. “Hector has made a lot of improvements, and I have heard Aunt Inez has decorated the place to the nines. I promise you won’t be disappointed with your party.”
Elena Maria popped up from the couch and tossed her quince book on the floor. In an angry voice she protested, “I am not going to Texas for my quinceañera. I just won’t have one and that’s that. If it can’t be the way I want it, then there won’t be one.” And then she actually stomped her foot like a two-year-old. I couldn’t believe my sister’s behavior. Elena Maria had crossed the line, and she knew it, too.
“Elena Maria!” Mom cried forcefully. Whoa. I knew that tone. I looked from Mom’s face to Elena Maria’s and back again.
After a few seconds of silence, my sister sat back down, folded her arms across her chest and took a big gulp of air. Mom explained their decision about the party in a patient voice. “Your father and I can’t afford to give you the party you want,” she said. “But Uncle Hector and Aunt Inez have generously offered to be your padrino and madrina for the quinceañera—to sponsor everything for you. As relatives who care about you very much, they are offering the use of their ranch, catering, the entertainment, and round-trip airfare to San Antonio. You can ask four friends from Brookline to come along.
“Hector and Inez made this offer a couple of weeks ago, and after looking at our budget, your father and I decided that it’s really the best option. Your father wanted to surprise you with this together, but it seems that now is the time. We had hoped you would love the idea, but if not, then I am truly sorry.”
My mother’s words echoed in the air, not so much for what she said, but how she said it. My mom might have MS, but she still has a lot of fuerza—force. She sounded strong and very sure of herself.
Elena Maria sighed and looked at the ground. “I guess it’ll be okay,” she mumbled. But her voice sounded sad. Her party was not what she had dreamed of. I reached over and squeezed her hand. She might be Quince-zilla right now, but her eyes were brimming with tears.
“That is a very wise and mature decision, mi hijita,” Mom said. “Now I am a bit tired.” Using her cane, she got up and headed for her bedroom, leaving Elena Maria and me alone on the couch.
I had no idea what to say. “Ummm…it’ll be so great to see our primos,” I told her, trying to sound extra-cheerful.
“Oh, Isabel.” She sighed. “They don’t know anything about anything. Only horses and cows. They’re a bunch of cowboys.” She started sniffling again. “This is awful. I wish I wasn’t turning fifteen. Not now.”
She sounded so upset. I asked her, “Do you want me to make some special Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream, and just a little teaspoon of coffee?” It was the only thing I could think of to cheer her up.
“No thanks. I’m not hungry right now. But at least,” she said, giving me a little half smile, “I can still ask Scott Madden to be my chambelan de honor, so I won’t have to dance with my cousins.”
Uh-oh. My face gave me away.
“What? Is that a bad idea? Oh, no. He has a girlfriend. Does he, Izzy? Does he have a girlfriend, Izzy?”
“Um, I hate to break it to you, but the dancing part…well, Avery told me this morning that Scott had an accident. He fell from the kitchen counter reaching for some spice or something. He might have sprained his ankle…really badly.”
Elena Maria was silent for a moment, then raised her face and hands to the sky. “¡Ay, ay, ay!” she wailed.
CHAPTER 2
The Tango Aeropuerto
I wished my dad could have been here at the airport with us. He could always make me laugh. But Dad wouldn’t be flying to Texas until a couple of days before the quince, because he had so much work to do.
Suddenly I heard a voice behind me scolding, “Elena Maria! Girls! Will you please get your things together?”
I had to laugh. My aunt was attempting to round up all her unruly travelers—but it was like trying to herd baby geese. On the other hand, she was definitely having a good time telling everyone what to do. Aunt Lourdes’s favorite thing in life was being the boss…of everyone. She was running around in total tour-director mode, doing her best to keep all of Elena’s friends in order.
“Boys, please put your video games away now. Andrew, help Scott with his things. We will be boarding this plane any…urghh!”
Whoops! My aunt stumbled. Scott the hero, despite his cast, managed to jump up and grab Aunt Lourdes’s arm so she wouldn’t fall. I had to hand it to that boy. He would be a good chambelan for my sister.
“Oh, thank you, Scott,” my red-faced aunt said.
“I’m okay, ma’am,” he said through gritted teeth. Avery told me that Scott suffered a bad sprain. Jumping up like that must have really hurt his ankle.
I waved to my sister and pointed to Scott.
My BFF Avery and I were the ones that got Elena Maria together with Scott in the first place. But my sister ignored me. Hmmm. I sighed. This was going to be one long trip.
Since Scott had managed to save Aunt Lourdes from total embarrassment, she couldn’t stop gushing about him. “Scott, you are a true gentleman. Elena, you are so fortunate to have such a wonderful young man for a friend.” Elena Maria and Scott turned bright red in front of their friends, who were elbowing each other. Mom, who had been sitting quietly, gave me a wink. I covered my mouth with my hand so Elena wouldn’t see me laugh.
“I need to freshen up a bit, and I would like all of you packed up and ready to go when I get back,” Aunt Lourdes directed.
“Give me a hand, Andy,” Scott said as he went to stand up and stretch.
“How about a foot instead?” Andy asked.
“Thanks, Jim Carrey,” Scott quipped.
Completely forgetting Aunt Lourdes’s directions, Elena Maria and her two friends went back to looking at our family photo album that Elena insisted we bring. Her friends were going gaga over the pictures.
Whenever Elena Maria got together with a bunch of her friends, it was like the smallest thing made them either totally embarrassed or totally hysterical. They acted like someone dropping a cupcake was the funniest thing known to man. It wasn’t that way with me and my friends, the BSG. We laughed when things were really funny, like when Maeve’s guinea pig popped out of the salad bowl at Avery’s mom’s fancy dinner! Now that was funny.
“Your cousins are awfully good-looking, Elena,” I heard Jill say.
“And these are photos just of the ones who live in San Antonio. Wait till you meet the others who are coming from Mexico. You’re gonna think they’re completely dreamy,” Elena Maria said.
“I’m already in loooove,” Lauren said. “If your Mexican cousins are real cowboys like these Texas boys, my heart’s going to be beating double time.”
Cowboys? Why did Elena Maria keep saying that about our cousins? I certainly didn’t remember any of them being cowboys. To be honest, I barely remembered them at all. It seemed like centuries since my last visit.
“Flight two forty-three to San Antonio International Airport will begin boarding in a few minutes.” All of a sudden the waiting area was a swirl of activity. Passengers got up and began gathering up their stuff like they were in a mad hatter’s tea party. Except for Scott, who seemed as cool as a cucumber. It must be all that traveling that he and Avery do back and forth to visit their dad in Colorado.
“Oh,” cried Jill. I turned around to see her frantically digging through her lavender carry-on bag with BON VOYAGE printed on the side. “I can’t find my wallet. It has all my money in it.” She actually started crying. I looked around, not sure what to do.
“Jill, why don’t you check all your pockets?” Scott suggested in a real casual tone.
“Yeah,” I added. “I always find stuff in my pockets.”
“I never put my wallet in my pockets…never. Somebody stole my wallet!” she shrieked.
“We’re going to miss the plane,” Elena Maria cried and began pacing. This situation was getting bad, fast. Thank goodness Aunt Lourdes had gone to the ladies room, or she would have lined everyone up against the wall like an army drill sergeant!
“Really, Jill, check your pockets. My mother forgets and stashes her wallet in her pockets all the time, especially when she is juggling bags and passports at the airport.” The ever-patient Scott tried again to calm Jill down. I would have to tell Avery that her brother was one cool dude.
Meanwhile my mother rolled over to Jill in her wheelchair, and in a calm voice began chilling the whole scene out. I loved that about my mom. You could be having a horrible day and my mother could say one little thing, and the next thing you knew everything was okay again.
“Elena Maria, help Jill look in all her pockets,” Mom encouraged.
Of course, Jill’s wallet was in her jacket pocket, just like Scott suggested.
Aunt Lourdes returned just as the gate attendant announced that it was time to board. By this time, we were all together and ready to go. I threw my sketchbook into my bag and followed everybody to the boarding line. Mom and Aunt Lourdes got to board first, because of my mom being in a wheelchair. I knew everybody was looking at Mom. People always look at people in wheelchairs. Everyone wonders what happened to her.
“Why can’t that lady walk?” a little boy asked his mom in a loud voice. Yep, there it was. Even the little kids want to know about people in wheelchairs. I was used to it, because my mom sometimes uses a wheelchair when we go out. I waved to Mom as she went through the line to show everyone that having a mom in a wheelchair was no big deal. She gave me a weak wave back. I was a little worried. She must be tired from all the activity, I thought. I just hoped not too tired. I really wanted my mom to be able to enjoy all the festivities at the ranch.
I tried to stand near them but Aunt Lourdes directed me to fall in line between the three girls and Andrew and Scott. My sister was chatting so fast with Jill and Lauren that I couldn’t even tell what they were saying. “Aren’t you excited, Elena?” I grabbed her arm.
She said, “Yeah, I am,” and turned back to her friends.
Was she ignoring me? We were usually so close. I couldn’t believe she didn’t want to talk to me. But her friends were huddled in a pack as the line moved on. Elena had her audience enrapt, telling them what to expect once we got to the ranch. I hoped my sister wouldn’t ignore me when we got to Texas. I mean, who would I hang around with if not my sister? I didn’t know anyone in Texas.
“My cousins took me range riding once. Scott, Andy, maybe Uncle Hector will take us all out to the back pasture and we can practice roping cattle. It’s fun! You’ll love it,” she promised.
“Yee-haw!” Andy shouted in a horrendously bad cowboy accent. “Well now, I reckon that I ain’t never been on a horse, and I don’t know if my pal, General Scott One-Foot here, can make the trip.” Jill smacked him on the arm, and of course they all started laughing hysterically…again.
“Move it along, you kids,” a man shouted.
It was a good thing that Mom and Aunt Lourdes were already seated. They, especially Aunt Lourdes, would have been annoyed at my sister’s friends’ antics.
Elena shushed her friends so the man would leave us alone. At least she had some sense left. Now was the perfect opportunity to ask if I could use her cell phone. “I want to call Charlotte and tell her that I’m almost on the plane,” I explained. “She likes to hear from people at airports. She says that it makes her feel like she’s going somewhere, too.”
“Where is your phone?”
“I forgot it at home.”
“Well, mine is barely charged, so I don’t want to use it until we get to Texas.”
She and her friends exchanged more giggles about cute cowboys. But my sister must have felt bad because she turned around and added, “You can call the BSG when you get to the ranch.”
Urggghhh! How could I explain to Elena Maria with her friends standing there that airports were special to Charlotte. She’d been in so many of them. I promised myself that I would e-mail Charlotte the minute I arrived. When we got on the plane, Elena and her quince posse walked straight to the back.
“Come, Isabel.” Aunt Lourdes grabbed my arm as I walked by. “Stop here and say hi to your mother. She is snug as a rug in a bug.” Aunt Lourdes smiled and I laughed. That was a little joke in our family. Our grandmother got English phrases like that mixed up all the time, but she had a great sense of humor and could always laugh at herself. I couldn’t wait to see her at the quince!
I plopped down in the empty seat beside both of them. “Ah, Isabel.” Mom grabbed my hand. She had her knitting out and looked happy and relaxed.
“Are you excited, Mami?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. Pretty soon we will be in Texas, my little girl.” She reached over and gave my cheek a little pinch. “And eating chiles rellenos that will make your tong
ue tingle.” I was so relieved that she seemed well and bright, I leaned over and laid my head on her shoulder.
All of a sudden I sensed a large person towering over me. “You’re in my seat,” a man said.
My aunt immediately intervened. “Excuse us. Isabel, take my seat. We have another one a few rows back—I will take that one.”
I gave her a grateful smile. Aunt Lourdes to the rescue! But I wanted Aunt Lourdes to sit with Mom and me too. The three of us could play cards together and make our own little group, away from Elena Maria and her quince-obsessed posse.
I don’t know where I got the nerve, but I stared up at the big man and asked, “Can we exchange seats so I can sit with my mother and my aunt?”
Aunt Lourdes, I could see, was shocked at my boldness, but her eyes were hopeful.
“I need the bulkhead row. I must have the extra room for my legs,” he answered in a gruff bear voice. “I’m very tall.”
Couldn’t he see we needed to sit together? Aunt Lourdes spoke up. “I’ll go, Isabel. I’ll come back to say hello when we are in the air.”
When I saw my mom’s disappointed look, I made my decision. “No, that’s okay. You sit with Mom. I want to draw in my sketchpad for a while, anyway.”
With that I pulled my jacket tight around me and got up. For some reason I wanted my mother and my aunt to see how grown up I was. Plus, I knew the two sisters would enjoy hanging out and talking about the party, and I could totally sit by myself on the plane. I mean, for a twelve-year-old it should be no problem, right?
The man very quickly moved in, whipping a suitcase into the overhead compartment, removing his jacket, and buckling in. I gave my aunt a wave and headed back to my seat alone. I actually felt pretty cool. Maybe everyone will think I’m a seasoned traveler, like Charlotte. I smiled at the passengers as I walked down the aisle.
I was eight rows behind my mother and Aunt Lourdes. A college-aged girl was already asleep, and I had to crawl over her. But she was pretty chill about being awakened by my clumsy stumbling. We started chatting. I wanted to yell to Elena Maria, See, this girl wants to talk to me!
