Isabel's Texas Two-Step

by Annie Bryant

  “What now?” Ricardo whispered to me. I gulped.

  “It’s face-the-music time,” I said.

  Xochitl dashed over to greet us. “Hey, guys! Rockin’ party last night. Thanks for the invite.”

  “No prob,” I assured her. “You didn’t tell your dad about the statue yet, did you?”

  Xochitl’s face fell. “No. I hope he doesn’t get too mad at you.”

  “Me too.”

  Uncle Hector called out to us. “Kids! Head on into the house. We’ll meet you in the living room. Ricardo, turn on the lights for the collection, please.” We all looked at one another solemnly, knowing what that meant. We marched into the house like a line of prisoners, staring at the floor. I was trying to blink back tears. I could see the headlines now. ISABEL MARTINEZ DESTROYS PRICELESS WORK OF ART.

  As Mr. Guerrero followed Uncle Hector into the living room, I saw his eyes scanning the room. They stopped on the glass eagle statue, glowing under the lights. He smiled and started to walk toward it, then stopped. He frowned. He stepped forward slowly until he reached it. Stretching one of his huge hands forward, he ran his finger gently over the seam where we’d glued the wing tip back on.

  This was just too horrible to watch, so I buried my face in my hands. I felt Xochitl slip her arm around my shoulders.

  “So that is the issue, Cesar,” Uncle Hector said from the doorway. “And I think these two have something to say to you.”

  “It was my fault, Mr. Guerrero,” Ricardo offered boldly. “I’m sorry.”

  “Me too,” I added softly, peeking out from between my fingers.

  Mr. Guerrero turned around to face us, and to my surprise, he had a small smile on his face. I raised my head. “And were you also the ones who did the repair work?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “Well done, Isabel. If I did not know this piece so well, I might not even have noticed the chip.” Xochitl squeezed my shoulders encouragingly.

  “Th-thanks,” I spit out. I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t hate me?

  “Let me tell you two a story,” he began. “It is said that the sculptor Michelangelo’s greatest desire was the impossible: not just to imitate life in stone, but to actually create it. And finally, one day, he carved a statue of Moses that was so realistic, so lifelike, that it seemed to him he must have finally achieved his goal. He approached his work and spoke to it. ‘Why don’t you speak?’ he commanded the stone. Yet the statue, being nothing more than rock, would not move. After several minutes he grew so frustrated that it would not answer him, he threw his hammer and chisel at it, breaking a chip off the knee. If you go to see the statue of Moses in Rome, you can see the small damage.

  “So,” he said as he finished, running his finger again over the tip of glass eagle’s wing, “I am in good company. The very best.”

  We all stood there, staring at the statue. Finally Xochitl broke the silence. “Good story, Dad,” she told him. “Now can we see the cave art?”

  Everyone laughed. “You are a forgiving man, Cesar,” Uncle Hector commented. “My wife was very upset when she saw the damage to this piece. It’s one of her favorites.”

  “Well, I’m glad she enjoys it so much. And it’s no trouble to be forgiving. Unlike Michelangelo, I love my statues, but I love the living and the breathing more. That’s where my art comes from.” He looked at Xochitl, Ricardo, and me. “Now, as Xochitl says, let’s get on to real reason we came out here today.”

  We all filed into the hallway and headed for the front door again.

  “Your dad is really cool, Xochitl,” Ricardo told her.

  “Yeah, I guess he is,” she said thoughtfully.

  “No, really. You’re so lucky,” he went on. There was that word again. “Lucky.” The word Ricardo didn’t like when I said it about his family. What was in Ricardo’s mind? I wondered.

  Suddenly, we rounded a corner and came face-to-face with my mom and Aunt Inez, arm in arm, having a laughing fit as they walked down the hall. It looked like they definitely weren’t arguing anymore. My dad was walking right behind them.

  “Oh!” my mother exclaimed, out of breath. “Inez, I didn’t know you were expecting visitors. Jorge and I wouldn’t have kept you chatting in the kitchen with us.”

  “We’re here because of your daughter’s amazing discovery, Mrs. Martinez,” Mr. Guerrero told her. Ricardo and I exchanged looks.

  “Discovery?” my mother asked, sounding puzzled. Here we go again, I thought. What would this be, confession number twelve? By now I so over being nervous about telling anybody anything that I spoke right up.

  “Yep. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you, Mami. I reeeeally wanted to, but we didn’t think it would be a good idea to worry you before the quince.”

  “Tell me what, mi ’jita?”

  “That…Ricardo and I spent the night that it rained so much in a cave by the tinaja, and we found this amazing cave art that’s probably thousands of years old.”

  “What?!” my dad and mom said at the exact same time. It looked like my mom was going to faint. Good thing Aunt Inez and Dad were right there to support her. “¡Dios mío! You spent the night in a cave? And what is this about art? Will someone please tell me what is going on here?”

  “Let’s go into the living room,” Aunt Inez suggested calmly.

  CHAPTER 20

  The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

  We all trooped back to the living room and settled in on the big, comfy leather couches while Ricardo and I told my parents everything, from breaking the eagle to our ride on Rasquatch to the creepy cave and the incredible art.

  “And believe me, Ricardo has learned his lesson about putting others in dangerous situations,” Uncle Hector assured my parents when we were done. Ricardo’s face instantly went from excited, telling my parents and the Guerreros all about the armadillos we saw, to frowning, just like that.

  “That’s right,” Aunt Inez continued. “And he knows he is not to come into this room by himself anymore under any circumstances. Isn’t that right, Ricardo?”

  “You know, I’m not a little kid, Mom,” Ricardo retorted. Aunt Inez’s mouth formed a perfect O. Everyone was so surprised at Ricardo’s outburst, we didn’t know what to do. He didn’t seem to notice, though. “You think you know everything about me, but you don’t know anything! All you guys care about is your expensive art and giving fancy parties and landscaping the patio! You didn’t even care when I played my accordion at the quinceañera last night!”

  We all sat in embarrassed silence. So that was why Ricardo didn’t like to talk about all the cool stuff his family had. He thought his parents did waaaay too much talking about it already.

  Finally Aunt Inez spoke. She sounded a little choked up. “I noticed, Rico,” she said softly. “I noticed when you played. I thought you sounded lovely.”

  He was quiet for a while too. “Really?” he said.

  “Of course,” she told him, coming over to wrap him in a giant hug. I could see his face turning beet red. I guessed it was pretty embarrassing for a guy to have his mom hug him in front of everybody. But I figured, underneath, it was probably exactly what Ricardo needed.

  “We’re proud of your talents, son,” Uncle Hector agreed and patted Ricardo on the back.

  Aunt Inez finally let him out of her arms, and he scooted quickly away from her on the couch, looking like he wanted to shrivel up and fall through the space between the cushions. I exchanged a look with Xochitl. Boys. One minute they act all angry, the next they act all embarrassed, when really on the inside they’re sad and then happy, just like us.

  “Now, why didn’t you tell me about your adventures, Isabel?” my mother asked. I suddenly felt ashamed. She had shared the secret of the papel picado with me, and I had been keeping all of these secrets from her just because I didn’t want to get in trouble.

  “We didn’t want to worry you, Esperanza,” Uncle Hector jumped in. “There was so much going on with the quince—we didn’t want
to tire you out.”

  Dad opened his mouth to speak, but Mom held up a hand to silence him. “Please. I will speak for myself. Listen to me now, all of you. Everyone loves to tell me how strong I am, and then at the very same time, treat me like I am some delicate, breakable object—like your glass eagle!” She paused. “I am no glass eagle. I am just me. A person with MS. A daughter, a sister, a wife, and especially a mother. And when something is going on with my children, I want to know. It’s a mother’s job to know.” She smiled at me. “Deal?”

  “Deal!” Everyone shouted.

  “We never meant to offend you, Esperanza,” Uncle Hector apologized. “It’s only because we care about you.”

  “I know. And I thank you for your care. But I like caring for others too.” I snuggled in next to my mom and looked around the room at my family and my new friends, Mr. Guerrero and Xochitl. Now that everybody knew everything, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders…the weight of a giant glass eagle!

  “Come,” said Mr. Guerrero, standing up and stretching his long legs. “This has been a day of many secrets. But I think the best secret of all will be what’s hiding in the cave by your tinaja.”

  “We’ll show you!” I said, springing up and grabbing Ricardo by the arm. “Let’s go!”

  To: 4kicks, flikchic, Kgirl, Skywriter

  Subject: HOWDY!

  Hola, amigas! I’ve been deep in the heart of Texas with no access to the REAL (?) world for days, and it’s been WILD! I’ve been trying to get in touch with you guys 4-ever (really!), but it’ll take a SUPER SLEEPOVER to fill you in on everything.

  The quince was incredible, awesome, and amazing. The ranch setting made it feel like a movie! Maeve—you would have demanded a cowgirl outfit. My cousins showed us a great time and everything went better than planned. So much to say, more on that later. IT WAS A BLAST!! Ave, your bro saved the day. You have to ask him about the cake he made!

  Something really crazy happened to me, long story, but here goes: My cousin Ricardo and I went horseback riding after dark (sounds nuts/it was) and we got stranded in a storm. Hid out in a cave and almost died of thirst (not really). We killed time by exploring and found an amazing thing: PICTOGRAPHS BY AN ANCIENT CULTURE. Yes, yours truly stumbled on a perfectly preserved site with rock art and artifacts. I made sketches, took a photo. A friend’s father (famous artist!) brought over some scientists and they’re talking MAJOR DISCOVERY. I am so excited to finally be telling you this that I can hardly type! Can’t you see the headlines now? “Girl from Boston Makes Major Art Discovery (with the Help of Her Cousin).”

  Yesterday Mr. G (artist), his daughter (cool kid with a cool name—Xochitl), my uncle, my coz, and a couple of art historians checked out the place again, and they confirmed it. Nobody’s ever seen anything like this so close to San Antonio—it could cause a debate about the current thinking on these people (Lower Pecos River People). OMG, I was scared out of my skin for a while in the cave. And Quince-zilla almost annihilated me! (That’s another story.)

  And then there was the crazy thing that happened to me that was NOT so fun. Okay, you’re not going to believe this, but my cousins have this really incredible art collection (including a Diego Rivera—husband of Frida!) and…I sorta kinda broke one of the pieces! It was this beauuuuutiful glass eagle. And OF COURSE the artist was the same guy I already mentioned! Double trouble. Ricardo was there when it happened and we tried not telling anybody for a while, but eventually the secret got out. Last time I ever try keeping something like that a secret. BSG lesson: when u mess up, u gotta ’fess up. Right away.

  BSG—when we’re ready for ranching and roping and riding and eating the best Mexican food, my aunt says Y’ALL COME ON DOWN. Someday maybe we will. In the meantime, hang on to your spurs cuz when I get home I will have one heck of a horse tale to tell! Hasta mañana, muchachas! Lots o’ luv, Lafrida.

  And Avery, I think Elena Maria and Scott…well, they might be in love. They are holding hands right now by the pool.

  To be continued…

  Isabel’s Texas Two-Step

  BOOK EXTRAS

  Trivialicious Trivia

  Book Club Buzz

  Texas Trivia

  A Dilly of a ’Dillo

  Isabel’s Spanish-English Dictionary

  Isabel’s Texas Two-Step trivialicious trivia

  What happens to Aunt Inez’s eagle statue? A. It comes to life.

  B. Mercedes steals it.

  C. Isabel and Ricardo break the tip of its wing.

  D. Nothing

  What is the name of the art gallery where Isabel meets Xochitl? A. The Mauve Squirrel

  B. The Blue Turtle

  C. The Green Flamingo

  D. The Red Cat

  What does the rooster’s name mean in English? A. Friendly

  B. Funky

  C. Fluffy

  D. Freckles

  What has Mrs. Martinez been making for Elena Maria’s quinceañera? A. Cookies

  B. Party hats

  C. Origami animals

  D. Photo frames

  What kind of instrument does Ricardo play? A. Drums

  B. Accordion

  C. Clarinet

  D. Maracas

  What is the name of Ricardo’s horse? A. Silver

  B. Rasquatch

  C. Trigger

  D. Hidalgo

  What do Ricardo and Isabel find in the cave? A. A family of armadillos

  B. A secret tunnel

  C. Buried treasure

  D. Painted pictographs

  How did Isabel’s parents meet? A. At a dance

  B. In a class at school

  C. In a coffee shop

  D. At a science-fiction convention

  How does Scott save Elena Maria’s quinceañera? A. He sings for her when the band quits.

  B. He bakes the cake after the cooks quit.

  C. He fixes her dress after it rips.

  D. He builds a platform for her to stand on.

  What does Elena Maria give to Isabel? A. Her last doll

  B. A Frida Kahlo painting

  C. Her old shoes

  D. Flowers

  ANSWERS: 1. C. Isabel and Ricardo break the tip of its wing. 2. B. The Blue Turtle 3. D. Freckles 4. C. Origami animals 5. B. Accordion 6. B. Rasquatch 7. D. Painted pictographs 8. A. At a dance 9. B. He bakes the cake after the cooks quit. 10. A. Her last doll

  10 QUESTIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS TO CHAT ABOUT

  The quinceañera is a birthday tradition in Mexican culture. Does your culture have any birthday traditions? Does your family have any special birthday traditions?

  Isabel and Ricardo admit to breaking the eagle statue because they are afraid that Mercedes will get in trouble for it. Have you ever been in a situation where you could have let someone else take the blame for your actions? What did you do? If you’ve never been in a situation like that, what would you do if you were?

  Isabel gets upset when Elena Maria and her friends ignore her or make fun of her. If you have siblings, what do you do when they are with their friends and you are feeling excluded?

  No one in Isabel’s family knew that her mother could make origami and papel picado until she revealed it at Elena Maria’s quinceañera. Do you have any hidden talents?

  Ricardo and Isabel get into big trouble when they leave the party without telling anyone. If you were in Isabel’s place, would you have left the party with Ricardo? Why or why not?

  Even though Isabel’s mother suffers from multiple sclerosis, it’s important to her to take an active role in planning for her daughter’s big party. Do you know anyone with a serious illness? How do they cope with it? If it affects you, how do you cope with it?

  Ricardo plays the accordion because of its role in conjunto music, which is an important part of his Mexican heritage. Do you play any instruments? How are they significant to you or your heritage?

  Isabel admires artists like Frida Kahlo and Cesar Guerrero. Who do you admire and why?<
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  Aunt Inez took complete control over Elena Maria’s quinceañera, even though she’s only Elena Maria’s aunt. What would you have done? Have you ever had to deal with a control freak? How did you deal?

  When Ricardo and Isabel find the paintings in the cave, they don’t tell anyone right away. Do you think this was the right thing to do? What would you have done?

  Texas Trivia

  An Ancient People

  The Coahuiltecans were actually a large group made up of many different Native American tribes, all of whom inhabited Texas and parts of northern Mexico. The name “Coahuilteca” was based on the name of the area of Mexico, called Coahuila, that many of the tribes lived in.

  On the Move

  The Coahuiltecans were nomadic, meaning that they traveled from place to place in search of food. As hunter-gatherers, they hunted for animals and gathered wild plants to eat as they moved. Only men hunted for deer, but both men and women fished. To catch fish they would use nets, bows and arrows, or just their hands!

  Mission: Alamo

  The Alamo, originally called the Mission San Antonio de Valero, was built in 1722. Before it was used as a military fort, it functioned as a church. Today, the Alamo is a museum, and a group called the Daughters of the Republic of Texas is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep.

  A Royal History

  The city of San Antonio started out as a small settlement called the Royal Presidio of San Antonio de Béjar (try saying that three times fast!). It was established in 1718, and was originally designed to defend the Mission San Antonio de Valero—aka, the Alamo.