Free How Tía Lola Saved the Summer by Julia Álvarez Page A

they drive off, Victoria could swear that Linda calls out, “Have a lovely time with Ow—I mean, Miguel.”

    Throughout this parting scene, Miguel looks on grimly. He dislikes being cast in the role of wounded athlete needing care. He doesn’t need care. He needs his ankle back in shape so he can play baseball this Saturday.
    What’s making Miguel feel even more desperate is that Papi called yesterday to announce that he and Carmen, Abuelito, and Abuelita are all coming this weekend to watch his first big game. Miguel was still counting on his miracle, so he didn’t mention his injury. Amazingly, neither did Juanita, who has to be the world’s biggest blabbermouth. But then, his little sister was acting super-weird,going around hugging people and telling them how much she loved them.
    As for Mami, she was too busy to talk long with Papi. She did say she’d make them all a reservation at the B&B down the road. Papi must have asked if there was any way they could all stay together at the house like last time. Of course that would have been fine, but Mami explained how right now all the bedrooms were occupied, as Víctor was up visiting with his girls. This really surprised Papi, as Mami later recounted, which Miguel doesn’t understand, since Carmen and Víctor work in the same law practice. Plus, they’re friends. Surely, he must have mentioned coming to Vermont. But maybe not. The more Miguel knows of grown-ups, the weirder they seem. Only his little sister is weirder, but at least she doesn’t get to boss him around.
    But none of these plans will matter if his ankle hasn’t healed. Papi will probably cancel his trip altogether. Maybe on account of hanging out so much with Víctor, Miguel wants to feel that Papi will always be his father, no matter what happens between Víctor and Mami.
    “What am I going to do, Tía Lola?” he asks his aunt once the Fort Ticonderoga contingent has left.
    “Remember how with patience and calm, even a donkey can climb a palm tree!” A favorite saying of hers. “It’s just going to take a little more time for your ankle to heal, just as it’s going to take a little more time for you to grow taller. These things will come, I promise.”
    But Miguel’s patience is wearing thin. Good thing TíaLola invites Dean and his brother, Owen, to come over for lunch before practice, because that takes Miguel’s mind off the thought that some donkeys who try to climb up palm trees probably don’t succeed.

    It is a lovely day for Victoria.
    The only part she feels bad about is that she didn’t just tell her father the truth. Papa, she should have said, I want some time to myself; I want to get to know this nice boy; I want to do fun things on my own without always having to include my younger sisters. It’s such a relief to talk to Tía Lola. She listens and doesn’t make Victoria feel like a selfish brat. It’s a little like having her mother back. But even saying that much might make Papa sad.
    “Next time you will tell him more of the truth,” Tía Lola reassures Victoria as they prepare lunch together. “You’re taking little baby steps, and like Miguel with his ankle, you have to be patient.” Tía Lola is like a life coach! “ Hay que darle tiempo al tiempo. You know that expression?”
    Victoria winces as if she were Miguel stepping on his bad foot. “My mother used to say that,” she explains in a pained voice. “ ‘You have to give time to time.’ ” And just like that, Victoria is sobbing in Tía Lola’s arms. It’s a good thing that Owen and Dean and Miguel are out in the living room, watching some game on ESPN. “I’m sorry,” Victoria keeps saying, but Tía Lola tells her there is nothingat all to be sorry about. She understands how hard it is for Victoria to be growing up without her mother.
    Before joining the boys, Victoria washes her face. “Do I look like I’ve been crying?”
    “Yes, you do. And it makes your brown eyes shinier and your face