Free Love on the Ledge by Zoraida Cordova Page A

hundred TV dinners at Costco. It’s reassuring, really.
    Uncle Tony is at the grill turning burgers and hot dogs while everyone else takes in the last of the day’s rays. He’s wearing Pepe’s men’s beachwear. The neon board shorts don’t really go with the Wall Street vibe he still can’t shake off. That’s how you know it’s True Love.
    “How was your date with Nip/Tuck?” cousin Steve asks. He’s grown a foot since the last time I saw him. As much as I complain about my family, I really do love seeing them all at once. That is, until they start to pick on me.
    I throw my bottle of sunscreen at him. It hits him right in the gut, and he moans and almost rolls off his lounge chair.
    “Leave Sky alone,” Uncle Tony says, using metal tongs to poke a juicy burger.
    I step into the pool and shiver as the cold water envelops me all the way to my waist. I grab onto a purple pool noodle and float over to the deep end where no one else goes. Out of my whole family, I’m the only one who knows how to properly swim, something I have to thank Bradley for.
    I realize there are so many little things that Bradley taught me or showed me while we were together. Things like swimming and learning to like the taste of whiskey and how to tie a proper fisherman’s knot and how to deliver a killer serve. I wonder if I’ll every truly learn to forget him.
    “How long has my mom had Xandro up her sleeve?” I ask, leaning my face towards the delicious sun.
    “You always think the worst of people,” Maria says. “He stopped by to give your mother a message from his mother. Apparently, Xandro just got out of a five-year relationship, and he’s looking .”
    “Well, you can save your money,” I tell my cousins, leveling my eyes at each one of them. “This is one pony you won’t be betting on.”
    Leti and River act all innocent, as if I didn’t see money pass through Leti’s hand. Surely she’s gotten River in on it, which is the last thing that River needs.
    “I say they end up dating by the end of the summer,” Maria says. “You’ve never not been in a relationship, Sky. You’re a serial monogamist. It’s like you have to be with someone or you can’t function.”
    Hearing that come from Maria of all people makes me pretty ticked off. “Considering I spent all my college years away at school, I don’t see how you can know that.”
    She purses her lips and brings her sunglasses down back over her eyes even though the sun is setting.
    “Well, I’ve got my money on someone else ,” Leti says.
    I widen my eyes in her direction. She just can’t help herself when she’s around everyone. My cousins are a mini gossip mill. When our cousin Margie got knocked up it was like a round of telephone that, by the time it got to me, had exploded into a story of how Margie was pregnant with triplets and one of them was Asian.
    “Who?” Yunior asks. “I hope he’s not a doctor, because Nip/Tuck is going to have some serious competition.”
    He screams as the purple pool noodle hits him in the face.
    “You guys need to get your own lives,” I tell them, splashing everyone within distance.
    There’s a chant of “Aww, come back, Sky.”
    But I’m already walking away, my wet feet smacking on the warm blue tiles that create a path back to the house. I grab a half empty bottle of prosecco from the fridge and a plastic cup. That’s how classy I feel. I open the door to my balcony and let in the breeze that announces sunset.
    They’ve got me all wrong. But that’s okay. I’ve decided this summer I might surprise everyone, including myself.
    I turn the lock on my door and set the sand dollar on my bed. I pace back and forth weighing my options. What do I say? I’m not looking for a one-night stand, but I don’t want a relationship either. Sure, that doesn’t sound psychotic at all. After all, the boy just wanted to walk with me on the beach and I turned around and ran away.
    I wish I had Leti’s sweetness, River’s