Free Friends with Benefits by Melody Mayer Page B

let Possum handle the paperwork while he joined Esme back in the ambulance.
    â€œHow is she?” Esme asked.
    â€œIf it’s a girl she’s naming her Jessica,” he reported. “Her boyfriend says he loves Jessica Simpson, that she’s the most beautiful girl in the world.”
    â€œThat’s why Esmeralda bleached her hair blond, I bet,” Esme said bitterly. “To look more like Jessica.”
    â€œAin’t nothing wrong with trying to please your man.”
    Esme lifted her heavy hair off her neck; it was a hot night. “Too bad she can’t bleach her skin for him too, eh?”
    Junior’s dark eyes fixed on her. “Why you come out with me tonight?”
    Esme shrugged. “I thought it would be fun. We never get to see each other anymore.”
    He reached for the bottle of water that he always kept under his seat, uncapped it, and took a long drink. “Everything’s different now. You know that.”
    â€œI’m so sick of that, you say it every time you speak to me,” she replied crossly.
    He held the water bottle out to her; she shook her head. “So maybe you don’t want me to speak to you, eh? If that’s it, Esme, you just gotta say the word.”
    She threw her head back against the hot headrest. “Stop putting words in my mouth.”
    â€œThen stop acting like a little bitch,” he shot back. “You want to be with me, you treat me with respect,
chica.
”
    She didn’t reply. He was right. She was treating him horribly, all because of her own guilt.
    â€œLo siento, tengo la culpa.
It’s my fault. I’m just tired,” she fibbed, then leaned over and kissed him. “Mrs. Goldhagen is making me insane with all the plans for this big fancy party she’s giving on the
Queen Mary.
”
    â€œYou going?” Junior asked. His tone was offhand, but Esme knew him; it was not an offhand question.
    â€œI gotta go. I have to take the girls.”
    Possum lumbered out of the emergency exit and climbed back into the driver’s seat. “Chow time,
esa.
” He pulled the ambulance away from the hospital and headed down Marengo toward a taco stand at the corner of Daly and Alhambra where he and Junior always ate in the middle of a shift.
    Junior looked straight ahead, as if Esme wasn’t even there. She couldn’t figure out what was going on with him. He couldn’t possibly have wanted her to invite him to the FAB party? No, that made no sense. This was Junior. He wanted nothing to do with that world—he didn’t fit in there and never would. He knew who he was and wouldn’t try to pretend different. She loved and respected that about him.
    â€œI’m just the hired help,” she added aloud to him, as if he had challenged her.
    His glance at her was cryptic. It was almost as if he could see inside her mind, to the images of a smiling, rich gringo boy who sent shivers down her spine.
    Damn Jonathan, anyway.

9
    TODAY’S SCHEDULE FOR MARTINA AND JIMMY
    (Lydia—do not adjust schedule without checking with me— Anya)
    6:30—Wake children. Shower, dress. Apply SPF 30 sunblock to all exposed skin.
    6:45—Power walk around property. Make sure children wear proper shoes.
    7:00—Breakfast. Soy granola, banana for Jimmy, berries for Martina, soy milk.
    7:30—Read front section of Los Angeles Times. Quiz children on current events.
    8:30—Math on computer. Please supervise.
    10:30—LEAP Center in Northridge. Do not be late.
    12:00—Lunch at Center. No sweets, fried food, or milk
products. See Martina’s menu.
    12:30—Socializing. Please supervise. See separate schedule.
    2:30—Tennis lesson for Jimmy, aerobic dance for Martina.
Make sure she does full hour, no slacking off.
    Lydia pulled the neatly typed schedule off the bulletin board just outside the moms’ kitchen and shook her head, then shoved it into the back pocket of her