Free A Formal Affair by Veronica Chambers Page B

girlfriend.”
    Girlfriend? Domingo’s girlfriend ? Carmen stared at the pretty young woman in disbelief. Please , Carmen implored silently, someone put me out of my misery .
    â€œNext in line!” The pimply-faced boy behind the counter was gesturing impatiently at Carmen and her mother. Saved, Carmen thought as she walked forward to the counter.
    â€œSee you later, D.,” she said over her shoulder, abbreviating his name in a way that she hoped sounded casual and so over it. Then, just to prove she was mature, she added, “Nice to meet you, Ashley.”
    â€œWhat would you like?” the attendant asked. And because she was fairly certain that I would like my boyfriend back was not the right answer, Carmen stood silently as her mother ordered a small popcorn, a Diet Coke, and a pack of Mike and Ike candy.
    While Carmen wasn’t the only girl turning on the waterworks during I Love You, Too, Puppy , she was pretty sure that she was the only one crying so hard that her mother had to get up, go to the bathroom, and return with an entire roll of toilet paper to mop up her tears. At one point, it got so bad that her mother actually told her to be quiet. But there was nothing Carmen could do. She was a wreck. And after a while, her mother simply took her hand and held it, the only comfort she could give in the quiet theater.
    Of course Domingo had a girlfriend. That’s what college was all about, Carmen thought between sobs.
    Then she thought: Why don’t I have a boyfriend? It’s Saturday night, and I’m at the movies with my mom. If that’s not the definition of being a big loser, I do not know what is.
    When she felt as if she’d examined her pathetic, dateless existence as much as humanly possible, Carmen’s thoughts turned back to Domingo’s girlfriend. She was petite. Five foot one, at most. And she had one of those curvy Barbie-doll figures that Carmen had always envied. Domingo’s girlfriend was a curvy Barbie munchkin. Was that why Carmen and he had broken up? Was she—Carmen—too tall? Too bony? Did Domingo have a thing for Barbie munchkins that she’d never known about?
    It was all too sad for words. By the end of the movie, when the couple on the screen had a wedding with their puppies standing in as best man and maid of honor, Carmen was a sniveling, red-faced mess. I’ll be alone for the rest of my life , she thought as she sobbed.
    Domingo didn’t even look as if he missed her. When she had first gone back to school and told everyone that she was fine about the breakup—after all, she had initiated it—she’d been lying. Of course she missed him a little bit. They’d dated for over a year. That meant something to her. Clearly—it was all so clear to her now—it had meant nothing to him.
    â€œI’m so sorry, niña ,” her mother whispered as they walked out of the theater. “Let’s take the south exit; it leads directly to the parking lot. We’ll go right home.”
    Clutching the roll of toilet paper as if she were a five-year-old kid hanging on to her blankie, Carmen sniffed and docilely followed her mother.
    And then, the evening that she thought couldn’t get any worse got much, much worse.
    In front of her very red, very swollen eyes, she saw Gaz, Alicia, Jamie, and Dash stumble out of another theater in the triplex. They were all so into each other and laughing so hard they didn’t even notice Carmen at first. She stared at them, furious that they’d lied to her, and even more heartbroken than she had been just a moment before.
    Just then, they saw her. Sheepishly, they walked over.
    â€œHey, Carmen, how’s it going?” Gaz asked, giving her and her mom quick hugs.
    Looking guilty and miserable, Alicia mumbled, “My parents’ dinner finished early, so…”
    Jamie, also looking as if she’d been caught in a lie, fumbled for an excuse. “We