“Howdy, little ladies.”

“Howdy, John Wayne,” we say.

Teresita whistles. “Looking pretty sharp in those boots, John Wayne.”

“They’re Tony Lamas,” John Wayne says. “Roman bought them for me.” My stomach feels queasy, thinking of the other day with Roman.

“That Roman is a pretty cool guy,” Teresita says, winking and poking me in the ribs.

I don’t want to talk about Roman, so I ask, “How is your mom?”

Teresita grows serious. “She’s okay. She wants me to live with her when she’s finished with her therapy.”

My throat tightens. “In Barrigada?”

“No, here in Malesso. She still owns her house here.”

My shoulders drop back in place. I couldn’t bear to have another person leave my life.

Consequences

After I feed Olivia supper, I wait for Tata and Roman to return from fishing, but when Tata reaches the cabana with his nets in hand, he’s alone.

“Where’s Roman?” I ask.

“He didn’t show up today. He hasn’t fished with me the last few days.”

I decide facing Roman is better than the misery I’m feeling. I head to his house. Why do words fall so easily from my mouth but are so hard to take back?

Roman is weeding his mother’s flower bed when I walk up.

“How do you know which ones are weeds?” I ask.

“Whichever ones my mother says are.” He looks up at me and waits, grinning. Does he know why I’m here?

“Roman, I’m sorry about the other day.” I swallow. “I’m just worried about Frank.”

He brushes the dirt from his hands and stands. “I know, Isabel. No problem.”

A warm feeling rolls over my body like an ocean wave covering the coral reef. He is still smiling with that crooked mouth and it grows cuter by the second.

“I mean if you want to go fishing with Tata, it’s okay. I mean … I think you should.”

He nods and says, “Isabel, you’re smiling. Isabel Moreno remembered how to smile.”

Empty

Tonight in bed, I touch my lips. They betrayed me twice today. Once in Ed’s office and once in front of Roman. I don’t want to smile when my brother is in the hospital. I don’t want to feel happy, even for one minute, not until Frank is home.

I lie awake and wait for Olivia’s nightmare, but one o’clock comes and goes. I walk through the house, stopping by Frank’s room. The wall is immaculate. The mattress has been replaced.

My father is asleep on the floor and even though there’s a chill in the house, I don’t bother to cover him.

Puppet Show

Morning arrives and I realize that Olivia didn’t have a nightmare last night. I slide my hand between the sheets, but they’re dry.

At breakfast I ask Olivia what she and Ed talked about yesterday.

“We played puppets. Ed pretended the cat puppet was Mommy. And I got to be me, but I was a duck. I told Mommy I missed her.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. And Mommy said she loved me. She hugged me and she said she missed me, too.” Olivia drinks the rest of her chocolate milk, then wipes off her wet mustache with the back of her hand.