I drop my phone into my crossbody and slip back into my shoes by the door. “Ready?”

“Sure! Can’t wait!” Melissa says.

Oddly enough, there’s no sign of the tears she shed literally a minute ago. Whatever. The tias will know what to do with her.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Solange

“Melissa, this is my mother, Izabel, and her two sisters, Viviane and Mariana. Mãe. Tias. This is Melissa, Dean’s mother. She’s visiting from Delaware.”

My mother and aunts widen their eyes, then nod in understanding.

“Nice to meet everyone,” Melissa says cheerfully. She surveys Rio de Wheaton’s aisles and adds, “This place is wonderful. Cozy and charming. And it smells so good in here.”

“Would you like to try something?” Tia Mariana asks, taking on the hostess role as usual. “A cafezinho to start, maybe?”

“That would be wonderful,” Melissa says.

I’m glad I brought her here. Staying cooped up in Dean’s apartment all day couldn’t have been good for her mood. She needs to be around people. Having fun. Forgetting what’s-his-name.

After Melissa and Tia Mariana drift off together toward the counter, Tia Viviane nudges me in the direction of the small café section on the left side of the store.

A lone man sits at a table watching futebol, his eyes drooping and occasionally widening as he struggles to stay awake.

Tia Viviane kicks at his chair. “Vá para sua casa. Isso não é um hotel.”

The man rises to his feet and stumbles out the door, sufficiently scolded by my aunt for using the store as his motel room.

“Okay,” Tia Viviane says, her lips barely moving so Melissa can’t overhear. “What’s going on? Why is she here?”

“Be nice, all right?” I say. “She just broke up with her boyfriend. I’m trying to cheer her up.”

My mother sidles over and slips into the conversation. “What are we supposed to do about that?”

I shrug. “Not sure, exactly. I just thought she’d appreciate seeing all three of you. Single women. Controlling your own destinies. Prospering. Living well.”

“Not having sex,” Tia Viviane says, her lips curled in disgust.

My mother covers her face with her hands. “Viviane, precisa ser tão vulgar?”

“Sim,” Tia Viviane says without further explanation.

“It’s fine, Mãe. I do know what sex is.”

She gasps, but she’s also holding back a grin.

Tia Viviane raises a brow. “You and Dean are back together, then?”

“There’s no Dean and me,” I say, shaking my head.

My mother tilts her head. “So why are you babysitting his mother?”

Damn, these women are relentless. I sidestep the question. “Look, all I’m asking is that you be yourselves and get to know her. Is that doable?”

Tia Viviane lifts her nose in the air before answering. “I suppose I can do that.”

“Me too,” my mother adds.