How Tía Lola Ended Up Starting Over (6 page)

Juanita already feels a lot better about this revised plan. But what about Ming? “She’ll be so disappointed.”

“I’m sure Ming is having second thoughts, too,” Tía Lola guesses. “I think it’s just that she misses you so much, she’ll do anything to get to see you.”

Juanita misses Ming, too, but she doesn’t want to have to run away to New York to get to see her. It’d be so fun if Ming came here instead, and they ran away together to Tía Lola’s B&B. But Ming’s parents have never accepted Mami’s invitation to visit. “It’s like Vermont is mainland China,” Mami has remarked to Juanita.

“So, what’re we going to tell Mami?” As strict as her mother is being, Juanita would not want to worry her.

“You’re thinking very responsibly, like an eleven- or twelve-year-old.” Tía Lola is impressed. “Let’s see. Most runaways leave a note behind. So you can write your
mami
and tell her where you’ll be and how she can reach you. It’s also a good idea to include when you might be back. Just so nobody moves into your room.”

Juanita sits up, alarmed. “No one is moving in here!” Just because she is running away, she’s not giving up her room.

“I know,” Tía Lola agrees. “But that’s why it’s important to write a note.” Her aunt pushes back the hair from her little niece’s face and plants a kiss on her forehead. It occurs to Juanita that if she runs away, she won’t be getting this special kiss every night.

“Can’t you run away with me, Tía Lola?” Juanita
knows she sounds like a big baby, but running away won’t be half as much fun if her aunt doesn’t come along.

“Remember, I have to be here with your brother,” Tía Lola reminds Juanita, whose face falls. “But after your
mami
gets home, I could ride my bike into town and spend the night with you. After all, you’ll be the first runaway ever at my B&B. I wouldn’t want you to get homesick and have to come right back.”

No way! Juanita should be able to run away from home now that she is ten.

Juanita never realized that running away took so much planning. Which one of her stuffed animals will she bring along? Which favorite book? What outfits will she wear during her time away? And all of these supplies have to fit in her backpack along with her schoolbooks. The plan is for Juanita to get off the bus with Essie and Cari instead of riding it all the way out to their farmhouse after school.

Meanwhile, Mami seems to be improving. Along with emphasizing the responsibilities of being ten, Mami is also allowing Juanita some privileges: like letting her stay up a little later or watch certain movies with adult topics, like dating or murdering; or even permitting her to wear a lip gloss she got as a birthday present that has a little color in it.

But once you’re caught up in an interesting plan, it’s hard to abandon it. Besides, it’ll be fun to stay at Tía Lola’s B&B as a guest. It turns out that Juanita can have
any
guest room she wants. Then, on Friday, she will have to move upstairs with Essie. It’s parents’ weekend at the college, and all the rooms are filled.

Wednesday morning, Juanita leaves her runaway note taped to her bedroom door:

That afternoon, Juanita gets off the bus with Essie and Cari. “Hey, Nita!” Miguel calls out. “This isn’t our stop.”

“I’m running away,” Juanita says breezily over her shoulder. It takes all her self-control not to turn around to watch the shock on her big brother’s face.

Juanita follows the Swords into the house. Colonel
Charlebois is snoring away in the front parlor, Valentino asleep at his feet. “We have to be quiet,” Essie says, like Juanita is a dumb five-year-old who can’t figure this out. It turns out that Victoria won’t be back from middle school until a little later. Meanwhile, Víctor is at the college; some part-time coaching has opened up. But he has left his own note posted on the refrigerator.

Essie rolls her eyes as she reads it out loud: “ ‘Hi, girls. Welcome home. After a snack, please begin your homework.’ ”

Juanita can’t believe that even as a runaway, she’s going to be reminded to do her homework!

“But I’m in kindergarten. We don’t get any homework.” Cari pouts like she’s being left out of something fun.

“You’re
complaining
that you don’t have homework?” Essie looks at her little sister like she’d be too dumb to do homework even if she had some. Then, just like that, Essie tosses the note into the trash can.

“You’re not supposed to do that!” Cari heads toward the trash can, but Essie blocks her way. “Victoria hasn’t read it!”

“Oh, grow up, Cari! We can tell her what it says. Right, Juanita?”

Juanita doesn’t know what to say. She kind of agrees with Cari that you shouldn’t throw out a parent’s note until your older sister, who is responsible for taking care of you, reads it. But Juanita wants to be part of the grown-up world that Essie is including her in.

“Let’s go pick out your bedroom.” Essie has grabbed a bunch of cookies and is bounding up the stairs, making a
lot of noise for someone who is trying to be quiet so as not to wake up the colonel.

Upstairs, Juanita goes into a tizzy of indecision over which room to pick. Her favorite is the bridal bedroom. But Essie keeps saying she’s going to throw up if she stands in it one minute longer. The tropical jungle room is so much like her own room, Juanita would be throwing away a rare opportunity to sleep somewhere different if she chooses it. As for the baseball room, whose glories Essie keeps pitching, it’d be like sleeping in Miguel’s room.

Just then Victoria gets home and comes upstairs in search of her sisters. “Where’s Papa?” she wants to know. “Didn’t he leave a note?” That launches Cari into how Essie threw the note away and wouldn’t let her retrieve it from the trash can. Victoria gets all stern and tells Essie that she knows she’s not supposed to do that. Soon they are having an argument, just like the ones Juanita and Miguel have. But it’s really boring to watch a silly argument when you are not involved in it yourself.

Juanita slips away downstairs, tiptoes past the parlor, sits down quietly at the kitchen table, and begins her homework.

By suppertime, Tía Lola has joined them. Víctor has some good news to share. It’s not yet a hundred percent for sure, but it looks like his part-time coaching job at the college might become full-time.

The Swords cheer. Papa might soon have both a job and a B&B to run! Maybe they won’t be starving after all.

“So, are you gonna tell Linda you don’t want to be a
lawyer anymore?” Essie is talking with her mouth full, but her father is too excited to notice.

“Soon as I have the offer in writing.” Papa might not want to be a lawyer, but he still thinks like one, worrying about written proof and stuff. “In fact, I’ll be enlisting your help in broadcasting the news.”

“What’s broadcasting?” Cari wants to know.

“Broadcast is like when you sow seeds.” Her father makes a gesture. “Throwing something out there for everyone to see and know.”

“Throwing something out,” of course, reminds Cari of what Essie did to Papa’s note. This is too tempting an opportunity to pass up. Cari blabs. Another argument. This is getting old, Juanita is thinking.

While the Swords argue, Tía Lola and Juanita go upstairs to resolve the sleeping arrangements. Juanita still hasn’t decided which room to pick. What does Tía Lola think?

“Let’s see. You’ve got your own tropical room, and your brother’s room is a lot like the baseball room. So, really, the most
adventurous
choice would have to be the bridal bedroom.” Surely Essie can’t look down on that. Adventure would be Essie’s middle name if she had one.

“Tía Lola, I’m so glad you’ve come,” Juanita admits, stopping just short of saying that she wishes she were back home in her own bedroom. After making such a big deal about running away, she has to hold out, at least for one night.

At bedtime, Víctor stops by to wish her good night. He apologizes for his daughters’ arguing. “Sometimes they
can be a pain in the
fundillo
, you know?” Juanita has to agree that the Swords can be a pain in the butt sometimes. “But they’re good kids. They’ll settle down once they get used to Vermont. Meanwhile, I want to thank you, Juanita. You’ve been such a help, not to mention a great example.”

Juanita’s heart swells with pride. Maybe, even if Víctor and Mami end up marrying, Juanita will feel like she does right this moment: loved and appreciated for herself alone. Just this feeling is worth having run away from home for.

On Friday afternoon, all the children get off the bus in town, including Miguel. Parked in front of Tía Lola’s B&B are several cars with out-of-state plates, including a car with New York plates. If only it were Papi’s rental car and Juanita had her whole birthday weekend to do all over again!

She takes a deep breath. It’s autumn. The air smells like wood fires and minty evergreens. Juanita feels a sudden rush of happiness. Yes, even with her parents divorcing and having to move away from friends like Ming, Juanita is so lucky to be ten and living in a beautiful place with so many new friends and Tía Lola to help with the difficult parts now and then.

Entering through the kitchen door, Juanita hears a familiar voice she can’t quite place. Could it be? It’s only when she hears the adult voices with their Chinese accents that she is sure! “Ming!” she screams. And then she is running toward the front parlor just as her friend is running into the hallway, screaming back, “Juanita!”