See Me(10)

“But he wasn’t the least bit violent toward you – you said he didn’t even go near you at first. And then he let you borrow his phone. And after that, he changed your tire and then got back in his car and drove away.”

“You’re missing the point.”

“What point? That you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover?”

“I’m being serious here!”

Serena laughed. “Wow, someone’s touchy. And you know I’m just teasing you. If it was me out there, I probably would have peed my pants. Broken car, deserted road, no phone, blood on some stranger’s face… it’s like every girl’s worst nightmare.”

“Exactly.”

“Did you ever find your phone?”

“It’s at the office. Probably still on my desk.”

“You mean it’s been there since Friday? And you didn’t realize you didn’t have it until Saturday night?”

“So?”

“I guess not too many people call you, huh?”

“Ha, ha.”

Serena shook her head, then reached for her phone. “I can’t live without mine, just so you know.” She snapped a quick photo of Maria.

“What’s that for?”

“Instagram.”

“Seriously?”

Serena was already tapping away. “Don’t worry. It’ll be funny,” she added before presenting the image and caption. “Maria, after surviving Nightmare on Dark Street.”

“You’re not going to post that, are you?”

“Already did.” Serena winked.

“You’ve got to stop posting about me. I’m serious. What if one of my clients finds it?”

“Then blame me.” She shrugged. “Where’s Dad, by the way?”

“He’s still walking Copo,” she said. Copo was a female, nearly all-white shih tzu. After Serena had moved to the dorms, she and Maria had returned home one Christmas to find that their parents had purchased a dog. Now Copo went practically everywhere with them: to the restaurant – where she had her own bed in the office – to the supermarket, even to the accountant. Copo was far more spoiled than either of the girls had ever been.

“I still can’t get over it,” Serena muttered. “They love that dog.”

“Ya think?”

“Did you notice the rhinestone collar Mom bought? I almost gagged.”

“Be nice.”

“I am being nice!” Serena said. “I just never pictured them owning a dog in the first place. We never had one growing up, and I begged them for one for years. I even promised to take care of it.”

“That’s because they knew you wouldn’t.”

“I might not have skipped a grade and gone to college when I was seventeen like you, but I’m pretty sure I could have handled a dog. And I’ll have you know that I’m in the running for the Charles Alexander Scholarship next year.”

“Mmm, right.” Maria raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I’m serious. It’s for bilingual education majors. I filled out the application, wrote an essay, got recommendations from two of my professors and everything. It’s sponsored by a private foundation, and I have an interview with the chairman next Saturday. So there.” She crossed her arms.

“Wow. That’s great.”

“Don’t tell Dad, though. I want to surprise him.”

“He’d be thrilled if you won.”

“I know, right? Just think how many more collars they’d be able to buy Copo if he didn’t have to pay tuition.”

Maria laughed. Inside, they could hear their mother humming to herself in the kitchen, the smell of huevos rancheros drifting through the open window.

“But anyway,” Serena went on, “back to last night. Why were you out so late? That’s way past your normal bedtime.”

Maria scowled at her sister before figuring that she might as well get it over with. “Actually, I was on a date.”

“No way.”

“What’s the big deal?”

“Nothing. I just thought that you’d made the decision to be celibate.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Hello? Did you forget who I was talking to?”

“I go out.”

“You might paddleboard, but you don’t go out at night. Instead, you work. You read. You watch bad TV. You don’t even go dancing anymore, and you used to love that. And I tried to get you to come to that warehouse with me, remember? With the salsa dancing on Saturday nights?”

“As I recall, you said there were a lot of creepy guys there.”

“But I also had a lot of fun. And unlike you, I’m terrible at dancing.”

“Not all of us are in college, you know, with classes that start at noon and Fridays off. Some of us have responsibilities.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Serena said, waving it off. “I take it you didn’t get lucky?”

Maria peeked over her shoulder toward the partially open window, making sure her mother wasn’t listening.

Serena rolled her eyes. “You’re an adult, you know. You don’t have to hide your social life from Mom and Dad anymore.”