How Tía Lola Ended Up Starting Over Read Online Free PDF Page A

guinea-pig guests arrived shortly thereafter and had to be settled in. At long last, everybody is taking a short rest before setting out for the dinner special that Rudy is offering at his café to all of Tía Lola’s guests.
    Tía Lola gazes down at the envelope in her hand. It is addressed, “To Tía Lola’s B&B.” How did the woman even know that Tía Lola’s B&B was in the works? There is no sign up front. There has been no notice in the paper. In fact, only two people in town know of the B&B plan: Rudy, of course, as they had to tell him in order to arrange the dinner special for their guests; and Stargazer, who helped out with some of the decorating, including ordering things like the dangling doves, the Big Papi cutout, the parrot lamp that sits on the bedside table between the two beds in Abuelito and Abuelita’s room.
    So how did Mrs. Beauregard find out about Tía Lola’s B&B? Only one way that Tía Lola can figure out. Her little niece Juanita finds it extremely hard to keep a secret. Just yesterday, Juanita mentioned the visit she had with Mrs. Beauregard’s daughter, who actually bought three boxes of the chocolate mints Juanita was selling to help pay for her class’s field trips this year. The teenage daughter was in the backyard raking leaves and waved her over. She seemed so lonely. What was really weird is that she asked Juanita not to mention the purchase to her mother, if Juanita happened to run into her.
    Juanita would not want to hurt the daughter’s feelings, but if she ever saw Mrs. Beauregard coming toward her,sorry, but Juanita would run
away
from her. In fact, the only reason Juanita even stepped foot on the property was because she’d already seen Mrs. Beauregard pulling out of her driveway in her big black Buick.
    Tía Lola opens the envelope and unfolds the letter. Of course, it is written in English, but Tía Lola can tell that Mrs. Beauregard is very upset: the handwriting looks like slashes on the page. Something something about “a foreigner opening a B&B.” Then something something about “decent Americans being prevented from earning a living because of people like you.” On and on and on. Toward the end of the letter, Tía Lola can pick out the words “report” and “authorities.” Mrs. Beauregard is threatening to report Tía Lola to the authorities? But what has Tía Lola done wrong that she should get in trouble for?
    Tía Lola considers taking the letter to the children or to Víctor to translate. But why ruin this guinea-pig weekend with unpleasant news? A nice dinner awaits them at Amigos Café, and then tomorrow, Juanita’s birthday. Mami and Tía Lola have planned a party out at the farmhouse. All week, Víctor and the colonel and the children have been so happy. Tía Lola folds the letter back in the envelope and puts the envelope in her pocket.

    Dinner at Amigos Café is not only delicious, but homey, like a meal at a friend’s house, including as many helpings as you want at no extra charge.
    Everyone lingers over dessert, even Abuelito and Abuelita, who are usually in bed by now.
    As the talk starts winding down, Tía Lola slips out ofthe restaurant and walks down the street to the colonel’s house. She wants to be sure to turn on the outdoor lights so her guests don’t trip on the cracks in the sidewalk or crash into the prickly holly bush on their way back. She’ll also pull down the shades in each bedroom and fold back the blankets, just like in fancy hotels. On each pillow, she will place a little surprise: a candied guinea pig she made earlier today—an inside joke the children will appreciate.
    To Tía Lola’s astonishment, the front door and—when she checks—the back door are locked! All the windows are secure. What is going on? Tía Lola is sure she left the front door unlocked, as they were just going down the block to Amigos Café. Nobody in Bridgeport ever locks up their house, unless they are going to be away for a long time, like the