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

Miguel. You have saved the situation.”
    “No problem, Tía Lola. But I’m just curious. Why’d you lock the house? Are you afraid there’s more burglars in town or something?” It doesn’t seem like Tía Lola to expect the worst of anybody.
    But right now Tía Lola is thinking the worst of a certain person who may very well want her new B&B to fail. But again, Tía Lola does not want to upset her nephew or ruin this weekend for anybody. And in the scheme of things, this really is a harmless prank. What else can go wrong, anyway?
    Besides, now’s not the time to try to solve the B&B lockdown mystery. They’d better hurry inside and get the bedrooms ready. Just this moment, a group of happy people are coming down the street toward the house. Leading the way is Colonel Charlebois, arm in arm with Mami and Víctor. Abuelita and Abuelito follow, hand in hand. The girls and Tía Carmen and Papi bring up the rear.
    They are all tired, but their hearts are warm and their bellies are full. Up ahead is the lovely Victorian house where some of them will be sleeping. Beside it stands a majestic maple, like the ones in posters advertising New England vacations. The front walk is nicely lit, and inside, their sparkling rooms await them with beds turned down, shades pulled, and an adorable Vermont critter propped on each pillow, wishing them sweet dreams and a restful night.
    Ahead stretch two happy days of fun and friendship, a dazzling success of a guinea-pig weekend. In fact, every guest will leave a tip on their bedside table and a little smiley face or thank-you or
gracias
penned on their guestnotepads. And in the suggestion box, which an insecure Victoria and her worrywart father set up by the front door, they will find raves about how Tía Lola’s B&B
has to
continue! Only two people know how close they came to disaster, and of those two, only one suspects who might be responsible.

How Juanita Ran Away from Home
    Juanita is feeling glum. Don’t get her wrong, her birthday party was a blast. But now she has to wait a whole year before having another one.
    From being
the
birthday girl, Juanita is back to being just another girl in a crowd. Even though her mother and Víctor aren’t married, the two families are constantly together. Miguel still gets to be the only boy, but Juanita is now one of four girls. She’s not spunky like Essie, or cute like Cari, or responsible like Victoria, so nobody notices Juanita-what’s-her-name. In fact, Víctor can’t seem to keep her straight: “Victoria, oops, Cari, I mean Essie, so sorry, Juanita.”
    Only with Papi does Juanita still get to be the one and only daughter. That, too, might change when Papi and Carmen get married. What if they have a baby? Whatif it’s a boy? From all reports, little brothers are a pain in the butt. But what if it’s a girl: a cute, spunky, responsible little sister who hogs all the attention away from Juanita?
    Juanita wishes she could go back to being a little kid herself! Really little, like when she lived in New York City, and her parents were together, and she was in preschool with her best friend, Ming, who actually called yesterday in the middle of Juanita’s birthday party. Juanita couldn’t talk then, but she promised to call her friend back.
    Sunday afternoon, after Papi and Carmen and her grandparents leave, Juanita asks Mami if she can call Ming.
    “Have you finished your homework?”
    “Not yet.”
    “You’re a big girl now, Nita, honey. I shouldn’t have to be reminding you to do your homework.” Mami sighs, as if Juanita’s being ten is tiring her out already.
    As Juanita heads upstairs to tackle her homework, Mami has another reminder. “Don’t forget to fold your clothes neatly in your drawers when you unpack your weekend bag. I shouldn’t have to be picking up after you.”
    Had Juanita known that being ten would come with this laundry list of responsibilities, she would have given up having a birthday