How Tía Lola Saved the Summer Read Online Free PDF Page A

Only Linda and Víctor have swords with their same names, although Víctor’s doesn’t have an accent over the i. “Victoria” is “Vicky”; “Esperanza,” “Hope”; and Cari’s is “Charity,” which she isn’t sure she likes. Especially after her father explains that charity means giving money to worthy causes, like to feed those sad-eyed, starving kids on TV, who always make Cari feel so sad and scared she has to change the channel.
    “Why the swords?” Tía Lola takes up Esperanza’s question. “In my camp, every camper gets a sword. Because every camper has something they will conquer during their stay at my camp.”
    “Even us?” Mami exchanges a look with Víctor. “I mean, aren’t we a little old to be campers?”
    Tía Lola puts her hands on her hips. “Don’t you two know you are only as old as you feel?” She quotes one of the English sayings she has been learning. “And being an adult doesn’t mean the fun or the challenges stop.”
    “You’re absolutely right, Tía Lola.” Víctor nods thoughtfully. “Sometimes we adults have the biggest hurdles to conquer.”
    “What exactly is a hurdle?” Cari wants to know.
    “A hurdle is like when you are running and there’s a fence you have to leap over or a hoop you have to jump through,” her father explains.
    “So is that what we’re going to do today?” Cari asks, frowning as she glances out the window. It looks stormy and thundery and scary outside.
    Tía Lola crouches down, eye level with Cari. Valentino gets on his feet, mistakenly thinking Tía Lola has a treat for him. “Sometimes there is something that’s hard for us to do, or scary, or a problem we have to solve. And we need all the help we can get. Your sword”—Tía Lola lifts her own sword from where it lies propped in the corner—“your sword will help you conquer whatever stands in your way, so you can become all you really are deep inside.”
    Cari looks unsure. Conquering problems, becoming who you really are—none of it sounds like much fun. And last night when she was so afraid of the dark room, of the strange noises outside, of the pirates who might return for their treasure in the attic, Victoria promised that camp would be filled with unscary, fun activities.
    “How come yours doesn’t have a name, Tía Lola?” Victoria wants to know.
    It’s only now that Miguel notices that Tía Lola’s sword is the only one with a blank blade. Probably there’s no English version of Lola, though of course, Tía Lola’s real name is Dolores. But a sword named Suffering? Get out! No one would buy it.
    “There is a reason,” Tía Lola says, tilting her sword this way and that. “My sword is reserved for the camper who needs the most help.”
    “I think we’re all going to look pretty silly walking around all week with pretend swords,” Esperanza gripes. She would have to see the negative side of things, Miguel thinks. But then, he himself was just thinking the same thing!
    Tía Lola stands back up and tucks her sword in her apron strings, grinning her infectious grin. “I do not mind looking silly, especially if it makes other people smile.”
    “That’s right, Essie,” her father observes. “And you know, maybe that’s something worth conquering, your fear of appearing silly. Especially if having that sword at your side gives you an advantage when you need it.”
    In the silence that follows this wise pronouncement, Valentino sighs. It’s so perfectly timed that everyone bursts out laughing, even Esperanza.

    The girls leave for town right after lunch. Today’s rainy-day camp activity is a matinee, to be followed by a “campfire” in the living room tonight. Víctor and Mami drop off Tía Lola and her campers at the movie theater, thoughat the last minute, Cari changes her mind. The pirate movie sounds too scary, with lots of bloody sword fights. Meanwhile, Miguel stays home, just on the off chance that the rain might stop. Besides, he has already