“Sorry, what?” he asked.
“Ignacio’s Revenge,” she clarified. “Anyway, she was the Executive Administrative Assistant to Santiago Alvarez, the CEO of the experimental, secretive government laboratory testing facility where they were conducting top-secret experiments. But Ramona wore these big glasses and her hair was short and brown because she was actually a spy, but that’s only revealed much later. Anyway, she was having an affair with the CEO, but actually she was really sleeping with his evil twin brother, Ignacio, who everyone thought was dead, because of his plane crash in the Amazon rainforest. But actually he was alive and living with cannibals and then he killed Ramona with a poison dart that he made from the slime from the poisonous frogs in the jungle.”
“So wait,” Ryan said. “Sosheis Ramona González?” He pointed at me, and Tamlin nodded. “From a telenovela. That you watch?”
I felt the blood rush from my face and pool in my feet. I lowered my head and facepalmed, waiting for Ryan’s response. This was going to be bad. But at least it was out in the open now. And then, I heard a small chuckle next to me.
“Executive Administrative Assistant to the CEO, with glasses and short brown hair, and having an affair with the CEO, you say. Very, very,veryinteresting.”
I looked up. His eyes were fixed on me, and he was smiling. “This, he said, “thisexplains a lot. And I mean, a lot.”
“She was such a good actress too. You should have seen her die! I actually cried!”
“An actress!” Ryan exclaimed.
I nodded at him. “Well, trying to be.”
“Trying! Trying! You’re so good, everyone loves you, haven’t you seen your Facebook page?” she asked.
“What Facebook page, and how did you even see the show? It was only broadcast in Paraguay.”
I heard another laugh. “In Paraguay. You don’t say!”
“Don’t you know?” Tamlin asked.
I shook my head. “Know what?”
“The show is huge in Nigeria. Everyone watches it. I never miss an episode. You can stream it online.”
I blinked a few times. This was making no sense whatsoever.
“Look.” She pulled her phone out, logged into Facebook and then held the screen up for me to see. I read it and almost choked on my spit.
“Bring back Ramona González. Over a hundred thousand followers!WHAT?” I screamed that last part.
“Someone started this page for you because they want your character to come back.”
“How is this . . . wait . . . how could I be . . . I don’t get this . . . uh . . .” I stuttered, staring at the comments on the page.
“You’re famous,” Tamlin said. “And you’re standing in front of me.”
“Let’s see that.” Ryan held his hand out and Tamlin passed the phone to him. He started reading.
“. . . show is not the same without her . . . She used to make me laugh so much . . . She was the best character . . . favorite scene was when she evacuated the entire building . . . my daughter and I used to watch her all the time, she’s been inspired to take karate because of her . . . her dying scene should win her an award . . .”
Ryan looked up at me and shook his head. “You’re an actress?” he asked again as if he still needed some time to digest it all.
I nodded slowly and was just about to open my mouth and start apologizing when he shrugged and shook his head again.
“I guess I should be asking for your autograph next?”
CHAPTERSEVENTY-FOUR
Ryan
“So, an actress?” he said, flattening the soil into one of the broken pots.
After that rather interesting and illuminating conversation with Tamlin, they’d come outside with the plants. First, they’d put the pigeon in the laundry room—it was the only place he could think of keeping it, for now. They’d dug up some soil from one of his flower beds, he’d found a few spare pots lying around, and they’d started repotting her flowers on the lawn together. It was freezing outside and the wind bit at his cheeks and hands as he went.
