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So here she stood, at dusk, bottle of champagne dripping cold water down her leg, on his front porch. When she rang the bell, Graciela Villanueva answered the door.
“Hola, Sofia. How are you?”
“I’m good. And you?”
“Muy bien, gracias. Come inside. Let me close this door.”
Sofia preceded her into the dark living room just off the foyer. She looked around the room, and her designer heart cringed. The heavy drapes at the windows blocked out eighty percent of the light, leaving the rest of the room feeling close and cave-like. The three couches were clean but old, clearly well used by the four teenagers who had grown up in the house. The one armchair in the room was a bright paisley patterned wingback with spindly legs, the matriarch’s throne. A cup of steaming coffee and a book propped open on the tufted arm told Sofia she’d interrupted Graciela’s reading time. How Adrian’s mother managed to read in this gloom was a mystery to Sofia.
“You are here to see Adrian?”
“I am. We finished filming today, and I wanted to congratulate him on a job well done.” She raised the bottle of champagne in a toast.
“He’s not here right now, but he should be back soon if you don’t mind waiting.”
“I’d love to stay and chat with you. I don’t want to interrupt your book though.”
“It’s one I have re-read a thousand times. It is a visit with an old friend. Now, I can visit with a new one.”
“My mother protected her reading time fiercely. If her reading lamp was on, you’d better be bleeding to interrupt her.”
“Nonsense. I love company. Can I make you a coffee?Ven aquí, sit with me in the kitchen. I have cookies.”
Sofia followed Graciela as the older woman bustled into the kitchen, and within a minute she found herself seated with a steaming cup of coffee and a plate ofpolvorones de canela. She took a bite, and the buttery, sugary, cinnamon-spiced goodness melted on her tongue.
“Thank you. These are delicious.” She tried to ignore the three other cookies on the plate and failed miserably three times.
“So, tell me! How did the last day of filming go? I have been so excited for you all. I cannot wait to see my son on television.”
“The filming went well. The Shahs loved the house, and Farha actually went into labor during the final reveals. They headed to the hospital, and Frankie and I moved their baby things in so they can come home to their new house.”
“You are a good girl. I’m sure your mother is very proud.”
Sofia wasn’t sure about that. She couldn’t remember the last time she had spoken to her mother outside of a family meeting. She needed to remedy that, maybe take Mom for coffee tomorrow.
“The Shahs were so complimentary of the work done on the house, I wanted to tell Adrian right away, before the shine wears off. It’s going to be a little while before we know if the pilot gets picked up.”
“He’ll be home soon. Rico, our neighbor, is sick, so Adrian is filling in for him on a landscape job he needed finished today.”
Graciela checked the clock on the wall and her wristwatch. The older woman was fairly vibrating with nerves, her cookie a pile of crumbs on her plate. Sofia tried to distract her with idle conversation.
“Rico is on one of our crews. I didn’t realize he did landscaping, too.”
“His cousin runs a lawn maintenance service, and Rico helps out when they do big jobs.”
“Do you have their card? Get them in touch with me. Clients of Enzo’s are always looking for recommendations to take care of what he’s built. He’s gotten so busy with the landscaping side, he’s had to stop taking on new weekly clients.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful, for everyone. I’ll make sure Rico brings a card next week.” She had worried her napkin to shreds, and Sofia could only be grateful she hadn’t gone to find the business card.
Sofia cast around for anything to pass the time and distract Graciela from her anxiety over Adrian’s absence. “While, I’m waiting, is there anything I can do for you? Adrian mentioned that you don’t get out often.”
“I don’t go out ever, if I can help it. When the country you live in sees you as a criminal… When you have something precious snatched away…it gets harder and harder to trust the outside world not to hurt you.”
So much for avoiding her anxiety.Smooth move, Sofia.
“I understand. Is it this hard any time Adrian is gone?”
“No,querida. Only when he’s late.” Somehow the endearment when heard from his mother’s lips didn’t get her hackles up, but it might explain where Adrian had gotten the habit.
