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Dad waved his spatula. “Have to give her a reason to come home more often.”
“You know my internship keeps me busy,” Dee said. She’d been working in an animal science lab at Kansas State University, researching the effects of different feed on dairy cattle. It was different than any of us ever expected, but she seemed right at home there.
“Sit, sit,” Mom said, and we followed her instructions, pulling out our usual chairs at the table. Even though most of my sisters had moved out, we still had six chairs around the table, and we always sat in the same spots. “Tell us about this boy you met.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You met a boy? I thought we were in the no-dating club together.”
Dee laughed, her eyes squinting as she did. “It wasn’t intentional, but he’s been teaching me to drive a little tractor to help clean up the pens, and he’s really nice.”
“You’re driving a tractor?” I asked. “You didn’t even pass driver’s ed the first time!”
Dee glared at me. “That teacher didn’t like me, and you know it.”
“Probably for fear of her life,” I teased.
She rolled her eyes and began filling a plate with cheesy scrambled eggs. I did the same, grabbing a few pieces of bacon as well.
Dad set a plate with a stack of pancakes on the table and said, “He sounds nice. What’s his name?”
“Hernando,” Dee said. “But everyone calls him Nando.”
Mom smiled, crossing her fingers under her chin. “Any pictures?”
Dee’s cheeks flushed pink. “Maybe.”
Mom wiggled her fingers. “Gimme.”
I laughed. Mom was the excited best friend everyone needed.
Begrudgingly, Dee got out her phone and tapped through to a social media profile. She enlarged a photo of him, and Mom, Dad, and I leaned in to see. He was wearing jeans, boots, and a fleece half-zip jacket, standing in front of a black and white spotted cow. He wasn’t smiling, but his lips turned up slightly at the corners, and his honey-brown eyes looked kind enough.
“Can he dance?” Mom asked.
Dee and I both looked at her.
“What does that matter?” I asked at the same time Dee said, “He taught me how to two-step.”
Dad chuckled, going back to the griddle. “Seems like your education is going well beyond school and your internship. I approve.”
And maybe I did too, but I was still feeling a little jaded. Now that Dee was dating someone, I was the only Muñoz sister without a relationship. My absence of a prom date felt moreprominent than ever. (Mom woulddefinitelyapprove of that pun.)
“So, what time do the festivities start today?” Dee asked, artfully changing the subject away from her and Nando.
Mom could have talked about the pride celebration for hours. “I’m leaving in an hour to start set-up for the parade, which begins at noon. Xi’s riding in the Emerson Academy float with Birdie’s stepson, Ollie, then there’s going to be a festival-type setup at Emerson Trails. A bouncy house and slide for the kids, lots of vendors set up, and fun games for everyone. The inclusive prom starts at seven, and of course you’re welcome to go. I steamed your senior prom dress if you want to wear that.”
“So fun!” Dee said. “It’s going to be a full day.”
Dad nodded. “I got off easy just chaperoning and running a table for the bank. Your mother has been amazing helping set it all up.”
What was I? Chopped liver? I’d spent all of my Friday decorating the gym.
Mom waved her hand at him. “I’m happy to do it for Xi. It’s like you get a second birthday, but this time the whole town is celebrating.”
“Let’s hope the whole town is celebrating,” I said. I’d been trying not to think about how I’d react if there were protestors at the parade or the prom. I knew the school’s board of trustees hadn’t been a hundred percent on-board to have a float or a prom, but since all the costs came from donors, they hadn’t had much of a reason to back out.
Dad rubbed my shoulder as he sat next to me. “There will always be someone out there trying to tear you down. Keep your eyes, and ears, on the people lifting you up.”
I nodded, trying to internalize the advice he so often gave. It was hard sometimes, though, when you knew there were people out there who hated everything that you were.
