“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Rhiannon asked, crossing her arms over her chest as if shielding herself from Carmela’s rejection.
“Please don’t take o ense. What I’m trying to say, and not very well, is that you’re twenty-three years old. You’re just barely at the beginning. There’s so much for you to see and experience. I’m in a di erent place in life. What I value is stability and dependability,” she explained, hoping Rhiannon could see what was just so clear to her. Any entanglement they had couldn’t last, and Carmela couldn’t do impermanence. Not again.
Rhiannon’s eyes were huge and wild. She looked equal parts annoyed and confused. “I’m just saying let’s have dinner. It’s not like I’m asking your parents for your hand.
Why are you taking this so seriously?”
Carmela softened her face as she smiled sadly. “I’m very happy being single,” she lied. “But I am open to a new relationship. It’s just that I’m not open to a fling, Rhi. I get attached way too easily for that. Do you understand why I can’t pursue something. . . even if I may want it. . . if I see that it leads to a dead-end road?”
“That’s not fair,” Rhiannon replied, her gray eyes wounded. “You’re not even giving me a chance and just assuming that I don’t want something real too.”
Reaching out for her hand, Carmela nodded. “I’m sure you are, and I’m not trying to denigrate you. This is just being realistic. You have so much changing and growing to do. If you settle too early that other person will feel like an anchor and you’ll resent them. I don’t want that for either of us.”Shaking her head, Rhiannon inched forward. “How can you be so negative? What makes you so sure we’d have some
terrible future? You don’t even know anything about me yet.”
Sighing, Carmela squeezed her hand. “I can’t wait to get to know you. But as friends. That way no one get’s hurt.”
Rhiannon’s back straightened. “You’re wrong. And I’m going to prove it to you.”
IN THE CAR, Rhiannon couldn’t stop thinking about Carmela.
No matter how many times she replayed the conversation in her head, it made no sense.
Why won’t she even give me a chance? It’s not like we’re that di erent. We’re in the same field. . . doesn’t that mean we want the same things?
More than the rejection, it was Carmela’s hard line stance. As if Rhiannon was some wild child looking to sleep around. Rhiannon had spent so many years focused on her goals she’d never even had a serious relationship. It’s not like new experiences were a priority for her.
As she drove, Rhiannon belatedly thought of a thousand things she should’ve said. Carmela was operating under so many assumptions and they weren’t even true. It wasn’t fair.
Rhiannon was still stewing in imaginary conversations when she pulled into the driveway and slipped into her parents’ house. Her dad was standing in front of the fridge and peering at his options.
“La niña is home, Sandra!” her dad called upstairs as soon as Rhiannon stepped inside.
“I told her I was going to be home late,” Rhiannon said as she kissed her dad on the cheek and plopped down at the kitchen table.
“Ha! When has that ever kept her from worrying?” he replied. “She left you some arroz con pollo in the microwave.”
Rhiannon laughed. “I told her I already
ate too.”
“As if that matters,” he reminded her before pulling out a packet of guava paste and a box of cream cheese, one of his favorite treats. “You know she doesn’t think anything is real food unless it’s got black beans or fried plantains with it.”
Rhiannon chuckled, but it lacked the usual exuberance.
“What happened?” he asked, slicing a wedge of cream cheese to act as a base for the paste.
“Isn’t Mom watching your sugar? I’m pretty sure that isn’t allowed,” she said, deflecting as she pointed at the super sweet concoction.
“I’ve negotiated it into my sugar allowance,” he retorted, eyeing her. “Now don’t deflect from my question. Que te pasa?”
“Nothing. I just had a long day and I’ve got an even longer one tomorrow,” she replied, staying within the bounds of honesty.
Her dad eyed her suspiciously between bites. “Since when do you get tired? You wanna lay something a little better on your old man?”
Rhiannon smirked. In those moments, it sucked being best friends with one of your parents. They could see right through you.
“We’ve got a lot of showings tomorrow and I don’t want to blow it,” she replied, again sticking to the periphery of the truth.