Chapter 24

Carlita's turn:

Dave's phone rang. He looked. "Pat."

"Answer her, Dave," I said.

"I love you," he told me. "Hi, Pat..." Pause. "My Carlita has had a meltdown. I wasn't sure when this all started how she was doing this. It just didn't seem like her." Pause. "I don't know. She just ... Like it was screaming at her from inside. She broke." Pause. "Yes, she's okay right now. We had a good cry together." Pause. "No, nobody said anything hurtful. She wants me for a husband. I want her for a wife." Pause. "Yeah, I'll ask her."

Dave turned to me. "Can Brindy talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yes, I will talk to Brindy. Monday we have errands to run. We are friends."

"She says that she and Brindy are friends and that they have things to do together." Pause. "Okay. I love you too, Sis. G'nite."

"What did she say?"

"She says that Brindy's having a melt-down, too. Brindy thinks SHE did something."

"Nooooo," I said, shaking my head. "Brindy ... She's ... I do not exactly say it right ... has been broken." I crawled up into Dave's arms. "I have done things very wrong, Dave."

"You are my Lita. I love you."

"But by doing these things with Brindy and with Pat, I have hurt them, Dave. It is only that when I said to Brindy that we shower together, she thought I meant she and I, not you and I, and she looked so happy with that ... I do not want to hurt Brindy. I wanted to make her happy."

I kissed my Dave. "But I want to make YOU happy. But some things are too much for me to bear."

"You make me happy, little one. Pat and Brindy, we love them, and love will get us all through this."

I made Dave sleep without clothes. "I must feel you very much all night, Dave."

I tried to sleep. I kept thinking of Dave and me, and thinking of Brindy crying because I made her sad. She has had enough sadness.

I finally found sleep with Dave's arms around me.

He tried to get out of bed on Sunday morning and let me sleep. It does not work. The absence of Dave in a bed where he has been is cause for me to awaken. I follow him, both of us naked. He hears my footsteps and turns. I do not offer him a choice. I am in his arms.

"Dave, let us have breakfast, then I must do something very difficult."

"Difficult?"

"I must talk to Brindy, Dave. Pat ... you and Pat, I know you understand. She understands. But Brindy ... Brindy has been broken and I am part of Brindy now and I must help her not be broken."

"Can I help?" Dave asked. "With Brindy, I mean."

"No, it is mine to do. Get the eggs out. I have frijoles in the pantry. There is salsa verde."

I know there is salsa. I made it myself. I worry that I cook with too many chilis. Dave likes them, I have found.

Soon we have scrambled eggs, tortillas, frijoles and salsa. It is not an American breakfast. It is close to a Guatemalan breakfast, and Dave says he does not feel deprived.

I do not want Dave deprived of anything that I can give him.

We clean the kitchen together after breakfast.

"I wonder if Brindy and Pat are up?" I ask him. "I need to talk to Brindy. Dave, I should do that with only her and me."

"I understand, little one," he says. "I have yard work to do."

"Let me call her then," I said. I was afraid when I said 'Call Brindy' to my phone.

It rang three times before Brindy's voice answered. "Lita! Are you okay?"

"I am okay, Brindy. Can you come here so we can talk?"

"Ohhhh. Talk. Yes, I suppose..."

"I will make coffee."

"I'll be there in a bit."

Then I thought, what if Brindy has a meltdown, as Dave says? I cannot make her walk home, crying, up the sidewalk.

And I do not want Brindy to cry. I kissed my Dave as he walked out the back door into the yard.

I watched the coffee drip. It was just about finished when the doorbell rang. I went to open it, seeing Brindy AND Pat.

"Where's Dave?" Pat asked.

"He is getting rid of a tree that is in the wrong place in the back yard."

"Good. I'll go bother him for a while, let you and Brindy talk."

Now I have another worry. Pat and MY Dave.

"I made coffee. You can bring him a cup." The three of us went into the kitchen for coffee. Pat left through the back door with two mugs. Brindy and I retreated to the living room.

She spoke first. "Something happened, didn't it, Lita?"

"Yes. I woke up. Brin, yesterday ... the before things, those are not ME."

She looked sad. "Were we not good?"

I nodded. "Yes. We were good. But Brin, I am married to Dave. What I have is his. What he has is mine."

"And all the stuff yesterday?"

I closed my eyes. "Yes. Everything that could be tickled, it was tickled very well. But my heart, Brin ... I am Carlita, a girl from an orphanage, raised in a church. I know that all this, it is wrong..." I opened my eyes, saw her soft, rounded face, sad. This is MY doing.

"Gosh, Brindy, what am I supposed to do?"

"I know. It's tough. I dunno what to do either. I mean, I LOVE Pat. That's for sure. But you ... Dave ... Lita, I've never been loved. Cared for. Since Pat, now you and Dave. I do feel loved."

"We do not have to sleep together to love each other, Brindy," I said.

"I know." She hung her head. "I guess I am guilty of that. It's just that before, those guys, they did the physical things, but not the things that y'all did to my heart. When you and I ... it was inside my heart, too. Just like with Pat. She is in my heart." She glanced up at me, then looked away. "And Dave ... I'm sorry. He is your husband. I will not interfere. It's just that with Dave, I felt like it was real. Those other guys – before – nothing like Dave."

When she looked back at me, there was a wet track down her cheek. What am I supposed to do? I opened my arms and held her, touched her hair.

"Brindy, you are my sister. I love you."

"I made you do things you think are wrong."

"I did them because I love you and wish to see you happy."

"You're not angry with me?" she asked.

"No, I am not."

"Are you angry with Pat?"

"No. Why?"

"We sort of took your husband."

"I looked. I still have my husband, so you did not take him."

"What did he say?"

"That he wants me happy." I looked at her face. "I think he wanted everybody happy but he is my husband, Brindy."

"I would recognize that every day, Carlita," she said softly. "Every day." She sighed. "I wonder if Pat is talking to Dave?"

"I only hope that is all they are doing."

Brindy started to smile. "Brother and sister. That's just kinky."

I smiled at her. "They are two adults, Brindy. Before. Maybe they should have married."

"Can't do that. Brother and sister is a no-no. No marriage. Is almost as bad as an adult and a fourteen year old girl." She arched her eyebrow to see if I understood.

"That bad, huh?"

Now she is smiling, her head bouncing 'yes'. "I am better now, Lita. You do not have to hold me like I'm a baby."

Yes, I still had her in my arms.

"Sister kiss?" Brindy asked.

"Sister kiss," I replied. A little kiss on the lips, it is enough.

"I want you to be my sister, whatever," Brindy said. "I was scared that you would not want to be my friend after you left last night."

"No, Brindy," I said. "I left because I must understand Carlita and Dave. Brindy has done no wrong." She leaned against me. I smiled. "I did not know I would come to America and get a sister."

"I will be a good sister. I will not sleep with your husband."

"He remains useful, Brindy. You did not damage him."

"Good one, you know."

"Dave? I love him. I have no other experience."

"I do. He is a good one. Of course, you also made me very happy."

"Stop that, Brindy! You are starting things..."

"I'm sorry. Was just remembering. I wonder what Dave and Pat ... should we go see?"

"Dave will not do anything without me," I said. I am confident. He is MY Dave.

She smiled. "I don't think Pat would, either. We need to take good care of them. I know I'm a bit bent, but so is Pat. We prop each other up. You, though ... you're some sort of supergirl. All the way from Guatemala."

"It was the hand of God," I said. "I am sure. How does one travel a thousand miles and end up with Dave? Miracle."

"Milagro!" Brindy said. Her attempts at Spanish make me smile, as they do so many in our class. How can they not like Brindy? How can I not LOVE Brindy? She is sometimes so fragile, like a beautiful orchid that is a bright blossom, but that withers at a touch.

We heard the back door open, two voices, Pat's was loud and irritated and Dave's was apologetic.

"I told you to let me move those cut branches, but nooooo," he said.

"It's sticky. It's sticky and won't come off. Water doesn't touch it."

"What's wrong?" Brindy asked.

"My sister got pine sap on 'er. She now has personal knowledge of what mankind has known for millennia. Pine sap is sticky and won't dissolve. Come on, Sis," Dave said. "I have some paint thinner that'll get it off."

"You'd better."

They were still arguing when they walked into the garage.

I sat back.

"Brother and sister. They sound like it, huh?"

"I don't know," I said.

"Oh. Sorry. Me neither, 'cept I knew families and brothers and sisters argue."

"One time they did not argue..." I said.

"Oh, they probably did. While they were doin' each other."

"I don't think so. Yesterday, they seemed to get along quite well."

"You. You have Dave. You get along well with him, too."

"Yes." I giggled. "Can we not talk about Dave and his..." I felt my face get hot.

"Oh. Okay. Just know that it was a very happy thing for me. Like it made that part of me clean again."

"It is okay, Brindy."

Dave and Pat came back in.

"Great idea, Bro," Pat said. "Now I smell like a chemical factory."

"Go ahead and bitch," Dave laughed. "I can get that branch and you can go back to the piney fresh scent..."

Pat looked at Brindy who was still leaning against me. "So you two, you're okay?"

"She is my sister," I said. "Sisters are forever..."

"Brothers, however," Pat laughed, "are entirely disposable." She sniffed. "Phewwww! Dammit, Dave!"

"Sorry, Sis," my Dave said. "I told you to let me do it by myself."

"Yeah, but you're so damned helpless sometimes. Carlita's smart enough for the two of you, fortunately."

"I know that," Dave laughed.

"Well, we're off to an adventure, then," Pat said. She and Brindy left.

That means I and Dave must talk.

He started with, "Looks like you and Brindy are okay."

"Yes," I said. "Brindy thought she had done something to hurt me. She is tender."

"What did you tell her?" Dave asked.