Cubanita Read Free

doesn’t. Because she’s clueless.
    Andrew grins like he’s comfortable with this dumb display of raging estrogen. I guess the girls-gone-gaga thing happens to him a lot.
    â€œSo, ladies…make sure Andrew’s up to speed with all the house rules, all right?” Jon spots the parade of yellow and black swamp buggies starting to invade the parking lot. “Buses are here. Gotta go.” He trudges off to exercise his control freakiness at the registration desk.
    Andrew, Susy, and I stroll toward the entrance of the main house. They’ll need us to take our groups in about fifteen minutes.
    â€œYeah, this is awesome.” Andrew picks up on Susy’s unabashed enthusiasm. “Iggy’s been talking about this camp for a while now. Said I could probably hook up here for the summer.”
    â€œExcuse me?” Susy asks, lusty fog obviously clouding her judgment.
    â€œWork here. I meant hook up, as in ‘work here.’” He smiles.
    â€œOh.” Susy meant hook up, as in “find a piece of ass,” but whatever. I guess she’s smitten, even if his face does fall within the intimidating-ugly-yet-somehow-attractive category.
    â€œYou know Iggy?” she asks.
    â€œIg? Yeah, we were roommates last year, but I got my ownplace now. He’s working at the bookstore this summer.”
    Ohhhh, Andrew knows Iggy from UM. The other UM. The one my mother would rather I go to, the one only a few miles away, not as far up the continental U.S. from her as possible.
    I try to catch Susy’s expression. She dated Iggy for a month, and obviously never learned about Andrew, judging from her clucking tongue. Let’s get this ball between them rolling already. “Andrew,” I say cheerfully, “this is my friend Susana. She teaches science.”
    He looks at her like she’s nothing more than a little old lady or an office buddy of his father’s. “Hey, Susana,” he says, offering his hand.
    â€œSusy,” she replies breathlessly, taking it in hers.
    â€œSusy.” He smiles at her again, but it’s a polite smile, not a how-you-doin’, wanna-shag-now-or-shag-later smile. His gaze keeps flitting over to me. “And you’re…?”
    â€œSorry. Isabel…Isa. Nice to have you along for the ride.”
    Susy coughs into her fist and smiles, no doubt envisioning Coach Andrew as a wild ride.
    â€œAlong for the summer,” I correct. “That’s cool. Good luck.” Whew.
    I leave them both and head for the buses. One by one, the little darlings jump off the bottom steps, toting their cute backpacks, eager to learn about Everglades ecology. One of them, a teeny girl with a long swishing ponytail decorated with a green ribbon, bounces to the ground and spots Andrew. “Andy! Andy!”
    Coach Andrew turns around, a silly grin materializing onhis face, lighting up his whole being. “Hey, chicken-chickee!” He crouches low, and the flying child comes swooping in, landing beautifully in his open arms.
    She hugs him close, smiling into his shoulder. Then she plants a sweet kiss on his cheek and coos, “Where’s Iggy?”
    â€œIggy’s not here anymore. But I am,” he says softly, tickling her ribs until she squeals in delight. “Ig’s niece,” he offers to Susy as an explanation, then takes off with Chicken-Chickee to the registration desk.
    I’m completely stunned. Not sure why. It’s just that I don’t know anything about this Andrew. I guess because of his hard stare, I thought he was the serious type, a jerk even, into his own ego. But if a little girl with a swishing ponytail and ribbon in her hair can run up to him the way this one did, and smother him the way this one did, and laugh all bubbly with him like this one did, then he can’t be all that bad. In fact, he’s gotta be pretty great, right?
    As they enter the building hand in hand, I catch myself