Inner Diva Read Free Page A

she’d
have a chance to meet again with Mrs. Garcia. Show her how
interested she was, and prove herself trustworthy. That being late
for their last appointment was a fluke.
    But what about Carlos? It was clear he didn’t
support her involvement with his sister.
    “Have you spoken with Carlos?”
    “Yes, yes. Don’t worry.”
    “I don’t think he wants me to mentor
Luisa.”
    Mrs. Garcia paused. “He has no problem with
you. So, you come?”
    “Yes, of course, I’m on my way right now.
I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
    “Twenty minute. Okay. Bye bye.”
    She flipped her phone shut and looked at
Steve.
    “Hot date?” he said with a grin.
    “Not hardly. I’ll tell you about it later if
it works out.” She gathered her coat and began to slide out of the
booth.
    “Ahh, the mystery.” Steve gave a wave and
helped himself to her remaining French fries.
    Thanks to less-than-normal traffic and Monica
risking a ticket by exceeding the speed limit the whole way, she
landed on the Garcias’ doorstep exactly twenty minutes after
hanging up. If that didn’t tell the woman she was a reliable role
model, what would?
    Mrs. Garcia waited by the door and welcomed
Monica in with a hearty, “Come, come.”
    Once Monica had settled into an overstuffed
chair in the living room, Mrs. Garcia sat and then jumped up again.
“Oh Dios mio , my manners! Wait.” She bustled to the
kitchen and returned with a large order of fast food French fries.
“You’re hungry, yes?”
    A delighted smile popped onto Monica’s face.
“No, no thank you. That’s very sweet of you, but I just finished
eating. I’m stuffed.”
    The wide grin on the older woman’s face lost
a little of its sheen. “You’re not hungry?”
    Monica hesitated a moment. “Actually, leave
them here. I may be later. Thank you so much.”
    Mrs. Garcia nodded and returned to the couch.
“So, you meet my Luisa tonight,” she announced.
    Monica felt a hitch of excitement in her
breath. Not only were the Big Sisters a terrific organization that
would allow her to make a difference in a child’s life, it
delivered a strong message to her mother and sister, too. As in:
she had a purpose to her life that didn’t always involve them and
their schedules. And now, the time to meet Luisa was here.
    “Oh yes,” she breathed. “I’d love to meet
her. But first, we need to decide the terms of our arrangement. How
often would like me to visit? What nights and times? Would you
object to me taking her places like the park or the movies?”
    Mrs. Garcia chuckled and leaned over to pat
Monica’s hand. “You a good girl, you see? And I want my Luisa to be
a good girl too. Smart. Strong. Able to care for herself. So, you
come over, stay with Luisa, talk with her, take her places. Yes!
She’ll see how it is to be a strong, smart woman, and she’ll be one
too.” She lifted up the box of fries and waved them in Monica’s
face. “Eh?”
    Monica grabbed a few celebration fries and
held them up. “Cheers!” she cried and took a bite. Mrs. Garcia
laughed and followed suit.
    As Monica munched, she couldn’t help bask in
the positive perception Senora Garcia had of her. This was just how
she wanted Mom and Barbie to see her – a strong, smart woman. It
was kind of nice that a complete stranger had come to that
conclusion.
    The older woman set the box on the table and
held up a well-worn finger. “Now, it’s time.” She stood, walked a
few steps to the edge of the room and called down the hall, “Luisa!
Come!”
    Like an antsy puppy spotting escape through
an open door, a little girl came zooming down the hall and halted
in front of Monica. She was petite, dressed in a pair of bangled
blue jeans and a short hoodie jacket. A sliver of tanned skin was
visible where her shirt didn’t quite reach her waistband. Her dark
hair looked difficult to control, judging from the wisps escaping
from the two purple barrettes on each side.
    “And you are?” Luisa asked in an