“No. I don’t know how to tell her. Anyway, they weren’t that close.”
“Oh. I thought they went to school together.”
“No, Janelle’s a couple of years older. She’s in college already. I mean, the last time they talked to each other was probably years ago.”
Another silence. Maybe they were sipping coconut juice, or spiked lemonade. The titas never wanted to go down and explore the city. All they wanted to do was stay on the boat, relaxing on the
patios.
“It could have been our kids, you know,” Tita Marisela said. “Thank God.”
“It’s Mama,” Tita Grapes answered. “She’s protecting us all. She’s probably up in heaven right now telling Kuya to right his ways. That must be why she died,
you know. That must be the reason she died.”
“I miss her,” Mom said, and Caela wasn’t sure if she merely i
