How Tía Lola Saved the Summer by Julia Álvarez Read Free Book Online Page B

you everywhere.”
    Miguel hates to tell Víctor: if using crutches might set off Mami’s worry alarm, what about being carried everywhere? But Víctor is sounding like a kid determined to believe in magic.
    “So where are your swords?” Tía Lola asks out of the blue.
    Víctor has to think a moment. “I believe I left mine in my room.”
    Tía Lola nods at her nephew. “And yours, Miguel?”
    He sniffles a little, wipes his nose, gets his voice back under control. “I left mine in the mudroom.” He doesn’t have to explain, because she knows why. He didn’t want to look silly in front of the guys.
    “You’ll need your swords,” Tía Lola tells them. So maybe she is going to try to help work some magic after all? She did promise to use her sword to help the person who needed it most. And Miguel really needs help if a miracle is going to trump modern medicine.
    “I’ll go get them,” Víctor offers. “Don’t you worry, captain. You’re going to hit them right out of the ballpark.”
    They hear him hurrying down the hall at a fast clip, Miguel’s mother intercepting him on the stairs, her worried questions, his don’t-you-worry answers, their footsteps descending together. A long, thoughtful silence fills the room. Finally Tía Lola says, “You’ve helped do a very good thing, Miguel, you know that?”
    Miguel is puzzled. All he can think of is the very bad thing he has done to himself, twisting his ankle, possibly taking himself out of their first big game.
    Tía Lola’s nods are in sync with the rocking of her chair. “Oh yes, you did. Víctor has been a workhorse since he was a little older than you. Shouldering all kinds of responsibilities. But today, with you, he’s found that little part of himself he left behind.”
    “You mean the part that wanted to play baseball?”
    Tía Lola considers for a moment. “The part of him that’s a kid who believes in magic and miracles, instead of worrying all the time that the worst is going to happen.”
    That’s the way Miguel is feeling right now. Maybe he and Víctor have exchanged personalities. From now on, Miguel will be super-cautious and serious and no fun to be around.
    “Don’t lose that part of yourself,” Tía Lola says, as if reading his thoughts. Her tone is gentle but her gaze is fierce. “Because if you do, you will have lost the game, the big one called life.”
    All of this sounds a little too profound, like the deep end of the pool of his mind that Miguel dives into only when he’s in church or taking an exam. “I just want to be able to play ball, Tía Lola,” he says, trying to keep it simple. “And I want to play this Saturday, if at all possible.” He adds this last part because maybe it won’t be the end of the world if he can’t play their first big game. Maybe it would be worse if he gave up altogether just because this once he might not get what he wants. If he turned into an adult talking to a kid about what might have happened. Just like Víctor this morning on their way to the field for cleanup.
    As if summoned by that thought, Víctor comes in the door, carrying both swords. “Here you go, Michael ,” he jokes, handing Miguel his sword.
    “And now, Tía Lola, I want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Víctor is using his lawyer language again, but this time it’s with a smile on his face. “Can you tell me who did this?” He holds out his sword, pointing to where a little black accent mark has been inserted over the i in “Víctor.”
    Tía Lola’s eyebrows lift like two accent marks over hereyes. “No sé.” She has no idea. As she has already told them, they have to work their own miracles.
    “I guess I’m turning into a miracle worker, then.” Víctor laughs. “So what do you say, Captain, we plaaaaaaaaaay ball!” He swings his sword at an imaginary ball and then puts his hand above his eyes as if he’s trying to make out a distant object.
    The guy has gone batty, Miguel