Page 22 of Sort of Seeing Someone

“Palm,” she clarifies. At least the directionwasn’t to shove it up my...never mind.

“Since those both havemyenergy on them currently,”Yascontinues. “You’ll want to run them under warm water for sixty seconds to cleanse them.”

Or not? I wouldloveto hijackYas’ energy.

“Then, power them up, mama.”

“I don’t see a charging cord.”

“Leave them out here for the full moon to charge them over night, smart-ass. Wake up before sunrise to bring them in. Repeat every moon cycle.”

Scratch what I said about OB people not waking up before sunrise.

“One last thing,” she says, grabbing a broom I left out when I was sweeping up a pile of dust bunnies that were under Gerda’s floral loveseat. “You should always put a broom upside down behind your door like this. It wards off unwanted visitors and bad energy.”

“Let me guess…” I say.

“…Abuelita Sarita,” we both say in unison, raising a glass in her honor.

7

Chapter Seven

Being back feels like a complete blur, but maybe that’s because my nephews, Charlie andMatteo, are total handfuls—like, prime candidates for experimentalADHDdrug therapy. At least theyhave all the same tastes in snacks that I do.

Nora’s husband, Esteban, has been in Houston for the entire week for work, which means that from the time the boys get home from school-then-soccer-practice to the time they go to bed, there are about two hours too many wherein Nora is solely in charge of theirwellbeing. That’s where I come in: the Cruise Ship Director/Taxi Driver/Director of Operations/Medic. Maybe it’s my elementary education degree, or my high tolerance for noise, but for some reason I’m able to handle them in a way she cannot. Besides, I find some of their rambunctious antics—like sneaking aKit-Katbar to bed while their mom is zoned in onThe Real Housewives of Potomac—quite relatable.

“Good morning,” I say to Nora as I make my way to the free-for-all coffeemaker in the main house.

“It’s one o’clock in the afternoon,” she informs me, not quite taking her eyes away from Rachel Ray marinating a brisket on screen. Nora doesn’t realize I got the kids up and out the door by 7:30am today. I’ve lived a thousand lives already and have lost all concept of space and time.

I say nothing as I take a hard swallow of gross pod coffee and send a shrug her way wondering if my sister has always looked this much like Jenna Bush Hager.

“Is that another black sweat suit, or the same one you’ve had on for the last three days?” she goes on to ask.

Unsure if that’s an insult toward my wardrobe choices or my bathing cadence, I fire back with a classic: “Are you getting enough air to your brain in that turtleneck? Itlooks like it’s swallowing your head.”

“This is a cashmere Tory Burch that I got from the Anniversary Sale atNordy’s,” she annotates as if that means anything to me. “ListenMoonie, while we’re hurling insults here, you need to sleep at Olivia’s tonight.”

“Thatisan insult. How come?”

“Esteban is having someone come by to do a maintenance stain on the floors in the coach house at three. There will be fumes.”

“I’m fine with fumes,” I say, retrieving my mug from a ten-second blast in the microwave.

“Your brain cells won’t be. And I really can’t have anyone who is mentally impaired around my kids.”

That must be whyyouspend such little time with them.

“Can’t I just sleep in here? This couch is big enough for a kickball team.”

“This couch is barely for sitting on, let alone sleeping.By the way, you can have the rest of the day off. Esteban is on the way home from the airport. He’ll grab the kids from school and take them to soccer. I guess he’s ‘excited’ to see them???”

She makes bunny ears with her fingers to emphasize the wordexcited, as if that’s cause for concern.

“DoesLivknow I’m coming over?” I ask.

“Yeah, I cleared it with her this morning. You know how to get there right?”

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