Page 120 of My Debacle with De Lorenzo

I give her an unimpressed eye-roll because she doesn’t even have makeup on. “You’re not.”

“I’m not.” She pulls the phone away to show she’s still in her pajamas. “But I have a riddle to keep you entertained and I will be ready by the time you solve it.”

Never a dull moment with her. These riddle adventures are becoming a regular thing. “Will I be getting any clues this time?”

“All the clues are in the riddle.”

“Okay. Lay it on me.”

“Here goes. You like to flirt, and you’re so sweet. Remember when you wanted to take me to that place on Mission street? Well, if you follow all the signs that are cream and blue, you will find a treat that’s just perfect for you.”

“You’re getting good at this. This one rhymes.”

“I try. I’ll see you later, De Lorenzo.”

“Alright, love you.”

She presses two fingers to her lips and blows me a kiss before she ends the call. I think about these clues she’s given me as I take the ten-minute drive to Mission Street. I spend another ten minutes driving up and down the street looking for any signs that are cream and blue, but I don’t see any. Eventually, I park off and give this some proper thought.You like to flirt, and you’re so sweet.

I recite this over and over in my head until it clicks. She uses the term cupcaking for flirting and always says that bit of sweetness is the frosting. With that in mind, I drive down the street again to the bakery I spotted. It’s a bit overwhelming once I’m inside because the array of baked goods they have on display seems endless. I try to find cupcakes with cream and blue frosting, but they don’t have any. I stare at the cakes and donuts, and only after five minutes does it dawn on me that maybe cream is not a color but an ingredient. I ask one of the assistants, Jane (as per her nametag), to give me a rundown of everything they make that has cream in it, and after repeating the list twice, there is still no connection to something blue being in any of them.

“What about cheesecake?” she asks, sounding almost desperate because she is as invested as me to solve this riddle. “That’s made with cream cheese.”

And the second she says it, I know that’s the one. “Yep, I’m pretty sure you just nailed it. Cheesecake is the one she’d think is perfect for me.”

She smiles, looking relieved that we finally figured it out. “Well, Patty can help you with that.”

She leads me to the counter and introduces me to Patty, who gives me a weird smile. “He wants a slice of cheesecake,” Jane explains.

“Well, we make quite a variety. Which one do you want?”

I groan, slightly irritated. I thought I’d solved it. “List all of them.”

“Okay, we have...oreo, chocolate, caramel, lemon, mango, blueberry, pineapp?”

“Blueberry,” I cut in as soon as I make the connection to blue.

Her smile widens. “It’s Dylan?”

“Yes!” Somehow, I’m more excited now. “That’s me.”

“You have one more challenge before you get the gift I was instructed to give you.”

“Another challenge? I’ve been stuck on this one for almost forty-five minutes.”

She’s actually delighted by my exasperation and laughs as she turns to grab a deck of cards. She spreads them face up on the glass display cabinet. “Pick two cards.”

I decide to go with the King of Hearts for my first one and the other obvious choice would be the Queen of Spades, but in the game of Hearts whoever gets the Queen of Spades loses, and I’m not about to lose this challenge. It’s a cheesecake, so I decide to make my second option a cheesy one and select the two of hearts – mine and hers. Patty smiles when I hand it to her, then gives me a small blue box. She packs two slices of cheesecake as I open the box to read the note inside.

I know tonight is going to be a bad Friday night, but I got you this so you know that even when I’m not with you, I’m still...wichu.

Beneath the note is a silver chain with an anchor hanging from it, and I put it on right then and there. I look over at Patty. “I don’t know if you can see it on my face, but I am hopelessly in love with this girl.”

“Yeah, we can definitely see it,” Jane says.

“Thanks so much for all your help, ladies.” I pay, then wave goodbye as I leave.

I drive over to Bella’s house and Mrs. Diaz greets me with a warm smile, then pulls me down to kiss my cheek. I will never dispute that my parents give me everything I need. They’re amazing, but because of our circumstances, sometimes I feel like I was forced to grow up faster than I needed to. Something about Mrs. Diaz’s demeanor allows me the freedom I don’t get at home. She’s doting and nurturing, and I think what I like most is the fact that she doesn’t expect anything from me. I don’t have to be the responsible, mature older brother. I can just be Dylan here.

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