Page 51 of The Amazing Date

“I will always fight your battles if you let me. Your fights are mine. I remember a certain someone coming to my rescue and fighting the one battle I couldn’t. You saved me.”

“Stop.” Her soft voice cracks. “You’re going to get me emotional. I love you, Roberto. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do not to see you struggle.”

“And yet, you deny me that same privilege. How is that fair?”

“It’s different. My challenge is self-imposed. I can go next year or the year after. I don’t have a ticking clock.” Her voice fades, the words dying across the line.

“Your happiness has a ticking clock, Gabby. Every day you stay in a job you hate takes a bite out of your soul. You’ve known this for some time. It’s the reason you studied for the exam, why you applied. It’s time to take the next step. Let me help.”

I hear a tapping on the line. It’s her tell, her index finger playing a staccato beat on the end of the phone. “I have a plan,” she begins, and I give her the space to unveil at her own pace. “Rylee and I were to run this race, win, and I would take my share of the winnings to pay for law school.”

The line goes silent, and I know she is staring down at her ankle wrapped in a cast. “There’s no reason for the plan to change,” I start. “Your team is in second place, only a minute out of first with only two cities left. Your share will be waiting for you.”

“I can’t, Roberto. If you win, that money should go to you. You talk about soul-sucking jobs; you should look in the mirror. Take the money and do what you should’ve four years ago. Go spend six months in Europe and visit every art gallery on the continent.”

I take a deep inhale. These conversations with my sister are always welcome but also scary as hell. She makes me think, feel, and face things that I fool myself into suppressing. “As much as that still sounds like heaven to me, it’s no longer where my passion lies. I’ve started sketching again.”

“Because of her.” Gabby completes the thought before I do.

“Yeah.” A headlight of a passing vehicle reminds me of where I’m at. “I thought after all this time, the feelings would have disappeared. If anything…” The words fade as a highlight reel of the last few days plays in my mind.

“Stop fighting it.” Her words give me the permission I hadn’t realized I sought. I lean back in the booth and tilt my head to the ceiling, hoping to hold back the tears forming in my eye.

She’s right. My barbs, my nicknames, my lame attempts to hide behind the smoke of anger I’ve been fanning are just deflections against what I’ve been afraid to face—the truth.

“Since you’re in a sharing mood, will you tell me what really happened between you two back in Puerto Rico?” she prods.

I bite my lower lip and pause. Not sure if this is a conversation I want to have over the phone. “I promise to tell you but only once this race is finished. And after Rylee is back safely on the plane to New York.”

“Safely?”

“What?”

“You said when Rylee is safely back on the plane to New York. She did something that you think will upset me, right? You can tell me. It’s ancient history. We’ve all grown up and are different people.” Her words make sense, and my sister isn’t one to hold grudges, unlike me, but something in the back of my head warns me to tread lightly.

“When she is safely on the plane, I’ll take you on a long hike on the dry river in Pasadena. It reminds me of your favorite dry forest trail. It goes for miles and miles; we’ll have all day to talk. Okay?” I lay the carrot at her feet, hoping she’ll be distracted.

“I see you still know how to protect a secret.” The line is filled with history, and I shift in the worn leather seat. “Are you going to tell Rylee you have feelings for her?”

A snicker escapes my lips. “We have two days left of this race, and then she’s headed three thousand miles away from me. What’s the point? Besides, every time I think there may be a possibility for something, we both do or say something to remind me we are oil and water. I blame our parents.”

It’s Gabby’s turn to laugh. “So damn true.” What starts as a joyous laugh quickly turns hollow. “They’ve ruined it for both of us. I’ve never seen two people so in love and always as happy as them. They’ve set an impossible example.”

“We should both move back home to punish them,” I attempt to lighten the mood. “Papi swears it’s not always like that. That they struggle just like everyone else.”

“Mami says the same. She says I’ll know I’ve found the right person when I can’t imagine a day without them, good or bad.” A light laugh returns. “Most of the men I’ve met, I can’t imagine a day with them. Thank you, next.”

“Maybe we’re just overthinking it. Maybe we should just go with the flow. Enjoy the moment and not try to micromanage every movement,” I brainstorm, clueless.

“You mean act more impulsive. Reckless even. Sort of like a mutual friend of ours.”

“Rylee.” I whisper her name, the sound causing me to relax. “Yeah, like the way she used to be. Back on la isla.”

“I think we both know what we need to do,” my sister says with a confidence I don’t possess. “When I get back to Chicago, I’ll resign. Law school or no law school. I can’t continue to waste time doing something that doesn’t bring me joy. But I’ll only do it under one condition—okay, maybe two.”

I push up on my chair. “Name it. Anything. I want to see you happy.”

“I need you to find another job. One that will bring you true joy. I know how much you hate doing commissioned portraits. If Mr. Arenado with his creepy short tie comes here one more time, I’m liable to take him shopping and show him how to wear one. Your new job needs to pay well, because if things don’t work out with law school, I may need to move in with you. I love your condo.”

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