Page 73 of Pride and Protest
“Progress for you seems to mean pushing off those who can no longer afford to live in your district to other districts, so they aren’t your problem anymore.”
“Liza! Excuse me. Everything he has done for ourcommunity! He is an Obama Democrat, I would remind you,” Colin said with a sneer.
“Congratulations on your allegiances, Senator.” Liza turned to Chicho, wished her well, and stalked out of the courthouse. She heard the phrase “dodged a bullet” muttered behind her.
When Liza got home, her mother was on a tear. “i tell you what, I better not see her little Puerto Rican ass here again. She’s a skeezer, bottom line.”
“Momma,” Liza warned.
“A skeezer! That girl was waiting like a dog at the table for what you threw away. She’s always been like that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got a picture of you up with some pins in it.”
“Ma, that’s enough.”
“I hope you saw the town car they rode in while you came in soggy and tired from the train. I hope you saw that princess cut on her fat hand and compared it to your ashy, chipped-nail-polished hands. I hope it eats you alive that your fat, plain friend got one over on you.”
“No one got one over on me, Ma. Chicho...” But Liza didn’t have the energy to be nice. Her friend had made a huge mistake for money, and it made her feel queasy to defend her right now.
“Well, at least you have WIC. How did you say he made his money?” Bev looked through her purse, a poor attempt at casual.
“I didn’t say.” Liza had to get around her to get down the hallway. But Bev cocked her hip and blocked her way, primed for an argument. Liza was emotionally near the end of her rope.
“Well, doyouknow?” Bev asked.
“Ma, I told you I’m not like that. I don’t ask for a man’s bank account before I date him.”
“Okay, Ms. High and Mighty. You’reproudof not even having that man’s business card?” Bev put her purse down.
“Don’t you like him?”
“I actually do. But I’d like him a lot more with a job description.” Bev picked up her purse again and walked toward the door.
“Can that be enough right now, Ma?” Liza asked the back of her head.
“If it’s enough for you, Liza, I haven’t done my job as a mother.” Bev’s bracelets jingled as she clicked the front door closed.
Chicho’s instagram was insufferable for a while. Every hashtag was “the Lord this” and “blessings that.” Liza had never heard her friend speak this way. Chicho had also swapped her wild thick curls and heavy mascara for a straightened bouffant and shimmery eyeshadow. Her very Catholic friend was lifting her hands at a nondenominational megachurch and mouthing songs Liza knew she didn’t know. Chicho sat at children’s bedsides and went to food pantries and fundraisers. Liza had to admit that her friend looked made for this job. She was compassionate and approachable and was the perfect complement to Colin’s egregious self-promotion and outright buffoonery.
Liza shifted her phone to the other ear. “Chicho’s posts are unrecognizable lately.”
“Liza, do not comment. You can’t help but sound petty and she is going to think you’re jealous,” Janae warned.
“Trust me, I am not. We just aren’t talking, and this is the only way I can catch up with her.”
Liza could hear her sister’s annoyance over the phone. “Why don’t you just call her?”
“I don’t want to burden her with how much my life sucks right now. Our cousin in the permit office is running out of reasons to deny the permit. Our time is running out. I just feel like getting people here to care about what’s really happening is hard. I’m going to every council meeting. Plus, WIC and I keep missing each other, trying to connect. And nothing’s really official.” This was a small white lie. She knew how much the family liked him, but she had been sending some of his calls to voicemail recently. Every call was half flattery, half asking her to do something new. She didn’t like to feel used. But Bev had been terrible after Chicho married Colin, and the imaginary deep relationship with WIC was the only thing that kept Bev from flying off the handle with her. Family acceptance was a powerful drug.
“And you think talking to her about what’s really wrong is going to make her think you regret turning down Colin?”
“Yep.” Liza nodded.
“So you haven’t spoken to your best friend in four weeks? You got it all figured out, right, Liza?”
“No, I never said that I did. What about you? You got two offers in New York, and you still haven’t responded.”
“I know what you’re trying to do.”
“David is bound to come back to New York soon. You have your pick of jobs there. Talk to him instead of stalking his Instagram and looking around puzzled. You two are the worst.”
