“I don’t want to keep her,” Elena whispered, her eyes wide as she waited for their reaction. She took a deep breath. “But I want the best for her. Can we find her a loving family?”
Zita’s heart cracked at the pleading look on Elena’s face. “If you are sure.”
She nodded with no hesitation. “I’m sure.”
“I’ll make some phone calls,” Carmen said.
Zita hugged the girl, her heart sore for the choice Elena had to make and the baby she was going to lose.
Later that day, Teresa hurried into the room where Zita was feeding Julio. Tears streamed down her face.
“What’s wrong?” Zita asked, suppressing a sigh. Teresa had become increasingly anxious about her mother and sister, now their application had been approved.
“We need to call Mama,” Teresa said. “I am sure something bad has happened.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. It’s a feeling, a dread in my stomach.”
Zita did sigh this time. This was the fifth ‘feeling’ Teresa had had this week. “Teresa, we can’t call your mother. Someone will get suspicious if we’re constantly calling her. You need to trust Fernando is keeping an eye on them. In less than a week, they’ll both be here.”
“You don’t know what it’s like. They could be doing awful things to my sister!”
That was true, and there wasn’t a damn thing they could do from here, except pray Manuela’s age would protect her. Zita patted the couch next to her. “Sit down.” Julio had finished his bottle so she placed it on the coffee table and shifted him so she had one hand free. She took hold of Teresa’s hand. “It’s difficult to wait. I know how easy it is to imagine all the nasty things that could happen, but we can’t infiltrate the place where Manuela is being kept, not without great danger to both Manuela and whoever tries to rescue her. The best plan is the one we have— to rescue Manuela when she’s sent home for her birthday.”
“I’m so scared.”
“I know,niñita.It’s not long now, and they’ll be safe.” Zita pulled the girl toward her and hugged her. “You can hold on for a few more days.”
Teresa sniffed and nodded.
“Can you take Julio for me?” Zita asked, hoping that if she gave her something to do, Teresa would stop obsessing.
Teresa held out her hands and Zita passed the baby over.
“I’ll call Fernando tonight for an update,” Zita said.
“Thank you.” Teresa walked out of the room, cooing to Julio.
Zita let out her breath. This day had been an emotional rollercoaster. All the tension that had drained from her during her weekend in Vegas was now back with a vengeance.
Her cell phone rang and relief filled her when she saw David’s name on the screen. “Hi.”
“Are you free for dinner Saturday night?”
She smiled. “Sure.”
“Full disclosure— it’s kind of a family thing.” He paused. “Dad’s announcing his candidacy at a political dinner, and all of the family is expected to be there to support him. I thought you could be my plus one.”
Zita screwed up her nose, glad he couldn’t see her. The last thing she wanted to do was go to an event where it would appear that she supported Bob Randall, but it was nice David was inviting her.
“You’ll sit at the family table for dinner,” David went on, “and then there’ll be speeches. I’m sure we can make an excuse for you to leave.”
Now Zita felt bad. David was supporting his father, and she should be there for him, even if she didn’t agree with his father’s politics. “No, it’s fine. I’ll come. Thank you for inviting me.”
“That’s great!” He sounded so pleased.
“I’ll drive. What time do you want me to pick you up?” If she had her car, she could escape if things got to be too much.
