Chapter 25: Blackberry Season (July) Part 4
"Brother," Carlos said. "Did you have a bad experience?" Fabian looked at him carefully, but found him hard to read.
"Why would you ask that?" Fabian wanted to know. Carlos smiled.
"You're being diplomatic."
"It's that obvious? He looked from Carlos to Lisa, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. He made a mental note to ask her about Pablo later.
"We tend to expect it when anyone mentioned Pablo," Felicia told him. "He's well known for pushing his luck with everyone he meets. What did he do to you?"
"Nothing really exciting or original," Fabian said, "and irrelevant now." He smiled fondly at Lisa, then turned his attention back to Carlos. "We were interested in the same girl. Pablo used my reputation against me, then treated her worse than I would have. I was no saint, but I didn't appreciate it."
"Ladies were always a vice," Felicia nodded. "He hasn't been home for a long time. I'm sure Mama keeps track of him somehow, but most of us have discovered that when Pablo is in touch, he usually wants money." She rolled her eyes. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have a snack."
With Felicia gone, the conversation quickly turned to sports, but not teams that Lisa was really interested in. She started looking around. Someone was missing. She found Amy and took her aside.
"Where's Shelly?" she asked. Amy's face turned red and her eyes went hard.
"Shelly was not invited," she replied tersely. "Come on -- I'll show you where I put your suit and towel. You can get changed a while." She led Lisa back a long hall.
"Why didn't you invite Shelly?" Lisa wanted to know.
"Because of what she did," Amy hissed. Annie came out of the bathroom and went to Amy's side.
"Calm down," she told her sister. "Sorry, Lisa. I should have warned you not to mention Shelly. Amy, you're headed into the red zone. Calm down. I mean it." They went into the master bedroom and Amy closed the door. Lisa's suit and towel were laid out on the bed from when she had dropped it off with the pies that afternoon.
"Why?" Lisa persisted. "Amy, you've been friends with Shelly for years. What happened?"
"You don't know that she tried to pick up Fabian after you broke up with him?" Lisa recoiled and Annie took Amy's arm.
"Amy, calm down," she repeated, leading her sister to a chair.
"I told her to," Lisa shrugged. "Why is this a problem?" Although she was trying to act nonchalant, she felt tight through her chest thinking about Fabian and Shelly. Fabian kissing Shelly like that ... maybe going even further ... Shelly probably would ....
"Lisa, that's the number one rule of dating and friendship," Annie interrupted her thoughts to inform her. She was obviously as angry and indignant as Amy, but wasn't as scary and volatile. "You do not chase after the ex of a friend."
"Even if I told her to? I recommended him, you guys." Lisa was confused and wanted desperately to fix whatever was wrong here.
"Lis, remember when Pablo Moreno asked you out? Why didn't you go?" Annie wanted to know. She perched on the arm of Amy's chair.
"Because Amy liked him," Lisa said, "and I knew Amy would be hurt if I went. There were other reasons, too -- I don't think we have to go over all that again." She made a disgusted face.
"Right. This is the same thing," Annie told her. "Exactly the same thing."
"How can it be the same thing? I wouldn't expect him to be a monk just because I broke up with him."
"It has nothing to do with him," Annie told her, "And everything to do with Shelly and her lack of loyalty. Lisa, she's supposed to be your friend. You don't just jump in and grab something as soon as someone drops it. Especially not a boyfriend. She trampled all over raw feelings -- yours and his -- and you don't do that to a friend."
"She should not have even asked if you minded," Amy said angrily. "I was so glad to hear that Fabian put her in her place!"
"He did what?" Lisa was stunned. She and Fabian had not discussed their time apart, preferring to concentrate on being together again. She consequently had no idea what Fabian had done during those two weeks.
"He wouldn't have anything to do with her," Annie nodded. "And it wasn't just that she was tacky even going after him. He was polite, from what I heard, but very firm that he wasn't interested in anyone but you."
Lisa's eyes filled with tears.
"Really?"
"Lisa, he is so in love with you," Amy said, now also in tears. "You can't know how long I've wanted this for you. I was so lucky with Greg, and Annie has Keith. I wanted you to be happy, too."
"I am, Amy. I really am."
Most of the carnival people have been with them from the beginning. They're treated well. Very few of the carnies leave.
"Madame, I'm really sorry." Robbin shifted from foot to foot. She was obviously very uncomfortable about something.
"If you have an emergency in your family, then your place is with them," Madame Fatima shrugged. "How long with you and David be away?"
"Dave isn't coming with me," Robbin replied. "We couldn't leave you that short of clowns, and I'm not sure when I'll be back. Dave will let you know when I know more."
"I hate to see you go, Robbin. Good luck."
"Thank you, Madame."
As Robbin left the fortune teller's vardo, Fatima watched her, wondering why Robbin had been lying to her and why she was really leaving.
I still don't understand why his parents didn't rent them the townhouse and keep the vacation house!
"Fabian. Hi. Greg Kendall." Greg was a blonde man with glasses and a prematurely receding hairline. "I've been wanting to meet you. Lisa talks about you a lot." Fabian smiled and shook his hand. They were joined by a young Asian man. Greg added, "And this is my friend Keith Wong."
"Annie's guy," Fabian said. The Asian man grinned and held out his own hand. Fabian grinned and shook with him, too. "I hear you're an excellent cellist."
"Sources say nowhere near what you can do on a violin," Keith replied with a grin of his own. "Please -- join us. I'll have Lisa let you know when we're going to practice again. We have a sort of a group. We call it "Subtle Origami"."
"You call it what?" Greg burst out laughing. Keith shrugged.
"Lisa's idea. You'll have to ask her. Mr. Host, perhaps your guests might like beer or some other sort of refreshment?" Greg stuck his tongue out at him.
"As you can see," Keith told Fabian, "we have a very high standard of adulthood here."
"My kind of people," Fabian laughed. "Speaking of Lisa, she seems to have disappeared on me."
"She went to get changed," Greg told him, leading him through an open sliding glass door and onto the impressive wraparound deck.
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