How Tía Lola Saved the Summer by Julia Álvarez

thinks. But he can’t help laughing; there is something very winning about a person who believes in magic.

Five
tuesday

    Juanita’s Especially Special Fourth of July
    Juanita sits on the back steps, her elbows on her knees, her face in her hands. She lets out a long, sad sigh. She was so excited about the Swords coming just at that point in the summer when she would be starting to miss her friends from school. Then she was so excited when Tía Lola thought up a summer camp with movies and makeovers and s’mores. But now, on the fourth day of the girls’ visit, things aren’t going as planned.
    For one thing, the summer camp idea seems to have fallen apart. Essie and Victoria are down in the pasture with their father and Miguel and the team. Essie has been asked to step in for the day while Miguel’s ankle heals. Meanwhile, Victoria has suddenly discovered a keen interest inbaseball. That leaves Cari for Juanita to play with. Juanita knows she promised Mami, but a baby five-year-old is not the best company for a nine-year-old headed for fourth grade to hostess.
    Juanita has done her part. She read Cari her old picture book about tadpoles becoming frogs three whole times. She tried to be patient as Cari tagged along, asking questions, wanting to join in with whatever Juanita was doing. Could she also draw a flag with Juanita’s markers? Could she also help dress the dolls for a Fourth of July tea party? Could she try on Juanita’s tutu and pretend to be a ballerina fairy godmother? Finally, Juanita had had it.
    “Can’t you go play with someone your own age?” she snapped at the little girl unhelpfully, as there’s no other five-year-old in the house. “You’re being a pest!”
    Cari got all blinky-eyed and red-faced. Head bowed, she walked slowly downstairs to the kitchen, where Mami and Tía Lola were cooking up a storm. The odd thing, and something that Juanita wasn’t counting on, was that her outburst didn’t make her feel any better. But she couldn’t help herself. Juanita wants something fun to do and someone her age or older to do it with.
    Another thing she wasn’t counting on is how she is no longer the best at anything. Before the Swords came, Juanita was the best at reading, the best at Spanish, the best at using her imagination. In other words, with only one other sibling, she was the best at least half the time, actually more. But now, with three additional kids around, Juanita hasn’t been able to distinguish herself. During the treasure hunt, it was Miguel and Victoria guessing every clue. All Juanitadid was tear up a crucial clue that would have ruined the whole hunt if Valentino hadn’t come to the rescue. Even a dog has bested her!
    Juanita isn’t so sure anymore that she wants the Swords sticking around past Sunday, something she has heard Mami and Víctor murmuring about. Otherwise, she’ll never again be the best at something.
    As she contemplates this grim prospect, Juanita senses someone beside her. It’s Tía Lola, with that look in her eye. She knows something is wrong before you even tell her. “¿Qué pasa, calabaza?” she asks. What’s wrong, calabaza ? Juanita usually understands Tía Lola’s Spanish. But today, she hasn’t a clue what her aunt is calling her.
    Tía Lola points to the pumpkin vines out in the garden. “The calabaza is what grows on that vine.”
    Great! Now Juanita is a vegetable, which, come to think of it, is exactly how she feels.
    Inside the house Juanita can hear her mother finishing up preparations for today’s Fourth of July barbecue. Cari is helping her count out all the silverware. They were not going to have a big party, but after Miguel got hurt yesterday, Mami talked to all the parents as they were picking up his teammates. A whole bunch agreed to pool together and have a potluck Fourth of July barbecue. Six families will be coming over later this afternoon, as well as Colonel Charlebois; Stargazer, Mami’s friend with the fun shop in