During dinner, Sonnia spoke at length abut Grandpa's exploits in South America and how sad it was that he'd come to such a tragic end. I was scarcely paying attention, though. Not that I wasn't interested in Grandpa, but at the moment, it was all I could do not to just stare openly at Sonia.
t wasn't just her looks, although that would have certainly been enough - it was like someone took the best parts of Salma Hayek, Catherine Zeta Jones and Jennifer Lopez and put them all together! There was something about her that was exotic and, at the same time, familiar. Whatever it was, just being near her made my teeth ache!
I also couldn't help notice that as the evening wore on, Karyn's amused, tolerent smile seemed to diminish. I couldn't blame her - this was supposed to be the night we lifted the "curse" from her chest, and Sonia's arrival had blown all our plans. When 10:00 rolled around, I walked her to the door. "Look, I'm sorry about Sonia's showing up like this," I said. "I'm sure she'll probably be gone in a day or two, and then we can get on with it."
"Yeah," she replied in a strange tone. "We certainly wouldn't want to upset Sonia's plans any."
"Huh?"
"Never mind," she sighed. "Look, Jon, it's all right, I do understand. I'm just a little - disappointed. But you're right - we'll try again - after she's gone. Good night."
I shook my head as she left. She was taking this a lot harder than I thought. She sure sounded mad, almost like she was...
Jealous?
Nah! I chided myself as I headed up to bed. This is Karyn! We've grown up together - why in the world would she be jealous? Still, I couldn't help thinking about it, even as I settled in to sleep.
My dreams were a bit unnerving, as I imagined myself chasing a sylph-like girl through a wooded area. Sometimes, she looked like Karyn, sometimes like Sonia, sometimes like someone else entirely. I had almost caught her when I felt a hand shaking me back to wakefulness.
"Jon? Jon. Wake up, por favor."
The first thing I saw was the clock by my bed reading 1:35 AM. Then I sat up and found our houseguest sitting on the edge of my bed, shaking me shoulder. She was wearing a Spongebob Squarepants sleepshirt which had slipped off of one bare shoulder, and the same jeans she'd worn to dinner.
"Uhhh, Sonia? Sonia?!"
"Si, it is me, Jon. You're awake now, aren't you?"
"Yeah, sure, but -" It was like a dream come true, but... "Geez, Sonia, if mom finds you in here, we'll both be deader than dead!"
"I know, Jon," she said, her big brown eyes looking at me soulfully. "But there is something mue importante I must tell you, yes?"
