Chapter 7 - Samantha

Samanta ran to the front door to open it, otherwise, Carlos would knock it down. It was almost 6p.m. and she was fixing dinner for herself and her sister Teresa. Now she had to set up another seat at the table, because, if she was sure of something it was that Carlos loved her mac & cheese.

“Come in, come in. Hurry. I left the stove on and the macaroni is almost ready. You know I love them…”

“Al dente” her friend concluded as he closed the door behind himself. “Tell me, I'm all ears. How'd it go?”

“Great!” Sam replied from the kitchen. “I answered every question. I think I'll get well over the 2000 point mark.”

“So… UCLA?” Carlos mentioned and Samanta noticed a certain tone of mockery in his words.

“You know it's my most… realistic choice” she said.

“Right, right. That and the fact that some poor peasants must resign to go to some University a few thousand miles from home.”

“Only you could ever think of going to Utah for college” his friend reminded him.

“Whatever. I didn't come to talk about myself. Tell me. Did you make it in time?”

“Yes. Right on the nick of time” said Sam, putting some dishes on the dinner table. “Although, something really weird happened before.”

Carlos took his place at the dinner table, watching Samanta come and go from the kitchen to the table, bringing cups, dishes and bowls with food.

“Oh, yeah? What happened, though?”

“On my way out of the airport, I ran into the strangest guy.”

“How do you mean strange?”

“I don't know how to say it. I couldn't even quite see him, but the moment we were apologizing to each other over our clumsiness of not looking where we were going, a bunch of girls and paparazzi showed up…”

“A celebrity?” Carlos had his eyes open in awe, fighting back his urge to grab a bun from the basket on the table.

Samanta shrugged.

“What part of I didn't see him did you not understand?”

“Alright! No need to be so harsh.”

“Sam?” A voice came from the main door. “I'm home!” Teresa announcing herself, Samanta's older sister.

“We're over here, Tere!” the younger sister indicated her. “Come. I just served dinner.”

“You got her all measured out, girl!” Carlos joked.

Samanta laughed in silence, her friend was right. at 6 o'clock her sister came home. During this past year, she was in charge of making dinner. Teresa worked all day as a social worker and she always came back hungry and exhausted. It was the least she could do for her sister, who was a second mother to her.

“Oh! Carlos!” Teresa greeted.

“What's up, Tere? How was work?” He politely inquired.

Teresa shut her eyes tight and huffed.

“I wish I could say fine, but I'd be lying. I got a sad case and eight year old little guy. His father died a month ago at a band war and his mother is a crackhead. I was tempted to fill out the adoption papers.”

“Why don't you?” Sam asked. “It'd be nice to have a nephew.”

“I could help you out with that” Carlos joked, “but Teresa won't open her heart to me.”

“Shut up, Carlos! You could be my son” Teresa reprimanded him.

“But, I'm not” he rebutted, winking.

“Samanta, when will you give this kid a chance?” Her sister mocked him. “So he would stop wasting grown women's time.”

“You two will be the end of me” he rose his finger accusingly. “One for not loving me back” he looked at Samanta, “and the other one 'cuz she won't admit she's mad about me” and he looked at Teresa.

“Oh my God! You got me. You're right. I don't even know what to do with all this passion I have burning for you” said Teresa taunting him.

This was the typical evening at the Andrade sisters' home. Laughter, jokes and anecdotes while enjoying some nice homemade meal.