The Villa

not supposed to be on the phone until after you do your homework. Ms. Giambelli's coming over, so you'd better get off. She might tell Dad you're screwing off again."
    "Sophia?"
    "No, jerkweed."
    "Listen, call you back. My sister's being a pest, so I have to kill her. Yeah. Later." He hung up, stuffed taco chips in his mouth. "Who's coming over, for what?"
    "The woman Dad's sleeping with is coming over to fix dinner."
    "Yeah?" Theo's voice brightened. "Like, on the stove?"
    "Don't you get it?" Disgusted, she waved the note. "It's a tactic. She's trying to squeeze in."
    "Hey, anybody wants to squeeze into the kitchen who can actually cook is fine with me. What's she making?"
    "It doesn't matter what she's making. How can you be so slow? She's pushing it to the next level. Cooking for him, for us. Showing him what a big, happy family we can be."
    "I don't care what she's doing, as long as I get to eat. Get off it, Maddy. I mean get—off—it. Dad's entitled to have a girlfriend."
    "Moron. I don't care if he's got ten girlfriends. What are we going to do if he decides he wants a wife?"
    Theo considered it, crunched on more chips. "I dunno."
    "'I dunno'," she mocked. "She'll start changing the rules, start taking over. That's what happens. She's not going to care about us. We're just add-ons."
    "Ms. Giambelli's cool."
    "Sure, now. She's sweet and nice. When she gets what she wants, she won't have to be sweet and nice and cool. She can start telling us what to do, and what not to do. It'll all have to be her way."
    She turned her head as she heard the kitchen door open. "See, she's just walking right in. This is our house."
    Maddy stomped to her room, slammed the door. She intended to stay there until her father got home.
     
    She made it an hour. She could hear the music from downstairs, the laughter. It was infuriating to hear her brother's horsey laugh. The traitor. It was more infuriating that no one came up for her, or tried to talk her out of her sulks.
    So she'd show them she didn't care, either way.
    She wandered down, nose in the air. Something smelled really good, and that was just another strike against Pilar in Maddy's mind. She was just showing off, that was all. Making some big, fancy dinner.
    When she walked into the kitchen, she had to grit her teeth. Theo was at the kitchen table, banging on his electric keyboard while Pilar stood stirring something at the stove.
    "You need to add lyrics," Pilar said.
    He liked playing his music for her. She listened. When he played her something that sucked, she said so. Well, in a nice way, Theo thought. That kind of thing told him she was paying attention, real attention.
    Their mother never had. To much of anything.
    "I'm not good with the word part. I just like doing the melody."
    "Then you need a partner." She turned, set down her spoon. "Hi, Maddy. How's the essay going?"
    "What essay?" She caught Theo's warning hiss and shrugged, not sure whether she was furious or grateful that he'd covered for her. "Oh. It's okay." She opened the refrigerator, took her time selecting a soft drink. "What's this gunk in here?"
    "Depends. There's cheese gunk for the manicotti. The other's a marinade for the antipasto. Your father tells me you like Italian food, so I figured I was safe."
    "I'm not eating carbs today." She knew it was mean, and didn't need Theo's glare to tell her so. But when she made a face at him behind Pilar's back, he didn't respond in kind as he usually did. Instead he just looked away, like he was embarrassed or something.
    And that stung.
    "Anyway, I made plans to go to a friend's house for dinner."
    "Oh, that's too bad." Casually Pilar got out a bowl to begin mixing the filling for tiramisu. "Your father didn't mention it."
    "He doesn't have to tell you everything."
    It was the first directly rude comment the girl had made to her. Pilar calculated the barriers were down. "He certainly doesn't, and as you're nearly fifteen you're old enough to know what you like to eat, and where you like to eat it. Theo, would you excuse Maddy and me for a minute?"
    "Sure." He grabbed his keyboard, sent Maddy a disgusted look. "Who's the moron?" he muttered as he walked by her.
    "Why don't we sit down?"
    Maddy's insides felt sticky, her throat hot. "I didn't come down to sit and talk. I just came to get a drink. I have to finish my essay."
    "There isn't any essay. Sit down, Maddy."
    She sat, sprawled, with a look of deliberate unconcern and boredom on her face. Pilar had no