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.”She was wearing my favorite skirt, the one from Anthropologie.Even though I’d bought it on clearance and had had it forever, I’d kill her if she spilled anything on it.She looked down at her new pink gift shop T-shirt.PURA VIDA was splashed across the front of the shirt in optimistic green letters.“I bet everyone probably has a T-shirt like this, too,” Cynthia said.It might not have been unique enough for Cynthia, but pura vida was my favorite Costa Rican expression.The direct translation is “pure life,” but pura vida could also mean everything from “you’re good people” to “the good life to you” or “to life.” If something was cool or awesome, you could even say it was pura vida.I checked my cell phone one more time to make sure I hadn’t somehow missed a message, only to have it pop up with better open-air cell reception.A tall, dark, and handsome waiter came over and asked for our drink order in English.One of the women ordered guaro, which I’d read was similar to a rough and not-so-great Costa Rican vodka.“No way, José,” our waiter said with a look of mock terror.Even though he probably used this line on all his tables, we cracked up.“What would you suggest then?” the same woman asked.“Caipirinhas are the new mojitos!” our waiter said with an adorable wink.I hoped he got a commission on them, because every woman at our table ordered one.A couple of them looked like they’d order up the waiter, too, if they could.Since I’d done my research, I knew the caipirinha (kaipur-EEN-ya) and the mojito share two primary ingredients, lime and sugar.The mojito adds rum, mint leaves, and soda water and is served in a tall glass.The caipirinha adds only crushed ice and Cachaça (ka-sha-sa), a Brazilian rum distilled from sugarcane juice, to a lime muddled with two tablespoons of sugar.“Whew,” one of the women said as we tried our first sips.“Those Brazilians sure know their rum.I might have to think about a trip to Brazil next.”“A-okay?” the cute waiter asked, making a little circle with his thumb and index finger, and extending his three remaining fingers.“A-okay,” we all chorused, imitating his gesture.He winked.“I make my highest effort to comfort your stay,” he said.When he walked away, we all turned to follow him with our eyes.One of the sorority sisters made a swooning sound.“Well, you can’t argue with that,” the recently divorced woman said.I was pretty sure her name was Janice.“If my ex had made even his lowest effort to comfort my stay, I might not be spending the money I got divorcing him on this trip.”“Do you think we should ask for menus?” the lawyer said, clearly hoping to redirect Janice before she started talking about her divorce again.I was glad I’d gone over my trip notes again on the flight to Miami.“An assortment of bocas is included in the trip,” I said.“Ticos, or Costa Ricans, love to snack, and bocas are Costa Rican appetizers.GGG has ordered us a boca feast fit for a Tico.Gallos—tortillas piled with meat, chicken, or beans, and cheese; ceviche—a marinated seafood salad; tamales—stuffed cornmeal patties wrapped and steamed inside banana leaves; and patacones—fried green plaintain chips.”“Don’t get her talking about those,” Cynthia said, “or we’ll be here all night.”“Don’t forget whose skirt you’re wearing,” I said, as if I were only kidding.Cynthia took another sip of her caipirinha.“Don’t remind me.Does anyone know what time the stores open in the morning?”“I’m dying to go to the jade museum,” somebody said.“I hear the Teatro Nacional is amazing,” somebody else said.“I wish we could see a performance there, but I definitely want to at least take a tour.”“I hope we start with the outdoor market,” the sorority sister said.“All I want to do is surf,” one of the surfers said.A woman leaned forward.“How much did it cost you to bring your surfboard on the plane?”The surfer shrugged.“A hundred dollars.”“Each way, Michelle?” somebody said to the surfer.She nodded.“Couldn’t you rent one cheaper than that?” I said.Michelle shrugged.She was probably in her thirties, long limbed and all angles, like a tomboy who didn’t quite know how to grow up.Her sun-bleached hair was frizzy and wild, and her nose was sprinkled with freckles.Michelle shrugged some more.“It’s just not the same.It might sound crazy, but once you get to know your board, I don’t know, it’s almost like you’re looking out for each other.And once you get a bad case of board love—”“Board love?” somebody said.“You’d never want to cheat on it?” Janice said.“Oh, puhlease.Can you imagine a guy worrying about how many boards he rode?”“I’m so not going to touch that line,” somebody said.Two new cute waiters cut through our laughter to place the first of our bocas on the table.I took one more look at my cell phone, then put it away in my shoulder bag.“Did anybody else have a hard time leaving your kids?” popped out of my mouth.“Ohmigod,” a woman with salt-and-pepper hair said, as she reached for a tamale.“It’s the worst.And mine are twenty-eight and thirty-two.”After the laughter died down, a woman who hadn’t said anything yet spoke.“There was this robin?” she said.We all waited.The woman blushed.Janice put a patacone back on her plate and rested her hand on the woman’s.“Go ahead, tell us.Linda, right?”Linda nodded.She had dark hair and beautiful skin, like the old Pond’s cold cream commercials.“I’m here with my sister,” Linda said.“We’re both so busy we never see each other, and we used to vacation at the beach when we were kids, so we picked this trip as an excuse to get together.Anyway, at home I’ve been watching this robin who built a nest outside my bedroom window.You know, kind of tucked into the wisteria snaking up the drainpipe?”We all nodded encouragingly.Linda took a breath.“The nest is above eye level, so I couldn’t see inside, but I could watch the mother robin sitting on it.One day I noticed fluffy new feathers and tiny beaks peeking over the edge of the nest.Then before I knew it, one of the babies started hanging over the edge, and the mother would have to sit on its head to push it back down into the nest.”“Been there,” someone said.We all laughed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]