Sister Seal of Approval

So Carmen finally met Marcus today.

Sister Seal of Approval

I’ve been putting this off because, let’s be honest, Carmen has opinions about everything and she’s not shy about sharing them. Plus she’s been giving me grief about ‘the napkin artist’ since I first mentioned him.

The verdict came after about twenty minutes of polite conversation over coffee in our kitchen. Carmen pulled me aside and delivered her assessment with typical Vasquez sister diplomacy: ‘He’s cute but he’s a nerd.’ I told her I was aware of both facts. Then she shrugged and said, ‘You could do worse.’

In Carmen language, this is basically a glowing endorsement. She didn’t mention his cargo shorts (progress!) or ask about his career prospects (miracle!). She just accepted that her little sister is dating a guy who draws on napkins and thinks Linux is a viable conversation topic. I’ll take it.

Marcus, for his part, seemed genuinely charmed by Carmen’s particular brand of older sister interrogation. He asked about her HR job, complimented her car, and didn’t flinch when she mentioned that Dad wants to meet him soon. The boy’s got potential.