He shrugged . “ Should I complain ?”
She asked him what was wrong . It was a routine , as ritualized as catechism or vaudeville .
“ My house .”
An exasperated look appeared , on cue , in Beatriz ’ s face . This too was part of the ritual , ever since he ’ d begun organizing protests against the new development that would demolish all the homes in the colony .
“ Do we have to always talk about that right away ? Never a ‘ how are you , how are the kids , how ’ s Stanley ?’ You ’ re like a kid yourself . Just want your own way .”
It seemed Beatriz had decided she was now the parent . “ Damn right I want my own way ,” he said . “ Why should I leave here ? I built this house . Bunch of Mafiosos come in here to take it away .”
He shifted in his chair . He felt the cramping in his leg muscles that always seemed to worsen when Beatriz visited .
98
“ Oh , you think everyone in the construction business is Mafia . Everybody is corrupt but you , right ?”
Beatriz was getting worked up , Gil figured , because she was married to an Italian . Well , half-Italian , half-Jewish . And Stanley was an accountant , not in construction . He liked Stanley , who spoke very little — how could you get a word in edgewise with Beatriz ? --and was a good father to the two boys .
“ Anyway ,” Beatriz was saying , “ I ’ m taking a run over to the supermarket . Do you need anything from there ?”
He considered a minute . “ Well , I could use some asafran .” “ You know they don ’ t sell that stuff there .” “ You asked me what I need , I told you . I can ’ t make arroz con pollo without it .” “ We ’ ll get it in the city one of these days . Meanwhile you can just use paprika .” “ Not the same .” Genuine Spanish saffron was one of Gil ’ s few indulgences , and one of his last
He shrugged. “Should I complain?”
he asked him what was wrong. It was a routine, as ritualized as catechism or
S
vaudeville.
“My house.”
n exasperated look appeared, on cue, in Beatriz’s face. This too was part of the
A
ritual, ever since he’d begun organizing protests against the new development
that would demolish all the homes in the colony.
“ Do we have to always talk about that right away? Never a ‘how are you, how are
the kids, how’s Stanley?’ You’re like a kid yourself. Just want your own way.”
I t seemed Beatriz had decided she was now the parent. “Damn right I want
my own way,” he said. “Why should I leave here? I built this house. Bunch of
Mafiosos come in here to take it away.”
e shifted in his chair. He felt the cramping in his leg muscles that always
H
seemed to worsen when Beatriz visited.
98
“Oh, you think everyone in the construction business is Mafia. Everybody is
corrupt but you, right?”
eatriz was getting worked up, Gil figured, because she was married to an
B
Italian. Well, half-Italian, half-Jewish. And Stanley was an accountant, not in
construction. He liked Stanley, who spoke very little—how could you get a word
in edgewise with Beatriz?--and was a good father to the two boys.
“ Anyway,” Beatriz was saying, “I’m taking a run over to the supermarket. Do you
need anything from there?”
He considered a minute. “Well, I could use some asa �Ʌ���t+�,��qe�ԁ���܁ѡ�䁑���eЁ͕���ѡ�Ё��ՙ��ѡ�ɔ��t+�qe�ԁ�ͭ������ݡ�Ё$�������$�ѽ����Ը�$�����eЁ�������ɽ聍���������ݥѡ��Ё�л�t+�q]��e�����Ё�Ё���ѡ�����䁽������ѡ�͔����̸�5���ݡ�����ԁ�������Ё�͔����ɥ����t+�q9�Ёѡ��ͅ����t)��ե���M����͠�ͅ��ɽ��݅́����������é��܁���ձ�����̰��������������́����