"Looks like they had a quiet night." "My army of souls." "Ready to travel to distant lands." "Was she crying?" "No." "She was awake." "They just need to be cuddled." "You spoil them." "Of course I do." "A spider bit me." "Shut up." " Wanna wash windshields today?" " Thieves!" "Little bastards!" "Beat it!" "One-eye!" "One-eye!" "Go fuck yourself!" "Little thugs." " It's our turn to sing today." " Great." "I remember it." "But that was the year I had to leave." "You never got to sing it?" "Just in rehearsals." "Mami was really sick." "It's better if you wait." "You need to wear your shoes." "They hurt me." "They're too small." "Well, put them on before you go inside the school." "He's so bad." "He hangs out with that gang that tortures the dogs." "Liar!" "Shut up!" "Take care of the stove." "And do what you can with him." "Which one do you work in?" "The Posada Santa Marta." "Do the mothers leave you tips?" "Not many." "But if you need diapers, it's heaven." "I've only got ten cents." "Tough shit." "Can you rent it?" "How much?" "Ten cents." "You don't bring it back, I break your arm." "If you can catch me!" "Six bags of trash I emptied." "People are so filthy." "Is she here yet?" "As always." " Any problems?" " 214 as usual." "Not enough pressure in the shower and the AC is too loud." "Witch." "They want to be mothers and they can't even take of themselves." "Good morning, ma'am." "Excuse me." "Your clerks said I should ask you if there's any work." "Right now there's nothing." "I'm available right away..." "Really, there's nothing." "I can do whatever." "I can cook, clean." "I can..." "If I hire you, I have to pay the others less." "It's already tough for them to make a living." "I understand." "Thanks." "Is there somewhere else I could...?" "I'm sorry." "A crazy woman." "Breast strokes right through the ice cubes." "Must be the Aryan blood." "Her people are mostly Swedish..." "Lutherans." " Buenos días." "Rubén." " Buenos días." "Sennora." "And will the ladies be taking a liquid this morning?" "And why not?" "A fruit plate, por favor." "and a joo-go of orange." "It's jugo." "Not joo-go." "Give me a break here." " You're so good at it." " I studied it." "Yeah, but you've got an ear." "I just sound like some old cracker." "It will arrive suddenly." "The children are so adorable." "You just wanna bake them some cookies and give them a bath." " Morning, ladies." " Hi." " Our water sprite in her element?" " Building her calorie debt." "Don't I wish I had one of those." "Is Eileen coming down?" "We knocked, but she said she's not hungry." "Ga"s missing a lot of meals." " She's on a budget..." "Eileen." " I'll say." "Woman gives two centavos to some little beggar boy, it goes right in that notebook of hers." "She doesn't bitch and moan about the prices like some people." "Bargaining is a respected part of the culture here." "If you don't complain, they take advantage of you." "Besides, she's a professor." " She's in clerical." " At a university." "Which probably pays worse than publishing." "I think her husband is between jobs." "Unemployed." "Actually, no." "I think he's freelancing." "He's looking for a job and hasn't found one yet... unemployed." "So they lied on the application." "Or he got laid off after it went through." "Do you suppose the fellow back there could do me up a pair of eggs, over easy, so they're not runny, but they're not scabby on the outside?" "I will order it done." "And bacon... crispy, so you break it." "You don't tear it." "We will attempt to comply with this, sennora." "And fruit plate?" "You take the even ones and I'll take the odd ones." "Excuse me." "Socorro?" "Right?" "Ascension?" "I knew it was some religious holiday." "Buenos días..." "Can I get another one?" " They're Catholic." " So?" "That might make a difference down here with the agency people." "If somebody stipulates that the kid has to be raised Catholic, yeah." " They can do that?" " Why not?" "Seems like under the circumstances..." "Beggars can't be choosers." "I think that might be the motto at the orphanage..." "Maybe faith is different." "You must've told them you'll raise yours up in your sect." "Religion." "And that child's parents have no say in the matter." "She's been skipping dinner a lot, too..." "Eileen." "Room service." "No, I don't ever see any trays in front of her door in the morning." "Maybe we oughta find a way to treat, then, and just not make a big deal about it." "Easy, easy now." "You're so lucky." "You'll have a car with its own little house." "You'll go to a pretty school with all the Yankee kids." "You'll have perfect teeth and a huge bedroom." "Let him breathe." "The expert." "My grandmother did this job, and my mother, too." "They did it nature's way." "Nature's way?" "Breast-feeding." "Wet nurses?" "Right here." "Have you ever tried it?" "Wash your windshield?" "Wash your windshield?" "She's only 30." "How can she be sick of men already?" " That's what she said." " She's a dyke." "She is not." "She might as well be one with the attitude she's got." " Have you seen her tattoo?" " How can you see anything?" "She won't wear a bathing suit like a normal person." "It's an ankh." " What's an ankh?" " Her tattoo." "Right, but what is that?" " And where is it?" " It's on her heinie." "How did you see it there?" "What's an ankh?" "She pulled her pants down for me." "I told you she's a dyke." "We were talking about tattoos and she showed me." "Wes has got a snake wrapped around a dagger on his shoulder." "Your husband has a snake?" "Am I the only one who doesn't know what this is?" "It's a symbol." "It's Egyptian." " For what?" " It means you're a lesbian." "Stop." "She says it symbolizes life." "I can't believe they're gonna give her one when there's so many of us, with husbands, who want to adopt." "Oh, come on." "A child needs a father." "I grew up without one." "I had four." "Stepfathers." "My mother always said she hoped the next one would turn out better." "Oh, Lord." "I can't look." "That oughta be a crime." "They look pretty happy." "They're underfed, but happy." "Makes me miss my puppies." " What are they?" " Jack Russells." "We raise about a dozen at a time." "My George can get them fed on schedule and give them their shots, but they need their mama." "I can show you how to swim if you want." "As if." " You are afraid?" " Fish urinate in this stuff." "You think I'm gonna stick my face in it?" " You are here alone?" " With my posse." "With your mother." "I appreciate that." " You are a punk?" " That would be stretching it." " You are a beach boy?" " Student." "And this is like a field trip?" "Have you been to a disco here?" "We have a lot of club." "Everybody on the beach can see that." "Would you like to go with me to one?" " What's your name?" " I'm Reynaldo." "Sorry, Reynaldo." "I've got socks older than you are." "Good run?" "Terrific." "We're just deciding whether Leslie should have a kid or not." "Do you wanna vote?" "Whoever she gets, I hope they've got no sense of fashion." "I'm sure in New York she looks fine." "She's what, a proofreader?" "Editor... fiction books." "She gave me one she worked on." "What was it like?" "Kinda racy, lots of language." " Language?" " Curse words." "She's gonna have to get an au pair." " Can she afford that?" " She's in publishing." "If she is a lesbian, she won't have to worry." "They'll have it all organized." "Mom..." "The one in 214..." "Don't mess with the shower." "But she complained." "This woman... changed rooms three times." "She's done nothing but complain." "Wait for Herminio." "And clean your glasses." "We should take it apart and leave it a few days, see how she likes it." "Great idea." "She'll be in my face, not yours." "Wait for Herminio." "If you're going to watch this crap, you should get cable." "Leave it alone." " I can fix it." " You?" "Who's done more damage with those pliers than with your Molotov cocktails?" "I'd like to light... 214 up." "Listen, Mister." "We don't threaten our guests here." "Understand?" "Why do we have to kiss their imperialist asses?" "They're our guests." "It's how we make a living." "And if you don't have a job, the judge sends you back to jail." "You and Uncle Ernesto, selling babies!" " We provide a service." " A service... for rich Yankees who..." "Would you be happier if the rich mothers came from here?" "Parasites!" "Fat, corrupt..." "When I'm dead, you can invite your terrorist friends... fleas and all, to live here for free." "But until that day, we provide food and lodging" "of high quality to those who can pay." "And clean those damn glasses!" "She never got fatter, which is a miracle with the crap kids eat these days." "We had no idea of her condition." "Do you know what month you're in?" "Maybe the second." "The third at the most." "They don't tell us anything." "When I was a girl..." "Have you considered an abortion?" "That's not an option." "And raising it?" "She's barely fifteen." "There are a lot of mothers who..." "Not Celia." "So what now?" "We bring it back here or give it up there?" "We'll arrange that later." "And Celia... what do you think?" "Consuelo." "That's your name for her, or theirs?" "That's her name." " That she was given by..." " By her birth mother." "We plan to change ours to Henley." "Your husband's name?" " So they'll call him Junior?" " They'll call him Henley, Jr." "You know, they can't say their J's." " You making fun of me?" " No, really, it's genetic." "Leslie, don't be mean." "It'll be, "My name is Henley Yunior."" "Which one do you like?" " You visiting here?" " Si." "I don't know what to buy." "Thank you." "Damn it!" "You can't use that if you can't read." "It's mine!" "That's really beautiful work." "I'd like something wider... cover this up." " Birthmark?" " It's a burn." "Ouch." "That's how I learned what "hot" meant." "Knocked over the steam iron?" "I was playing with the knobs on the stove, which my mother had told me not to do a million times, and she had a skillet in her hand, so she grabbed my wrist..." "God." ""You don't obey your mother, this is what happens."" "That's awful." "She never had to repeat herself to me again." "Kids have to learn sometime." "Well!" "They saw you coming." "Is Herminio here?" "Not yet." "I'll be in the bathroom." "Water pressure, my ass." "You ladies are braver than I." "Looks like Hemingway's rec room." " What's "sea food" again?" " Mariscos." "What's the difference between grouper and snapper?" "Is there one?" "I'll have a mojito with lime, not lemon." "They know how to make 'em." "I didn't see any limes on the counter." "Una cola?" " What did I say?" " That you wanted a tail." " I'm hopeless." " Daiquiri, por favor." " Agua?" " You didn't order bottled." "It's a restaurant." "It's in the guidebook." "Personally, I plan to get out of this country with my plumbing intact." "Where's Miss Congeniality?" "She's off to run a marathon before lunch, work up an appetite." "She likes to keep fit." "And Hitler liked a parade..." "woman is obsessed." "What's the name of that movie where all the housewives turn into perfect-looking clones?" "Her husband is gorgeous." " You met him?" " I saw a picture." "Hiking in the Rockies, glowing with health." "She's very sweet." "She's upbeat." "She's been waiting here longer than the rest of us, and she's still got a positive attitude." "I trust her as far as I can throw her." "That's because you're from New York." "That's 'cause I'm from planet Earth." "Someday, one of her microchips is gonna misfire." "You'll see the real Skipper." "She'll open her mouth, this thing with six heads will come out." "There have been plenty of nasty things to come out of your mouth." "Thank you." "Guess how many seafood places called "El Pescadero"" "there are in this neighborhood." "We ordered you the bacon cheeseburger." "If it's 2:30 here, then in Virginia..." "It's 2:30." "It's the same latitude." "Longitude?" "I have to call Henley." "Poor thing." "Yeah, house in Newport, estate outside of D.C., boat bigger than my apartment?" " They almost split up." " Jennifer and Henley, Sr.?" "That's not the best time to be adopting a child." "Maybe we should rat her out to the agency." "Maybe raising a child together will help their marriage." "My daddy always said that children were the glue that held a marriage together." "In my parents' marriage, I was more like the hammer." "My mother used me to bang dents in my father." "If they really are on the verge of breakup," "I would hope that whoever was providing the personal references..." "Had the good sense to lie when necessary." "How can you say that?" "'Cause if you're clueless enough to ask somebody who'd slag you on an adoption reference, you deserve what you get." "The whole thing is such a game." "They're just doing what they think is best." "For their bank accounts." "Why do you think they've got us down here for so long?" "They're gonna make us earn our babies." " It's part of the balance of trades." " It's not like that." "I'll bet you two pina coladas her Henley will fly down here some weekend, make a donation to Our Lady of Perpetual Red Tape, and they'll fly off with a little bundle of joy." "You sound so bitter." "I have been here over two months." "Pregnant women wait nine." "Yeah, but they get to throw up and develop varicose veins." "Leaving Sunday with a baby." "Wouldn't that be awesome?" "I called them yesterday and... they said they'd let me know if anything..." "If you make yourself a nuisance, they stick you at the bottom of the pile." "Well, you're not here, Henley." "I'm here." "No, I don't think you should call the Korean people." "This isn't the commodities market, Henley." "Right." "Right... yeah." "I just miss you." "You know, there's a lizard in my room." "No, a lizard, not a blizzard." "No, I said a lizard, like a chameleon, a gecko..." "A lizard." "Yeah." "It makes this little noise at night, it's nice." "Okay." "I miss..." "Hello?" "I didn't say they don't have papaya." "I said "papaya" is another word for "pussy."" " Pussy words?" " Vaginal euphemism." "Beaver, clam..." "Nobody here ordered clams, did they?" "The lower on the food chain you eat, the better the nutritional value." "Though the risk of toxicity increases." "Thank you for sharing." "There is probably every disease known to man down here." "Elephantitis, beri-beri..." "The thing for all of us to worry about are the infant syndromes, like... where the mother is intoxicated." " FAS." " And drugs." "Crack, all that." "They have crack here?" "Then there's the genes." " What do you do about genes?" " My point exactly." "You could adopt a ticking time bomb and never know it." "It's the same with birth kids." "But birth kids, you know both parents." "You know family history." "In my family, sometimes people are born with six toes." "On one foot." "People assume that if they have kids, they'll inherit all their favorite qualities." "If you get dealt a weak hand, you can always train it out of them, but it's work." " Roll up a newspaper." " I'm serious." "If they are born with some kind of disability... racial, cultural, whatever..." "you make them aware." "They've got some catching up to do, and you stay on their case." "I think you just watch them and see who they are and encourage what's best in them." "Mine had better be calm." "The one-neurotic-per-family rule." "Appetizers." "Skipper, any damage this is gonna do to my wellness," "I don't wanna hear about it." "Can you read this?" " Sure." "It's about a goat." " Will you read it to me?" "Maybe later." "Look!" "Look!" " Think we can sell it?" " Did they use it?" "If they did, nothing came out." "What is it?" "If Mom had had one of these, we wouldn't be here." "They arrange it all." "We just sign the papers and hand over the baby." "Her?" "Mute like always." "I don't think she understands how serious this is." "Can I help you?" "I need to buy jeans a size bigger." "Maybe two." "And this one?" "It's cheaper, but it only pays if all the numbers come up." "And then?" "If you win, you're king of the world." "I'll take just one." "No, gracias." "Ladies, ladies, if you choose one of them, the others, they go away." "How much is it?" "Whatever you think is reasonable is fine." "I don't know, what is this, four dollars?" "That is very reasonable." " Are you available?" " Absolutely, yes." "Always." "Blanca's learning to use a computer." "In school?" "They have that now?" "They've only got one." "The students take turns." "So if she wants to go to the moon..." "You need it for everything these days." "To clean rooms?" "The Royal Princess has a computer that says which rooms are ready and which need cleaning." "But the maids?" "The maids just clean." "We're too old to learn that stuff." "Want to walk to the beach if there's time left?" " The waves scare me." " The waves?" "I can't swim." "Right, you're a mountain girl." "I really think Blanca's going to graduate." "If some guy doesn't nail her first." "We made a deal." "She graduates without getting pregnant, and I don't wring her neck." "My sister used to threaten to sew me up." "It didn't work." "You think the American mothers eat the same stuff we do?" "Sure." "But they always want it cooked without lard." "Are they Jews?" "How long have you been a guide?" "I'm not, but if you're with me, the others won't be bothering you." " We appreciate it." " Thank you." " Your English is very good." " I wish that was true." " How did you learn it?" " At the movies." "We have a cinema here and the actors speak in English, and... they..." " They write under." " The subtitles." "Right." "It's a very good school, believe me." "If you're not a guide, what do you do?" "Now it's very difficult for us, for all the people here, and we have crisis." "We have economics crisis." "Politics as well." " We have had some trouble." " You're out of work?" "Yes." "I was building houses and..." " Office, schools..." " Construction." "Yes, but that..." "Business is not so good now." "It's a pity." "You girls..." "are you here for your vacations?" "We're adopting babies." "Sure." "It's our greatest exportation." "They're gonna get hit on whether we're with them or not." "Maybe they'll meet some Latin hunk." " They're not looking." " It's still good for the ego." "Are you..." "looking?" "For a guy?" "I figured I've given that enough time." "I better get this baby thing started before I'm too old." "It's tough being a single mother." "But you've only got a fight on one front." "You think the kid should go to bed at 6:00, there's no big debate." " You're getting a girl, right?" " Rebecca." " What's yours again?" " We haven't decided yet." "I'm not gonna be one of these ones where there's lots of choices about the basic stuff." "It's gonna be, "Here's your breakfast." "Eat it or go hungry."" "She's not gonna call me by my first name or have a cell phone by the time she's 15." "Tough love." "I see these women in New York, it's like their daughters are their best friend." "They go to the same hair salon, the same shrink?" "Forget it." "I wanted more friends, I'd host a slumber party." "You think Zorro hung out here?" "I'm not certain what you wish me to do." "Your petition has been filed, the placement procedure is underway, so?" "We're paying you." "I have to comply between both your wishes and the laws of my country." "So we do all the paperwork and you just pass it on?" "It may appear that way, but I can assure you that everything is..." "They said that we had to hire a local lawyer or it was no dice." "That's one of the regulations, yes." "If you are unhappy, I can always recommend you another advocate, but to change at this point might prejudice your case." "So you've got us over a barrel?" "At this rate, the baby will be talking full sentences before I get it." "I don't wanna have to undo all that." "Undo?" "These are crucial months for learning!" "I understand this." "What I want is for you to move our file from the bottom of whatever pile it's on to the top!" "Sennora..." "If we receive our child by the end of this week, there will be some kind of bonus in it for you, on top of your usual fee." "The government doesn't permit us to accept any kind..." "The government doesn't have to know anything about this, do they?" "Unless, of course, there's someone that you have to pay off, and then you just let me know the amount, and I will make sure..." "I will pretend you never suggested this." "Bonus or not, it's still your job." "Believe me, you don't want my husband to have to come down here." "I will do my best effort, but I promise you nothing." "DOESN'T SPEAK SPANISH" "It's Ernest." "Hey, brother." "What's up?" "The American ladies bugging you?" "I'm here with a client, a Nancy Hightower." "The one in 214." "She's a witch." "Rubén and the rest of them want to poison her, but she's paid up through Monday." "Two months, one week." "Could you live with an early departure?" "It would make you happy?" "Get her out of here!" "The sooner, the better!" "I understand perfectly." "What did the judge say about Buho's case?" "That my nephew is an enemy of the state." "Tell him Che is ancient history." "Okay." "See you Sunday." "I have made an inquiry." "I was right here." "What did they say?" "No promises have been given, but your paperwork is entering the final phase." "That's what you said the last time I got you on the phone." "Yes, but this is the final phase of the final phase." "I believe that your hopes will soon come to fruition." "I'm sorry, this is an inquiry from the Ministry." "Araceli will see you out." " So we have a deal." " If the Lord is willing." "Buenas tardes." "You must forgive us, madame." "But here we don't accept American Express for our children." "But there is a cash machine in the lobby." "Ministry of Human Services, please, the Director." "Attorney Buendia calling." "You'll never get one of our precious children... even if you torture me to death." "Gonzalo, how are you?" "Buendia here." "Listen, buddy, I've got a big favor to ask you." "I'm allowed to visit the kids... but only if her sister is there in the room with us." "She doesn't trust me one bit." "Before, I would have flipped out." "But now... now I try to think before I say anything stupid." "That's all." "Thank you, Wilfredo." "And now, our visitor." "Would you like to say something?" "I don't know how many of y'all are gonna understand this, but my name is Gayle, and I'm an alcoholic." "You figure they had a lot of hangings here?" "Burnings at the stake, your basic Inquisition-type stuff." "They had the Inquisition over here, too?" "Sure." "It just happened a few years later." "Kinda like The Beatles coming to America." "Are you religious?" "Not really." "For the interview, I said I was Ethical Culture." "What's that?" "If you're Jewish, it's like the last resort..." "Orthodox, Reformed, Unitarian, Ethical Culture." "Gayle is heavy-duty born again." "She's not obnoxious about it, though." "She doesn't, you know, proselytize." "Oh, that's how you say that." "As far as I know." "Are you gonna send Rebecca..." "Are you gonna send her to public schools?" "Sure, send her off with crayons and a flak vest." " I'm serious." " So am I." "She's gonna have to bump up against the real world at some point." "This thing where they're interviewing four-year-olds to get them into the right daycare, so they get into the right prep school, so they can get into Yale early admissions?" "It costs a fortune, but it is your kid's future." "I figure if she doesn't absolutely despise me by the eighth grade," "I'm ahead of the game." "At first the Spaniards was inside these walls and our people was outside." "Then the great general Jose de San Martin arrived with his army, and the Spaniards were beaten." "Thousands of people was losing their life." "I thought you weren't a guide." "I was in school for some years." "This is our history." "I have brought my children here to show them." "How many children do you have?" "Graciela, Eugenio, y Marisol." "Are they in school?" "When it's possible, yes." "May I ask you, which of the United States you are living in?" "D.C." "That's where the White House is." "Actually, it's not a state, it's a district." "Also, we have a place in Rhode Island." "The smallest of them all." "I'm from Colorado." " Have you ever visited?" " No." "But I have a great desire to do this." "Do you know this city of Philadelphia?" "Sure." "Someday I would like to find a job there." " Why in Philadelphia?" " It's the Cradle of Liberty." "I'll show you where a dangerous piracy was driven to the sea." "This way." "Do you think he'd be insulted if I gave him more than four dollars?" "Is my son good for anything?" "He's still very young." "Young?" "He's past thirty." "Age isn't just years." "Children are a curse." "I know." "We've got eight." "Eight!" "How do you support them?" "With great difficulty, ma'am." "His father gets mixed up in politics, goes into exile." "I thought all that was over." "First the government wanted to kill him, now I do." "Living with a Spanish girl who's half his age, right?" "The man is totally shameless." "Off playing the fool... while I'm stuck with these... whining mothers and all the bills to pay!" "Men get mixed up in politics like it's no big deal." "Then get the military pissed off." "And who's left to order the linens?" "This is better on my table, but it's too bulky to bring down." "I'm okay." "Are you manipulating my aura?" "Something like that." "You have to see where the hot spots are, where the energy polarizes." "That really deep stuff is sort of..." "Don't worry, I don't do anything too intense." "I think I feel something." "There's quite a knot in here." "Something emotional." " Do you do this on children?" " Sometimes." "They get most of what they need from, you know, handling." "Do you think that they can tell if it's not their real mother that's holding them?" "You're gonna be the real mother." "If I were to breastfeed..." "The idea of letting someone else's suck on me." "I guess I'm not that maternal." "You're not a mother yet." "Now visualize an emotional state and try to send it all to one specific part of your body." " Like?" " Why don't we try anxiety?" "How'd you come up with that one?" "Try to put it all here." "Do you think Henley's too much of a load?" "As a name?" "Names aren't so important." "He's just not gonna look anything like his father, and to have this whole "junior" thing laid on him..." "Your husband must feel strongly about it." "Well, we looked through a name book." "We both really liked Joshua." "There's way too many of those." "We had a Joshua." "You had a little boy?" "The first one was gonna be Cody if it was a girl, which it was." "I was young enough." "We didn't ask for an amnio." "And you miscarried." "I've read that..." "sometimes they end, and the mother didn't even know she was pregnant." "This was in the last trimester." "Oh, God." "That's terrible." "They said she, they knew it was a she by then," ""She's not gonna be viable." "You'll have to carry to term."" "So you had..." "It was like a delivery, but without the same spirit." "Nobody brings a video camera." "And with Joshua?" "He was born with his lungs not properly formed, and with Gabriel, it was his heart." "Turn over." "There was another one?" "Gabriel." " Did they both..." " Lived." "Joshua lived about two days, and Gabriel hung on for a whole week." "They were incredible." "You're not drinking enough water." " What?" " Your kidneys." "This tells me you're not flushing well." "How..." "I can't..." "How do you get past that?" "Losing losing three babies." "Imagine that you're made of light and that you're spreading outward into a black sky." "Lie down." "Excuse me." "With your permission." "No, come on in." "You can work around me." "I'm writing to relatives in Ireland... big family?" "Me, too." "How many?" "How many?" "Five brothers, four sisters." "There's nine of us." "Old-fashioned Catholic, I guess." "There were six of us." "Three older brothers, but two are dead now." "And I take care of the little ones." "Whoever this little girl is that I'm getting, my daughter, she's got a roomful of cousins." "My daughter." "Listen to me." "Don't think I've called her that before." "Do you speak any English?" "It's pretty weird, you know." "Because you have no idea of who it is you're getting, really." "But you can't help have these ideas, these... fantasies." "I have this day in my head." "And I used to daydream it even when I thought I could have my own kids." "It's early winter and there's snow." "We get some serious winters in Boston." "You don't have snow down here, do you?" "Snow?" "A snowfall." "Like the state, right?" "It's a day when there's no school." "It's a snow day." "And I let her sleep late." "And she's little, but she's old enough to go to school." "She's third grade, maybe." "And I let her sleep late." "I come in, and she's this little, warm bump in the bed." "And I say, "Darling, it's a snow day." "I'm gonna let you sleep."" "You enjoy it more if you know you're getting extra, that usually you'd be up and brushing your teeth." "Finally, she gets up and she comes out in her pajamas, and I make her cocoa with... you know those little marshmallows on the top?" "And then we talk about what we're gonna do that day." "And you can hear the snow shovels outside crunching." "The plows rumble by every once in a while, scraping the streets, and it's still falling, so it stays clean on top of everything, white." "Then I get her dressed..." "all the layers." "Although now it's a lot less with the polar fleece." "And she can do most of it herself, but you help because it's a pleasure." "Her arm on your neck while she balances to put her boots on." "No thought of it." "You're just an extension of her body." "We go to the Common, or we go way out to Jamaica Pond, depending on the weather." "And she's just bold enough to skid out away from me a little bit." "Shaky, but she keeps looking back to see if I'm watching her." "She always comes back to lean on me and rest." "And there's zillions of kids, and they're all ages." "They're zipping around and that makes her really excited, but mostly, she just wants to be with me." "Just the two of us." "And then later, when I take her to Shakey's or Ground Round, whatever seems like a big treat to her, and I let her order french fries, as long as she has some of my soup, too," "and she tells me stories about her classmates, or she tells me stories that she's made up, or whatever." "We sit and we talk in the booth." "And we're surrounded by other mothers and their kids." "And I am just one of them, you know?" "And then later when we walk home from wherever I can park the car there is the sound of our feet on the new snow her taking two steps to my one." "Then maybe if they haven't shoveled the walk, like they usually don't I go in front, to break the way for her." "This is ignoring the fact that I am supposed to be at work, right?" "I'm the one with the job." "I have a little girl up North." "I named her Esmeralda." "She'll be four years old on the ninth of April." "Maybe she lives where it snows." "Who knows?" "I was so young." "I had to take care of my brother and sister." "I had to work." "The nuns... they came to see me." "They said that... it would be best to give her up." "Sometimes when a new group of mothers comes," "I pick one." "A good one." "I try to... imagine her face," "her voice." "When I think of Esmeralda with her other mother up there in the North," "I hope that my little girl... has found a mother like you." "I didn't get any of it." "Excuse me." "I'm sorry." "Reynaldo." "Celia." "What's up?" "Nothing much." "Zoila said you were looking for me, with some big news." "Zoila doesn't know shit." "You still hanging at the beach?" "No, I've had..." "I've been sick." "Better now?" "It'll be over soon." "Great." "We're going to Miami." "Who knows how long." "What do they have in Miami we don't have here?" "It's 'cause my mother's old-fashioned and has to drag me everywhere." "You look different." "The boss." "See you around." "I don't think so." "Who'd you rob to get this?" "What's it to you?" "There's not enough left to buy doughnuts." "Forget about it." "Little shits." "I brought these." "They'll do." "A passport costs forty thousand... with a birth certificate, too, it's sixty thousand." " And the plane ticket?" " That depends." "Toronto, Chicago, New York, Miami, it's riskier but you get there." "If you want to fly to Mexico and cross the border..." "And Philadelphia?" "No direct flights to Philadelphia." "Is there a way I can pay half now and owe the rest?" "What do I look like?" "Come back when you can pay." "One, two, three generations without a father... or with one who's unemployed or in jail." "Children need role models." "They need a dream to follow." "Instead we have this permanent despair, kids growing up with no concept of work or responsibility." "This is why I won't go out on the streets alone after dark." "Sure, there were excesses in the past, but when I was a girl, we had a sense of dignity." "Now, this is more like it." "How many stars are next to this in the guidebook?" "We'll be fine as long as you don't get into the wine list." " I'm treating." " Come on." "No, I want to." " No..." " I don't... no." " One last drink and that's it." " It's ridiculous." " Nobody here wants them." " And why not?" "Because they've fucked us from every angle... economically, psychologically, politically." "It's more than just them." "Another round, please!" "Imagine our lives if they just disappeared." "How come they need so many?" "Can't they breed their own?" "They're too busy making money to procreate." "Or maybe it's their technology." "I don't trust those microwaves." "It's just another form of cultural imperialism." "We supply the raw material and they refine it." "You think they'd let us bring their kids here?" " Lots of opportunity up there." " For whites only." "Hector, my Cuban friend, he was in Panama when they kidnapped Noriega." "Too bad they didn't kill him." "And he told me that the Yankee invaders... were from every race!" "Chinese, Latinos, Blacks, Whites." "Exactly my point." " That's where I'm heading!" " That's what I'm saying, too!" "If it comes to a showdown... the little bastards shooting at us will be our own." "An order of cheese empanadas for two... chicken soup... roast pork with rice." "And two margaritas." "Les." "I'm sorry, I forgot." "I'm sorry." "Make that one margarita and one pina colada without rum." "Without rum." "Twenty minutes." "I'll start timing them in half an hour." "No big hurry." "Do you think the others think we're being anti-social?" "There's no rule that says we have to do everything in a group." "Of course, if the dog lady and Miss Triathlon weren't here..." "Skipper is a good person." "You cut people a lot of slack." "It's just her her exterior is a bit intimidating." "Did you order the cheese thingies, the turnovers?" "But of course." "I eat any more cheese, I might never poop again." " I got the opposite problem." " Still?" "I know the location of every flush toilet in South America." "Their stuff is worse than our stuff." "I just wish I could speak it like you do." "You don't need to understand the words to watch TV." "Stupidity is the universal language." "She was a Communications major..." "Nan." " That's news." " At Kansas State." "She told me she went to the University of Missouri, majored in Political Science." "What did she tell you her husband does for a living?" "Engineer." "High school chemistry teacher." "You're kidding." ""They get through a year with my George, they know that periodic table backwards and forwards."" "Wow." "If I tell you something, you promise not to pass it on?" " Only if it's really juicy." " She steals." "Steals what?" "Off the maids' carts." "I've seen her take a half dozen of those shampoos, soaps, those little mints they put on our pillow at night." "You're shitting me." "She just fills her pockets with them." "I suppose she assumes it's her right." "It's... furtive." "Furtive." "I love it." "I was halfway down in the stairs, so she didn't know I saw her, but she just looked both ways, and she just dug right in." "And everything is so cheap down here." "She always seems so in control." "Most of your serial killers are totally methodical." "Come on." "I know you guys aren't supposed to dis anybody, but you gotta admit, she's a sociopath." " Is that anything like a psychopath?" " With a lower body count, yeah." "Then why are we letting her have a child?" "You have to know how to handle these people." "They've got an inferiority complex." "Lord knows they have reason to have one, but you have to know what's bark and what's bite." "You don't think every one of us couldn't have finished our business and been long gone by now?" "They just wanna hold your feet to the fire a little, make the gringos squirm." "That's exactly how I felt when they were doing all that fertility testing." "Like they were making up new stuff just to try on me." "I had two operations." "One was a tubal ligation and this other thing." "I never totally understood the point." " Nothing, right?" " It must work for somebody." "It works for the doctors." "You don't wanna know what those bastards put me through." "They had me on this stuff with nun's pee in it." " Is this a regular doctor?" " Italian nun's pee?" "It has some kind of a hormone?" "From women of a certain age who haven't been sexually active." " I've read about it." " It's a racket." "They tried to talk my George into some business with his gonads." "I thought he was going to choke the intern." "Here we go." "London broil, baked potato." "I think we scored, ladies." " We could say something." " To who?" " To the people at the agency down here." " That would go down real well." ""In light of the persistent and malicious disappearance of our pillow mints, we the undersigned..."" "So what do we do?" "I don't know." "Be really good mothers to ours." "Pray for Rosemary's baby." " This is serious." " I know." "It's life, though." "Do you know how many manuscripts we get submitted every year where the basic story is the mom's a fruitcake?" "It's a whole genre." "So, we're what, afraid to rock the boat, get the ministry riled up, throw a little hitch into that adoption schedule?" "We just don't like her, that's all." "The kid, whoever it is, will survive." "Where we gonna sleep tonight?" "Don't worry about that." "Put it here." "Gold is the best." "Gold and silver." "None for me?" "Maybe a little bit." "Later." "Crabs and Goats... very soon you may realize your forgotten dreams." "And for our Twins." "it's best to lay low..." "Tonight you can be the big winner in the National Lottery..." "Here's Lady Luck herself..." "Miss Esperanza Natividad." "Virgo never needs to say she's sorry." "Scorpions will enter a period of stress... especially if they try to rise to a higher level." "Lions... should never live with Fish." "Remember that the race goes not always to the swiftest... and that youth is the land of the possibility." "The Road of Knowledge... is blocked by the prejudice of the smug." "And to follow the crowd is to lose your way." "Aquarians... it's time for reflection... to learn the lessons of the past and apply them to the future." "On the other hand." "Libra... expect a change that will turn your life upside down." "I see irreversible events... grave warnings in the movement of the planets." "We must obseve their orbits with caution." "There are forces in life we can neither explain nor control." "Our fotune is not accidental... but a confluence of energy." "negative or positive." "Great days are coming!" "You have unlimited potential." "We must remember... that life offers as many oppotunities as there are stars in the sky." "The Heavens don't determine our destiny." "but if we listen carefully to their signals." "we can smile at tomorrow!" "Hey, look, buy this from me." "Look, I'm selling, I'm selling... a book, please." "It's about a goat." "Look, I'm selling a book." "It's really interesting, about a goat." "Sir, I'm selling a book." "Please, sir." "It's really cheap!" "Eileen Mulroney." "I got here as soon as I could." "The traffic was..." "Have a seat, please." "You, too?" " Looks like it." " That's great." " Congratulations." " Likewise." "I left mine at the hotel." "Be my guest." "Thanks." "It was so sudden." " I had a pretty good idea." " You did?" "I lit a fire under my lawyer yesterday." " Spread some money around." " Really?" "Got their attention." "Put in a good word for you, too." "Thank you." "In two minutes, my life will never be the same." "Her name's going to be Esmeralda." "Did I tell you that?" "Who knows what lies ahead for you?" "Maybe a wonderful life." "Ready." "Good luck, my love."