august sunday

Look how close they stand, hip to hip, looking at the sea.

He greeted her with a pink beach towel as she walked out of the water. He wrapped her in the towel, wiped her face with the corners, dried her body, brushed sand from her back, her arms. Look how tenderly he does this.

He is a handsome man, thin with dark hair and a mustache, wearing khaki's and a cotton shirt. She has on a bright red swimsuit top with black bottoms. She appears older than him, middle-aged, with a short hair-cut, a bob, her body truly barrel-shaped, round, no waist.

She looks familiar...the haircut (unusual style for Hispanic women), her shape, her age. Is she my whore? She could be. Is he the customer I saw her with before? I don't think so. But she can't be a puta and he a client because he is so caring. But maybe things are different here in Mexico. Maybe she's a whore with a heart of gold. Maybe she's not the same woman, not a prostitute at all, but if she is, I think I want her job.

I am having lunch at Jorge's - camarrone empanizada - and my waiter Edgar is helping me with my Spanish. He said it took him about a year and a half to be able to converse in English. He says to take it slow. Even though we both speak English, somehow I end up with a pina colada to go when what I wanted was just a small one, to see how it tasted. I love maneuvering through the languages, no telling what you'll wind up with.

Back at the trailer park, two beautiful young children appear at my neighbor's house - she an ex-trucker with two ugly yapping biting dogs - yelling "buenos tardes" in an effort to get her attention. I'm outside reading and I look over. They are selling grapes. One of the more frustrating things about being here is that we are surrounded by vineyards but good luck trying to buy grapes - they are all shipped to the U.S. So, of course, I called the children over and bought a huge bag for a dollar. The Texas Couple bought the remaining two bags. None for the ex-Trucker. What a treat! Not as green or sweet as the table grapes I'm used to, but wonderful none-the-less.

Oh, yeah, I broke my fast after just two days. It's because we lost the wifi signal for over a day and, really, without the internets, radio, television, youtube, email, what was I to do? Eat.