Merci Suárez Plays It Cool

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool — page 5
to survive I motion at the thermometer we keep hanging on the patio The needle is pointing at the red numbers It's already ninety degrees It's the best defense I can think of though I hope she doesn't point out other less flattering parts of Tuerto's nature namely that he's a heartless murderer He kills everything birds mice voles lizards even baby possums and leaves them as grisly presents I think back to the first time Tuerto left us a dead sparrow in Lolo's garden I was so angry at Tuerto for killing that pretty bird We feed Tuerto I cried He doesn't need to kill things But Lolo just cradled the little body in his palm and helped me bury it so its spirit could live in the flowers There's no stopping Mother Nature in the end preciosa he told me though we tied a silver warning bell to Tuerto's collar after that Mami sighs and yanks the chain for the ceiling fan trying to circulate the air conditioning that never quite keeps up with Florida in July I suppose you're right about the heat she mutters Then she reaches under the chipped saltshaker on the kitchen table and hands over today's List of Doom I try not to look bitter as I review my list of chores I should be with Papi and Simón this morning way out past the cane fields in the Glades If they finish that job early they're planning to fish on Lake Okeechobee for a little while Mami however had other ideas for my time and ruined the fun She says chores build character Which is porquería You have to clean your room today she tells me as if I can't read her list myself It's a mess Tuerto is nesting in sweaty underwear It's mostly Roli's I say Go see for yourself if you dare It requires the moves of a ninja just to get past our door with Roli's boxes from college all over the room He hasn't unpacked from when he came home in May Naturally she ignores this Let him sleep she says Roli worked the graveyard shift at Walgreens again last night so he's out cold snoring como si nada on the other side of the curtain that divides our room Mami loads the percolator with El Pico and lights the flame You have your summer reading too Don't forget There's only a couple of weeks left before school starts From the corner of my eye I see the incriminating stack of library books sitting on the shelf near the back door exactly where I left them