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ever gotten,” she said. “Times ten.”
    â€œTimes a hundred,” said Papa.
    â€œBut how do we know it’s not rigged?” I said. “How do we know they’re really drawing them fairly? Maybe they only pick the numbers they want! We could be waiting forever!”
    â€œEduar,” Papa said, “I’m telling you, just do your best to forget about it.”
    Forget about it? Were my parents crazy? How on earth was I supposed to forget about something like this? It was impossible.
    â€œWhat about Abuela and Abuelo?” Esther wanted to know. “Are they coming, too?”
    I already knew the answer, but I didn’t say anything. Papa and Mama exchanged another long look. Mama clamped her lips together and opened her eyes wide, staring up at the ceiling. I knew why she did this—to keep from crying.
    â€œNo,” Papa said. “Abuela and Abuelo will stay here, along with those members of our family who have chosen to remain in Cuba.”
    â€œBut won’t they miss us?”
    â€œOf course they’ll miss us,” Mama said.
    â€œCan we come and visit them whenever we want?” Esther pressed.
    She was still only five, and the complexities of what we were facing were beyond her. At my advanced age of ten, I felt I understood all about it. “No, we can’t,” I said. “We won’t ever see them again for the rest of our lives. Or anybody else from Glorytown! We have to leave here and never come back, all because of that stupid monkey Fidel!”
    â€œEduar! Your mouth!” Papa said. “Concha, close the door!”
    Mama got up and shut the front door.
    â€œHow many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down when we are speaking of these things?” Papa said. “If anyone had been listening, we would all be in big trouble!”
    â€œI’m sorry, Papa,” I said.
    â€œListen, children. This is a very hard burden for kids as young as you to bear, but we have no choice. For now, I’m going to give you some strict rules to follow until the day we get that telegram, no matter when it comes. Especially you, Eduar. Listen carefully. If anyone tries to start a fight, get away from him. Don’t hit back, whatever you do. Niño, from now on, you are to stay close to home, do you hear me? And, Esther, Idon’t want you leaving the house except to go to school, when it starts. You stay safe with Mama. Do you understand?”
    â€œYes, Papa,” we said.
    â€œGood,” Papa said.
    He’d finally taken the step he had dreamed of for so long, but instead of looking happy, he now looked worried.

    The government followed up right away and sent an officer to our house to take inventory of all our possessions. They did this because when it came time to leave we were only allowed to take a few things, so most of what was considered ours was by law now considered property of the state. The government wanted to make sure nothing disappeared between now and when we left.

Gusanos
    S chool started a few days later, in September. That morning, after a breakfast of sugar water, hard bread, and half an egg from one of Abuela’s chickens, Esther and I waited on the corner for Tito, Rolando, and Luis, as usual. Since Papa applied for the visa I had stayed close to home and had been afraid that Tito and Rolando wouldn’t be allowed to associate with me anymore. But they came out of their house right on time, and a moment later Luis appeared. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Tito and Rolando didn’t know about the visa yet; maybe no one at school did. The four of us, plus Esther, started walking to school.
    Tito was the first to speak.
    â€œSo, your father really went ahead and did it!” he said in awed tones.
    â€œYup.” The fact that Tito knew about it meant that the whole school did, too. I’d been hoping for a grace period, but I could see now I wasn’t going to get