proper words for it all: the manâs penis shoots out some tadpole thingies, which are actually baby seeds.
Ana and Pina are looking after Luz while the other kids swim and the grown-ups drink beer by the pool on the other side of the hotel. There are some swings between the stone wall and Pinaâs backpack. Luz is sitting under one of them and Pina pats her on the head: her ringlets bounce at the slightest touch. Then Pina climbs back onto the wall where Ana is now standing on tiptoes pretending to walk across a balance beam like a gymnast. Pina pushes her gently and Ana loses her balance but regains it straight away.
âQuit it, Pina. I could have fallen like Humpty Dumpty and they would have put you in jail.â
Pina doesnât ask who Humpty Dumpty is. She never asks Ana to explain her gringoisms.
âLie down,â she says.
Ana lies on top of the clothes.
âOpen your legs wide.â
Ana opens them but she wonât stop jiggling about, and Pina canât find any way in.
âStay still!â
This, or something, amuses Luz, who starts chuckling. Pina glances over at her. Sheâs pushing an empty swing. Ana and Pina had also been pushing each other on the swings before theyâd got onto the baby-making hole. Now, if she puts her hand up to her face, Pina can smell the rust of the chain.
With her BIC, Pina carefully combs Ana for an entry point. She imagines the baby-making hole has a secret hatch: you have to press the exact point with a penis or the pencil rubber to open it up. A bit like the barely visible hole on the back of the alarm clock which you have to poke with a pin to set the time.
Ana gives up hope.
âI donât have a hole,â she says, her lip quivering.
Pina carries on her search. Itâs not that uncommon for her to make Ana cry, and she always gets over it in the end. This time, though, Ana shuts her legs.
âMaybe if youâre chubby you donât have a hole.â
âDonât be a ninny,â Pina says. âAll girls have a hole. How else would the pee come out?â
This is what she says, even though she knows that what Ana wants to hear is that sheâs not chubby. But she is. A little bit. In fact, Pinaâs mom told her that the pee hole isnât the same as the baby-making hole, but she imagines theyâre similar: theyâre neighbors, after all. Itâs like they live in the same mews.
âMaybe if I pee youâll be able to see where it comes out,â Ana suggests.
âThat is gross,â Pina says, wielding her pencil threateningly. âYou will not pee on me or Iâll tell on you for leaving Luz by herself on the swings.â
Luz is singing a lullaby to the empty swing. Maybe she can see a ghost there. Pina and Ana have discussed this possibility before because Luz is always talking to an invisible someone or another. That thought barely finished, Pina hears the dull thump of the swing hitting Luz on the forehead. The little girl screams, drops to the floor and starts to cry.
âHey, Luchi, Luchi,â Pina cries. âHey, come over and help me out.â
But Luz doesnât even seem to hear her. Ana jumps off the wall, goes to her sister, lifts her onto the swing and pushes her gently.
âWe havenât finished,â Pina says.
âWhy donât we try on you?â Ana says.
âIâm embarrassed to take off my panties.â
âI took off mine!â
Pina throws her panties at Ana from the wall. Luz laughs. Sheâs got a lovely laugh. When Luz laughs Pina thinks how sheâd like to have brothers and sisters. Luz puts the panties on her head like a hat, but Ana snatches them off and throws them back in the direction of the wall; they land on the grass. Ana can be pretty snappish with her sister sometimes. All four of them can be pretty snappish with each other, and when theyâre snappish Pina thinks how she doesnât want brothers or sisters,
Ana and Pina are looking after Luz while the other kids swim and the grown-ups drink beer by the pool on the other side of the hotel. There are some swings between the stone wall and Pinaâs backpack. Luz is sitting under one of them and Pina pats her on the head: her ringlets bounce at the slightest touch. Then Pina climbs back onto the wall where Ana is now standing on tiptoes pretending to walk across a balance beam like a gymnast. Pina pushes her gently and Ana loses her balance but regains it straight away.
âQuit it, Pina. I could have fallen like Humpty Dumpty and they would have put you in jail.â
Pina doesnât ask who Humpty Dumpty is. She never asks Ana to explain her gringoisms.
âLie down,â she says.
Ana lies on top of the clothes.
âOpen your legs wide.â
Ana opens them but she wonât stop jiggling about, and Pina canât find any way in.
âStay still!â
This, or something, amuses Luz, who starts chuckling. Pina glances over at her. Sheâs pushing an empty swing. Ana and Pina had also been pushing each other on the swings before theyâd got onto the baby-making hole. Now, if she puts her hand up to her face, Pina can smell the rust of the chain.
With her BIC, Pina carefully combs Ana for an entry point. She imagines the baby-making hole has a secret hatch: you have to press the exact point with a penis or the pencil rubber to open it up. A bit like the barely visible hole on the back of the alarm clock which you have to poke with a pin to set the time.
Ana gives up hope.
âI donât have a hole,â she says, her lip quivering.
Pina carries on her search. Itâs not that uncommon for her to make Ana cry, and she always gets over it in the end. This time, though, Ana shuts her legs.
âMaybe if youâre chubby you donât have a hole.â
âDonât be a ninny,â Pina says. âAll girls have a hole. How else would the pee come out?â
This is what she says, even though she knows that what Ana wants to hear is that sheâs not chubby. But she is. A little bit. In fact, Pinaâs mom told her that the pee hole isnât the same as the baby-making hole, but she imagines theyâre similar: theyâre neighbors, after all. Itâs like they live in the same mews.
âMaybe if I pee youâll be able to see where it comes out,â Ana suggests.
âThat is gross,â Pina says, wielding her pencil threateningly. âYou will not pee on me or Iâll tell on you for leaving Luz by herself on the swings.â
Luz is singing a lullaby to the empty swing. Maybe she can see a ghost there. Pina and Ana have discussed this possibility before because Luz is always talking to an invisible someone or another. That thought barely finished, Pina hears the dull thump of the swing hitting Luz on the forehead. The little girl screams, drops to the floor and starts to cry.
âHey, Luchi, Luchi,â Pina cries. âHey, come over and help me out.â
But Luz doesnât even seem to hear her. Ana jumps off the wall, goes to her sister, lifts her onto the swing and pushes her gently.
âWe havenât finished,â Pina says.
âWhy donât we try on you?â Ana says.
âIâm embarrassed to take off my panties.â
âI took off mine!â
Pina throws her panties at Ana from the wall. Luz laughs. Sheâs got a lovely laugh. When Luz laughs Pina thinks how sheâd like to have brothers and sisters. Luz puts the panties on her head like a hat, but Ana snatches them off and throws them back in the direction of the wall; they land on the grass. Ana can be pretty snappish with her sister sometimes. All four of them can be pretty snappish with each other, and when theyâre snappish Pina thinks how she doesnât want brothers or sisters,
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