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Chapter
1 The roadhouse was an unlikely place in Mexico to stop for a beer. |
Chapter
2
Three weeks on a nude beach was what it took me to lose my sense of time. |
Chapter
3
It was a comfortable bus, hermetically-sealed, and air conditioned. |
Chapter
4
My first memory of School Number Three was... |
| Chapter
5
Don Cristian seemed to know of every barber shop in Tuxtla... |
Chapter
6
I had never said, buenos días, with as much enthusiasm as I did on my second day at work. |
Chapter
7
Thinking about it now, it wasn’t a smart idea to sneak up behind Catalina and cover her eyes... |
Chapter
8
When night fell, I found myself drinking instant coffee in Catalina’s studio apartment. |
| Chapter
9
There was a beautiful collection of books in Don Cristian’s personal library... |
Chapter
10
The illustrations from the textbook of The Fall of Tenochtitlan were reproduced fifty times... |
Chapter
11
The inexperienced Mexican army defeated the mighty forces of the Neo-French empire... |
Chapter
12
Nigel wasn’t home when I looked for him later that day, but I found him in the street ... |
| Chapter
13
Anyone passing down Tuxtla’s Central Avenue that afternoon was witness to a red-haired clown... |
Chapter
14
Somehow I managed to survive that melancholy weekend, but my hair didn’t. |
Chapter
15
There is nothing that increases my desire for spending money more than not having any. |
Chapter
16
The Tuxtla first-class bus station is like an agitator-style washer that sucks in shiny buses and spews out gringos. |
| Chapter
17
Catalina’s athletic body was the distraction I needed to get Roger’s mind off our disputed job. |
Chapter
18
As the green and silver bus pushed its nose over the pass of Chiapas’ coastal range... |
Chapter
19
Angie, the Canadian tourist, had sprouted new eyes. |
Chapter
20
“Our story is anything but average.” |
| Chapter
21
The sun rises daily in the east. Spring flowers bloom following a rain. |
Chapter
22
It was like shaving without a mirror. |
Chapter
23
We were lucky to find an open store, when we arrived in Puerto Arista that evening. |
Chapter
24
A sandalled foot pressing into my bare chest woke me the next day. |
| Chapter
25
Pablito’s moustache was a thick one and his complexion dark... |
Chapter
26
It’s difficult to determine how long I lay inert in the sand. |
Chapter
27
It was the first time for me to be in a house where the dogs are chained to a post and the pigs run free. |
Chapter
28
There weren’t any chickens in the bedroom when we retired... |
| Chapter
29
The bus station clock was threatening to strike seven when we arrived in Tuxtla. |
Chapter
30
Everyday at two o’clock a multitude would burst from the gated compound of the school. |
Chapter
31
Pumpos are strong fruity cocktails served in gourds at Pichanche’s restaurant. |
Chapter
32
Lydia made her appearance every day, but it was only in my imagination. |
| Chapter
33
No matter was more urgent than to get in bed and consummate our reunion... |
Chapter
34
It would have been impossible to speak to Maria alone after the rehearsal... |
Chapter
35
Suspiciously, our sight-seeing tour began with buying ice-cold Corona beer and stopping at my apartment to drink it. |
Chapter
36
It’s fair to say the dinner party started well before arriving at Maria’s apartment. |
| Chapter 37
Maria’s apartment was tiny. |
Chapter 38
It wasn’t the first time I had seen Lydia sloppy drunk... |
Chapter39
Tension was heaped on every dinner plate, and frankly it was unappetizing. |
Contact the Author
Garrett Quentin Smith |