Neither Girl Asked Where All the Things Had Gone

She put the key in the lock with a bad feeling. Drug addict Mother's sixth sense. She stepped inside. No one rthing was where she ahd left it. The couch had been moved to the middle of the room. Aong the edges everything was gone, tv, sterey, Ignacio's old electric typewriter. What could they get for that, these days? On the glass coffee table was her red bowl and in it was a mound of human shit. She screamed. Screaming and shaking she pushed the couch back to its place. She enveloped the bowl into a plastic bag, selaed it and ran it to the trash by the front gate. She wound open the metal shutters of all the windows held shut most of the time against the shame. She turned the ac to fan full strength. she worked as fast as she could so that when Tina walked in the door everything was almost back to normal and it took her a few moments before she said, "Where's my tv?" She was followed into the room by Lydia. They both sat curled alongside Irma on the couch the way they did most afternoons to watch the munequitos with their merienda of grilled cheese sandwiches and lemonade. They stared at the big hole on the shelf where the tv had been. Irma left them and walked into her bedroom. Her tiny tv had escaped the raid. She brought it,put it in the center of the shelf and turned it on for the two girls. They lay on their bellies, elbows firm, resting their chinds on the heels of their hands to watch the tiny eye. Lydia took her cue from Tina. Neither girl asked where all the things had gone. Irma knew they could guess. They's heard her screaming at Tomas. Everyone on the block heard her screaming at Tomas. She shuddered, shuttered the windows again, and walked into the kitchen to make the merienda. Another catastrophe with Tomas' signature made her drop into a chair and sob. The counter was covered with crumbs, spilled food, dirty bowls and dishes.