She was with another man when Roy met her. Nothing unusual about that but she wouldn’t look him in the eyes. She knew he was staring at her. She shook her long, tangled hair out of her river crocodile eyes but it didn’t do the job. She didn’t want to make it any easier for him. Was she introduced when they sat down at the table? Roy hadn’t paid attention, only looked at her. She pretended that she did not understand English. Later in the evening a stranger at their table said something Roy didn’t like so Roy called him a pendejo. The stranger pulled out a knife and a friend of Roy’s took it away from him. Roy had stood up and was ready to fight but she spat at the man and called him a culero. On their way out of the bar she said to Roy, “Mexican men are cowards, that’s why they carry knives and guns.” They walked together on the pier, there was no moon. She took his hand and held it. Roy thanked her for sticking up for him. “De nada,” she said. “I am Totonac, there are a few women in Mexico like me.”
