Paco and Anilla

His mother says, “Mi amor,” and “Precioso,” on the telephone. At home, she solicited his affection with food and nouns. His father was more likely to ask Paco to fix him a drink and used adjectives such as chingada and de mierda. His brother and sister were differently affected by their parents’ vocalizations. Now with Anilla, he just lets her do all the talking. Much of it is in French or her halting English so none of it stays with him so much as the nouns and adjectives he heard at home.