A man and I get off the bus at the same time. On the sidewalk, we fall into step together. He smiles over at me. I smile in return.
He says something.
I shake my head. "No comprendo. Hablo espanol muy poquito."
He grins in an understanding way. "Como se llama?"
"Gwen. Usted?"
"Benjamin."
He's carrying a brown paper bag and he asks if I want a soda.
I say no.
He says something else, in Spanish, and I reply, "Otra vez, no hablo espanol. No comprendo, senor."
"How do you say," he asks me, his English heavily accented, "uh. . . pussy?"
Ha! Okay, now I know what el quiere.
Lucky for me, nothing will be lost in the translation because in English and in Spanish, my answer sounds the same.
"No."
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