At The Mercado... continued

Armando took the twins off to see the livestock that was kept at a distance and downwind from the shoppers. Abuela led the rest of their group toward the fruit and vegetable stalls, nodding in response to greetings from shopkeepers and shoppers alike.

Clearly, Regina thought, everyone knew and liked Elena's grandmother. She gaped at the wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, the fabrics and clothing, the trinkets and baubles. With Abuela setting a rapid pace, Regina found she was falling behind as she tried to get a better look at some blouses with wide colorful collars of embroidered flowers.

"Come on, chica! Abuela's not going to wait for you!" Elena called back to her.

Regina ran to catch up, noting as she did another stall with what looked like pretty silver bracelets.

She was a little out of breath when she caught up to Elena and her grandmother. Abuela was selecting some oddly shaped yellow-orange fruits, smelling them and discussing something in rapid Spanish with the shopkeeper.

Regina leaned in close to Elena, watching the pair in serious negotiations. "What is that she's holding?"

"The papaya? It's a fruit," Elena replied, idly rolling an unripe plum in her hand. " They have a strong smell that some people don't like, but the taste is sweet and delicious. We'll have some for dessert with dinner today. You'll see, I bet you love papaya. I know I do!"

"Papaya?" Regina said, trying the word out in her mouth. "It's such an odd name. And the shape is like nothing I've ever seen."

"I had a kitten named Papaya when I was little," Elena laughed. "He was an orange tabby. But he definitely wasn't the same shape as the fruit."

Regina chuckled and shook her head. "Papaya? That's crazy. I never had a pet. We had barn cats to keep down the mice and Pappy had a dog once to help herd the cattle. But they were working animals and not pets. I think it might be nice to have a pet. I don't suppose we could sneak one past Miss Peale though, do you?"

"You don't have a roommate, you might be able to do it," Elena said thoughtfully. "But unless you got a someone to share your room who was understanding and liked animals, I don't see how it would work."

"I guess not," Regina said with a sigh. Abuela watched as the shopkeeper packed her papayas carefully and added a bag of plums -- ripe ones to her bundle. Abuela paid and the trio moved slowly down the rows of stalls with goods laid out for their approval.

"Maybe," Elena began hopefully, "Mama and Papa would let you have one of our kittens. You could keep it at the rancho and come visit it whenever you wanted. And you'll be staying with us for Christmas, so you'd have plenty of time to play with it. We can ask Papa tonight."

Elena was clearly excited but Regina didn't know. It wouldn't seem like her pet if she didn't see it every day. But she hated to turn down Elena's thoughtful offer.

"Oh, look!" Regina cried, grabbing Elena's hand and pulling her over to the booth with the embroidered blouses. "These are so pretty!"

Elena laughed and picked up one of the white cotton blouses with a thick ring of red flowers around the neck. She held it up in front of Regina and looked appraisingly at her friend.

"It looks good with your hair. Do you like the red or the blue flowers better?" Elena turned and said something quickly to her grandmother.

"Por supuesto, Elena. Un regalo para su amiga. Es un buen idea, mija." And Abuela began the process of bargaining for the blouse.

"In Mexico, these are what the Indian women wear. They are called huipil and can be decorated with flowers or fruit or even animals. There are simple ones for every day and more elaborate ones for formal occasions. Now you will have one too. Abuela approves. She says you have good taste."

By the time Armando and the twins returned, they had checked out nearly every stall and booth. Regina had picked out matching bracelets of twisted silver for herself and Regina. Abuela had bought enough fruit and vegetables for an army. Armando loaded the wagon while the twins ate pieces of beef that had been skewered on sticks and cooked over an open fire. The girls were tired but happy and waited to ride back to the rancho and help with the early evening meal.

Regina was finding she liked the pace of life on the rancho.