Paper Moon Read Online Free PDF Page B

have to finalize the contract details and send them to the office to get things moving.”
    â€œBut everyone is going.”
    â€œPerhaps I might make a suggestion,” Señora Marron interjected from somewhere behind Caroline. She raised her voice so that everyone might hear. “Tonight is a free night. Since we have been traveling all day, the trip to the show club is optional. Señor Rodriguez and I will be happy to chaperone the students who wish to sample our nightlife. Although it is my hope that some parents will accompany us.”
    â€œMom will,” Annie volunteered. “I mean, we paid for the whole trip. We might as well get our money’s worth, right?”
    Part of Caroline wanted to go, but at the moment the Sleepy in her dwarfed Happy.
    â€œAnd you’ll get to practice your Spanish.”
    When the value of the dollar and high school Spanish failed to raise a response, Annie resorted to pity. “We all worked so hard to raise the money to go.”
    The whining echoed up and down the line as youngsters petitioned their parents to go, or at least get permission to attend the club with Señora Marron. The kids had put on car washes and bake sales to raise money for the trip, giving up several Saturdays throughout the spring. While a few parents supervised, the students had done all the work. They had to earn half the money, even though most of their parents could afford to pay their way. It was all part of a plan to make them appreciate the trip. They’d done so well that they’d had repeat customers and tips.
    â€œHey, you guys, keep the line moving,” Hector called to two errant students who’d been so involved in a hand video game that they’d lagged behind. “Let’s went.” He’d been moving the party along with his unique interpretation of move out, since they’d gotten off the bus.
    Suddenly he turned to Caroline and grinned. “Love could be waiting but a dance away, Señora .”
    She didn’t even know he’d been listening. “When our Mexican moon shines . . .” he sang in a parody of the old love song, “ ni modo . It can’t be helped.”
    â€œCould I go with you, Miz C?” Karen peered over the seat edge as if the hope of mankind now rested on Caroline’s shoulders. Caroline’s tired shoulders.
    â€œNi modo,” she sighed with a toss of her hands. “I guess it can’t be helped.”

    Later, standing with the girls at the hotel window on the fourteenth floor, Caroline stared at the busy street below. The traffic flowed through vendor-lined streets, tangling at intersections with honks of impatience. The magnificent vista of a city set in a ring of sun-dashed mountains, as seen from the plane, was lost here amid the high-rises, but vestiges of the foreign culture were not. The colorful canopies of the street vendors competed with those of the VW Beetle taxi drivers who shouted “Viva!” from the lusterless concrete and asphalt beds. Lime greens, lemonade yellow, fiesta red, sunset orange—one was even painted like a ladybug.
    The girls wanted to go shopping, and Caroline had gotten her second wind. There were souvenirs to buy for her staff and friends, plus she was eager to put into practice the A’s that she’d earned in high school Spanish.
    Caroline dragged herself away from the fascinating hubbub of activity below. It could have looked like Philly, or any other big city, but it wasn’t. It was Mexico, land of the cactus, eagle, and serpent. And if the ancient Aztecs had searched a continent looking for such a place, then she could skip a nap.
    â€œFirst we do a room check. Then I’m going to wash my face and pull this hair off my neck, and I’ll be ready to go.”
    â€œRoom check?” Karen gave Annie a puzzled look.
    Annie grimaced. “Yeah, Mom has this thing about checking for bugs . . . especially