Antonio was at work downstairs, where he was the all-around maintenance man and Fix-It King for the building. It was not an easy job, since the building was falling apart and old Mr. Kleinman who now owned it was such a tight-fisted old cabron that Antonio was forever having to improvise ways to repair things which should have been replaced long ago. Everybody in the offices seemed to love Antonio, especially the secretaries, for whom he was always fixing this or that, and sometimes when Antonio was late coming home Lucia would start to wonder . . .

• edward7