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José’s mother.“His father was like that, too—we were one of the first families to have a black-and-white TV in Cuba, before the revolution.”
    The adult family members gathered around as the younger crowd squatted on the floor to watch TV.
    â€œYour son is so happy,” an aunt who was sitting on the sofa said to Elena.
    â€œI am happy,” Luisito answered, patting his stomach.
“¡Barriga llena corazón contento!”
    Everyone laughed except some of the younger cousins, and Tommy looked puzzled. They couldn’t understand Luisito’s rhyming proverbs and his fast-spoken Spanish.
    Tommy was Luisito’s age, thin like Luisito but with brown hair cut short and spiked. Subtly, Tommy asked his older sister, Sonia, what Luisito had just said.
    â€œHe said, ‘full stomach, happy heart,’” Sonia answered. “It’s a Spanish proverb. Maybe he can teach you some Cuban culture.”
    â€œYou think you are all that because you know more Spanish than me, but you know what?” Tommy paused dramatically, ready to supply some proverbs himself. “It’s better to catch two birds in a bush, with just one stone.”
    â€œOh, boy,” Sonia said, rolling her eyes. “Try again!”

10 DIEZ
    Later, after much talk, the relatives began to excuse themselves for the evening.
    â€œStay a little longer,” Rosie pleaded.
    â€œWe have work tomorrow,” some of the men said. Or, “It’s a long drive back home.”
    â€œ
El
que
madruga
Dios
lo
ayuda
, right, Luisito?” one uncle said.
    God helps those who rise early
. It was as if he was dueling Luisito with another proverb.
    â€œSi, pero,”
Luisito said, holding up his index finger as if he was about to recite a poem,
“no hagas como el apóstol trece, que come y desaparece.”
    â€œLuisito!” Elena nudged him. “He is always joking.”
    â€œWhat did he say?” a young cousin asked her mother.
    â€œHe said not to be like the thirteenth apostle, who ate and left,” her mother said laughing.
    â€œ
Oye
, I am going to call you Luisito,
el
rey
de
los
dichos
,” Tommy said, laughing. “Luisito, the king of the proverbs. It even rhymes in Spanish!”
    The crowd laughed as they walked outside. There was another round of kisses and hugs, and finally cars started driving away.
    Luisito was amazed to see that everyone had a new-looking car. In Cuba, there were no new cars. People could not afford them. Most people didn’t have a car and those that did drove the old cars they had before the existing government took power. The Ramirez family had owned only one car that had belonged to Luisito’s maternal grandfather, Luis. His dad used that car to get to the hospital. To make ends meet, his father also used the car as a taxi for tourists on his days off. The government didn’t approve of this type of private business, but officials looked the other way since the car was also used as an ambulance on many occasions.
    Since they didn’t have an extra car, Elena, who had worked in a day care center, left at five in the morning to stand at the corner of
La Avenida Del Presidente
with several neighbors until a government sixteen-wheeler truck passed by and gave them a ride to work. These trucks were used for public transportation because most of the buses were broken, overcrowded, or not running because of the gas shortage.
    Sleepily Luisito walked into the now quiet house with his parents and Rosie’s family. The two-story homethat had been bustling with noise and energy now seemed eerily quiet.
    â€œI have set you up to sleep tonight in the basement,” Rosie said to Miguel and Elena. “Luisito, you can sleep in your own room in the basement or you can share Tommy’s room.”
    Luisito didn’t know what to say. He had never had a room of his own. It would be great to have so much space to himself. On the