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was very late, and I thought I might lose my job. I was lucky Señora Smith didn’t get made. Then I worked late to make up for the time I lost.” Mami collapsed next to me on the small couch where I sat, and her head sank into her hands. “I was careful to return after the change of border patrols,” she said.
    â€œI don’t like it,” Mama Rosa complained. “What if the guards filed a report? You could end up in jail. Can’t you quit?”
    â€œNo,” said Mami, weeping. “We need the money I bring home.”
    â€œIt is true that with the money you bring we can buy many things we need,” Papá said. “But it is not worth it if you get into trouble. We can do without some things.”
    â€œLike what?” Mami asked. “Roberto’s school shoes? Groceries? Mama Rosa’s medicine?
    I rested my head on Mami’s lap. It was almost midnight. She stroked my hair as she talked for a long timewith Papá and Mama Rosa. Slowly their voices became fainter and fainter until they dissolved into my dreams.
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    The next morning, I woke up in my own bed. Papá must have carried me home. Seated at the foot of the bed Mami was singing Las Mañanitas . Still half asleep I realized it was my birthday.
    â€œThis evening we’ll have your favorite meal,” Mami said when she finished the birthday song. “Mama Rosa is coming to help me make you chiles rellenos .”
    â€œ Gracias , Mami,” I whispered. I was about to ask if I was still getting my piñata . But when I remembered how upset Mami had been the night before, I thought it was better not to ask.
    â€œNow get dressed, and after breakfast you’ll go with Papá and help him with his errands. I need to clean the house.”
    I spent the morning of my birthday with Papá at the hardware store. He was buying materials he needed for a construction job. The store was close to the market, so while Papá payed, I ran to the piñata stand. The donkeys and the horses, the cats and the dogs, the rabbits and the fish, and the silver star dazzled more brilliantly than ever. But something was wrong. The corner where my huge bull had once stood was now empty.
    My piñata was gone!
    The burning desert sun was high when we got back home. Inside the kitchen, I found Mami roasting poblano chiles on the flat iron pan. When she finished, Mama Rosa filled them with cheese.
    â€œRoberto,” said Mami. “Go wash up and get me three, big ripe tomatoes from the garden. I need them for the pico de gallo .”
    Slowly I went out to the garden. While I was excited about my birthday dinner, I knew that without my piñata , my birthday wouldn’t be the same.
    Outside, I found Papá talking with one of our neighbors who was attaching a rope to the roof of his house. Papá leaned over a large bag and slowly removed what was inside. At first I saw a horned head appear. Then I saw a big red body.
    â€œPapá, Papá!” I ran up to him. “It’s my piñata ! The exact one I wanted!”
    â€œI know,” he said. “Mami and Mama Rosa bought it this morning.”
    I started to run to get Pablo, but stopped when I heard his shout from behind me. He raced toward us, followed by about twenty other children from the barrio . They all lined up single file to hit my birthday piñata with a wooden stick. When everyone was there, Papá put a blindfold on the first child in line. Allthe other children watched and chanted, “Dale, dale, dale …”
    By the time the bull had lost a horn and a leg, it was finally my turn. Papá blindfolded me. “¡Dale, Roberto!” my friends cheered. “Hit it!” I aimed high and hit the piñata . I heard a muffled thud and took off my blindfold to see only a single orange had fallen.
    â€œMy turn!” cried Pablo. He gave two heavy blows, and with the second one, a shower of juicy oranges, hard