He introduced her to the three other Mexican men sitting with them before taking a navel orange off of his plate and handing it to Aria. “Here, you will like. I think since the season is harvest, it taste pretty good.” He sat on the edge of his seat, watching Aria peel the rind away from the flesh of the orange, separate off a segment and bite into it.

Aria smiled and nodded her head. Pedro was right. It was a living example of the succulent potential that an orange could live up to. Having been a farmer all his life, he had developed an appreciation for produce. Pedro rejoiced in her enjoyment of it.

As they ate, Aria tried to understand what was being said between the men. Occasionally an English word she understood would be peppered into their Spanglish and Pedro tried his best to rope her into the conversation again and again. When the meal was over, having worked out that the house they were staying at was in the same direction as she would be walking, she accepted his invitation to walk with them instead of by herself.

The downpour had turned into a sprinkle. Aria felt safer walking with them through the roadsides of the city. When they arrived at Pedro and Consuelo’s place, Aria felt sad at the idea of parting ways with them. Pedro lifted himself from the lawn onto the first step of the house. The exterior of the tiny house had been painted aqua green with a pink trim. The windows were covered in what looked like cages, painted white. “You wanna come in?” Pedro asked.

She did want to go in, but as usual she was afraid to be an imposition. “Nah, that’s OK, I gotta catch a bus that won’t be running soon if I don’t go get it now,” Aria said.

Having grown used to the tendency whites had to turn down offers when they wanted to accept them, Pedro pressured her to accept again. “Ah, come on, Consuelo needs to practice his English,” he said, tipping his chin at his brother who was standing behind Aria as quiet as a statue.

“OK. You sure it’s not a problem?” Aria asked.

“No, no, I love it,” Pedro said, opening the door and stepping through it to announce their arrival.