She was silent until I turned around and looked at her again. "Minor characters in history. I cut, colored, and set the pieces myself. I always get up with the sun to see this.

"This is impressive Poppy," I said, turning to admire them again. "Where did you get the ideas from? I mean why these characters? These pieces seem so personal... so real."

She was silent again. I could feel her staring at the back of my head. She had a habit of staring at people, or maybe she just stared at me and thought of that someone I reminded her of. She never flinched away, even when I would turn and catch her. I turned quickly and looked up for her. She stood at the balcony railing, arms folded across her chest staring at me. "Wait there, I'll be right down."

I grabbed the crutch and the books and hobbled toward the front of the church dressed only in my borrowed underwear. I had taken only a few steps when Antonio came out of his room. He was unshaven and his thick white hair lay on his head in random disarray. He wore a fresh white shirt, the Cuban kind that you're not supposed to tuck in, but it had been buttoned hastily and was askew by one buttonhole, giving him a noticeable list to the left. A look of astonishment graced his face when he saw me.

"Good morning," I said smiling.

He looked at the crutch and noticed the pillowcase muffler but said nothing.

Antonio turned to Poppy as she emerged at the bottom of the staircase and spoke to her in Spanish.

"Are you hungry?" she asked me.

I nodded enthusiastically.

"What do you think about poached eggs, croissant, and coffee?"

"Sounds good," I said.

"I'll have Antonio get you a robe. Breakfast should be ready in about ten minutes." She finished the sentence and walked back upstairs, speaking loudly to Antonio in Spanish as she went.

I carried the books back to my room and waited for Antonio to bring me something to wear. The pillow cases were back on the pillows when he came in. He handed me a white terry cloth bathrobe and smiled as if to say no hard feelings for sneaking out on him. "Breakfast in five minutes," he said warmly.

I put on the robe and headed for the kitchen. The sound of clanging dishes rattled through the kitchen door as I walked past toward the front of the building. In daylight, with my head cleared, I could see details in the building I hadn't noticed before.