She stood quietly and watched him put things away.
“This place looks pretty now,” she said. “It was always sad.”
“You like it?”
“It’s nice.” She regarded him for a moment. “What’s your name?”
“Bandidosdon’t have names.”
“You’re nobandido.” She giggled. “Bandidosmake a mess. You made it nice.”
“Thank you. And you’re welcome to come by any time, as long as your parents are all right with it.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“That may be so, but I’m sure your mother would like to know where you are. Is she home, waiting for you?”
“My mama’s in Valdemoros.”
Damian felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The word itself conjured up gray, concrete-laden memories. He wanted to ask about her father, but growing up without one, he tended to be more sensitive. “You have other family?”
She shrugged.
“Who looks after you?” asked Damian.
“My mama, of course.” She seemed surprised by the question.
Damian knew kids were allowed in Valdemoros with their mothers, up to a certain age. He hadn’t realized that they let them out for school.
“When does your mama get out?”
“Soon.”
She seemed to be taking it all in stride, but it explained why she stopped by Casa Paloma. It was a brief respite before she headed back to the grimness of Valdemoros.
“I have to go now,” she said, reclaiming the swan on the counter and tucking it into her pocket.
Damian watched her collect the green canvas school bag she’d left by the door.
“You didn’t tell me your name,” he said.
“Sierra. My name is Sierra.” She turned around, walking in reverse towards the gates.
Damian had just gotten off the phone with Rafael when he saw Sierra again. He damn near dropped the glass panel he was installing in the cabinets.
“What the hell happened to you?”
“Lice,” she replied.
Her long, dark locks had been reduced to a buzz cut and she looked like she had shrunk overnight. It was probably because her big, doe eyes swallowed all of her face now, but Damian felt a tugging of his heart strings. Valdemoros was no place for a kid. Lice was the least of the horrors that she faced. If he had been younger when they took MaMaLu to prison, he could have been this kid. He could have been Sierra.
“Hey, you want to do something fun today?”
She dropped her bag on the floor and took up the stool that was quickly becoming her spot. “What?”
“Have you ever been on a boat?”
Sierra’s eyes lit up.
