Ruins by Achy Obejas

and hurling the black and yellow dominos all over the street. Mayito lost his balance and almost fell backward while the sapos erupted in protests at Frank for goading Diosdado and at Diosdado for not being able to take it. Rum spilled, some even splashing onto Usnavy, who quickly tried to wipe it off, not wanting to show up at home later and have Lidia worry more than she already did.
    Frank cackled wickedly. The autistic boy, expressionless and unmoved by the commotion, got up from his chair and stood expressionless, then began to pick up the dominos.
    “Fuck, man, whatever it is, it’s not that big a deal,” said Jacinto, the neighbor from Tejadillo who’d sewn Usnavy’s shoe together. He called after Diosdado, but he was already a block away, his stubby legs hurrying from the scene.
    “I hate this,” muttered Mayito as he scrambled to his feet.
    “Be cool, man,” Chachi said to everyone and no one in particular. He was married to Yamilet, Usnavy’s neighbor.
    “That was unnecessary,” Mayito said directly to Frank as he bent over to help pick up the scattered dominos.
    Frank straightened his shirt, tucked it into his pants, and pumped his chest out like a shield. “That’s what he gets for raising a faggot,” he said in his own defense.
    The sapos jerked to attention; Jacinto winced.
    Usnavy shook his head. That was news? “C’mon, Frank, we’ve all known about Reynaldo since he was—what?—twelve? Why harass Diosdado now, for god’s sake?”
    “Because,” said Frank with an unusually serious timbre, “Reynaldo is not Reynaldo anymore: He’s really Reina.”
    “Cómo?” asked a skeptical Oscar Luis from the crowd.
    “So?” asked Usnavy with a shrug. He was, admittedly, confused, but he didn’t really care what Reynaldo was doing with his life. It had nothing to do with him, or them, and he was so far away now.
    “So, you dimwit—that little faggot had his wee-wee cut off. He had that operation. He’s Reina now. Legally. The motherfucker is a woman now!” Frank explained; he seemed to be marching in place as he talked, so proud was he of being able to deliver this information.
    “Coño!” Jacinto exclaimed.
    The sapos oooh-ed and aaah-ed, everybody suddenly covering, touching, or grabbing their own parts, imagining the agony of having them sliced away, their laughter a transparent defense.
    Mayito nodded, not approvingly, but to affirm the facts of the story. “None of our business, though, none of our business,” he continued under his breath, his Buddha face sagging.
    Almost immediately, Chachi started joking. “So did he get big ones, huh?” he asked, using his hands to shape two global spheres on his chest. The sapos yelped with glee.
    “And what about back here?” Oscar Luis giggled, grabbing his own ass.
    But Usnavy couldn’t fathom any of it. “How do you know about any of this, huh?” he asked Frank.
    “How do I know? Because Obdulio arrives in Miami delighted to call Reynaldo, and who shows up but Reina!”
    “Maybe it was a joke,” Usnavy suggested. “Maybe Obdulio got confused, huh, did you think about that? He just got there; he might not know how things are yet.”
    Around him, the guys chuckled, shaking their heads. Was it at Reynaldo (or Reina), or at Obdulio, or at him? Usnavy pulled at his T-shirt, soaked from careless rum, and held it away from his skin.
    Frank continued: “No, man, it’s true: Reynaldo’s a woman now. But you know what bothers me? You know what it is?” He poked Usnavy in the chest with his finger, right on the wet spot. “Diosdado knew—he’s known for years. And that jerk never told us. Never.”
    Around them people nodded and shuffled. Mayito stepped away from the circle, shaking his head. “Why would he?” he grumbled, but he wasn’t talking to anybody in particular anymore.
    “Imagine that!” Jacinto exclaimed.
    The sapos, laughing and joking among themselves, were dispersing now. Whether they understood Frank’s gripe