THIS SUMMER, WE BOUGHT TWO MARBLES FOR 50 CENTS

…from three children in South Pasadena who were hanging out in their front yard while their parents barbecued behind them. They were also selling crackling candy for $2, half cans of chips for $1, bookmarks and bouncy rubber balls. The marbles were actually four for 50 cents but we only needed two. Kate offered them coins from her trip to Chile which she had returned from that morning. She had been visiting her lover. They gladly accepted with a rare enthusiasm and curiosity. We carried them around for the rest of our walk but decided eventually to leave them in the pocket of a salmon colored blazer that Kate tried on at the neighborhood thrift store. It fit her perfectly but we left without it. We drank Palomas and ate fried plantains instead.