The Rules

"You let me talk," I said on the stairs.

—Tú déjame hablar a mí —dije en la escalera.

We were on the second floor of a grey council building near the station, climbing to the licensing office on the third, and I was carrying my father's folder. It was a plastic bag from his own shop with every paper about the market inside it, in no order at all, including the form he had signed on Friday night, which I meant to make as harmless as a piece of paper can be.

Estábamos en el segundo piso de un edificio gris del ayuntamiento, cerca de la estación, subiendo a la oficina de licencias, en el tercero, y yo llevaba la carpeta de mi padre. Era una bolsa de plástico de su propia tienda con todos los papeles del mercado dentro, sin ningún orden, incluido el formulario que había firmado el viernes por la noche, que yo pensaba volver tan inofensivo como puede ser un papel.

"You always talk," he said. "Since you were two."

—Tú siempre hablas —dijo—. Desde los dos años.