Tom's Mexican Salsa Hut was bustling with its usual Friday night clientèle. Kevin entered the kitchen through the service door, dumped the tray he was carrying onto a stacking trolley, and went up to the head waiter, who was standing by the large food bin with a lit cigarette between his fingers.

'Juan-Carlos, can I have a word with you?' said Kevin.

'I guess so,' Juan-Carlos shrugged. 'Just make it quick – you've got tables to clear.'

'Yeah, I know,' said Kevin, 'but I've just been sexually harassed!'

Juan-Carlos scowled and said, 'What do you mean?'

'It was the old guy in the suit on table seven,' said Kevin. 'He was making sexually explicit remarks about me while I was clearing his table... and then he told me all about what he'd like to do to me.'

'And you didn't like that, huh?'

'No – it made me feel very uncomfortable.'

'Which one is it?' Juan-Carlos said wearily, stubbing out his cigarette and turning his attention to the nearby window.

'Him, there!' said Kevin, pointing to one of the tables on the plaza outside. 'Table seven!'

'That's Mr Harris,' said Juan-Carlos. 'I'm definitely not gonna ask him to leave – he's one of our best customers!'

'That depends on how you define "best",' said Kevin.

'I define "best" as spending a ton of money and keeping us all from losing our jobs! Look, Kevin, there's such a thing as professional discretion, especially when it comes to our most important customers. Mr Harris is harmless – you just need to man up and get on with your job!'

'Could you at least assign a different busboy to his table for the rest of the evening?'

'No!' Juan-Carlos spat. 'Just let him have his fun, okay? Now get back out there and do your job!'

Kevin scowled, but left the kitchen without saying anything else. He was back a few minutes later, however, and obviously in a state of some distress.

'He's just sexually assaulted me!' Kevin squeaked at the head chef.

'Mr Harris?' said the chef.

'Yes, Chef,' said Kevin. 'He grabbed my butt as I walked past his table, and I felt a definite squeeze!'

'Bad luck,' the chef sympathised.

'I have to do something about this,' said Kevin. 'Maybe I should call Tom.'

'You'll do no such thing!' yelled Juan-Carlos, who had suddenly appeared in the kitchen. 'Remember what I said about professional discretion, Kevin – you can either be professional here or find yourself another profession somewhere else!'

'But he sexually assaulted me! I'm pretty sure that's illegal.'

'Oh, he didn't do anything to you – he just gave you a little squeeze! You know, you're looking at this the wrong way. There's a lot of extra money to be made out of customers like Mr Harris – you wouldn't be the first busboy to do it.'

'Do what?' said Kevin. 'Let himself get sexually harassed for extra tips?'

'Yeah,' said Juan-Carlos. 'That... and the rest.'

'What rest?'

'Come on, Kevin, you know how it is. A boyish-faced, well-built kid like you could make a fortune letting himself get... well, you know.'

'No,' said Kevin, 'I don't know!'

'Penetrated,' said Juan-Carlos. 'For money. Just close your eyes and think of Tijuana, huh? Like I said, you wouldn't be the first busboy to do it... and Tom wouldn't ever have to know.'

Kevin scowled at Juan-Carlos, draped a fresh cloth over his left arm and returned to the restaurant.


Kevin pulled his hooded top on over his busboy uniform and fastened the zip.

'Where are you going?' the voice of Juan-Carlos came from behind him.

'Home,' said Kevin, turning to face Juan-Carlos. 'My shift finished five minutes ago.'

'Could you stay on for another hour?' said Juan-Carlos. 'Ricardo's running late.'

'Sorry, I can't,' said Kevin. 'I have to get home and babysit my brother.'

'Jeez, can't the kid take care of himself? How old is he, for Christ's sakes?'

'Two months.'

'You're not leaving me with a very good impression of you, Kevin,' Juan-Carlos said disapprovingly. 'Kicking up a fuss about nice old Mr Harris, and then letting me down when I need you to pick up a little overtime.'

'The feeling's mutual, Juan-Carlos,' Kevin snarled, then he stalked from the kitchen before Juan-Carlos could say another word.


Kevin entered the high school auditorium and almost crashed into Ella, who was carrying several stacked chairs.

'Hi,' she said, beaming at him. 'He's backstage, packing up the drum kit.'

'How did the new song go?' Kevin asked.

'It was okay,' said Ella. 'But you know, I don't think they really understood it.'

'Do you want a hand with those chairs?' said Kevin.

'No thanks; I can manage,' said Ella. 'You just go on backstage, lover boy.'

Ella went on her way with her chairs, and Kevin went backstage. Tim and Danny were leaving together through the back door, while Oscar was flattening some cymbal stands. Danny turned and opened his mouth to call to Oscar, but Tim placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

'Save your breath, man – Oscar's still gonna want to walk home, and there's the reason why,' said Tim, nodding towards Kevin.

Danny smiled and said, 'Oh, I see.'

'Hey,' Kevin said to Oscar, as the door closed behind Danny and Tim.

'Oh hey, you made it!' said Oscar, fixing Kevin with a pleased smile. 'Shame you missed the end of the show.'

'Yeah; I'm running a little late,' said Kevin.

'At least you're in time to help me carry the drums back to the music block,' Oscar grinned. 'Tim and Danny had to go 'cause their ride turned up.'

'Do you know how Ella's getting home?' Kevin asked.

'Her dad's coming for her,' said Oscar.

'Good,' said Kevin.

'There won't be time for us to go out when we're done with the drums, right?' said Oscar. 'You're babysitting, aren't you?'

'Yeah, I am,' said Kevin. 'Do you want to babysit with me?'

'Okay, I would,' said Oscar. 'Can you manage the two really big drums?'

'Yeah, no problem,' said Kevin.

'Are you okay?' said Oscar. 'You seem a little down.'

'I need to talk to you about something,' said Kevin. 'But let's get these drums put away first.'


Kevin and Oscar were walking along the darkened street at a sedate pace.

'You can't let this go, dude,' said Oscar. 'You have to tell the manager!'

'Juan-Carlos will be really pissed off if I go behind his back,' said Kevin, 'but he wasn't taking my concerns seriously, so I guess I have no choice.'

'That's right,' said Oscar. 'Juan-Carlos has a duty of care, and he's not fulfilling it. And that Mr Harris needs to be arrested or something!'

'Yeah,' said Kevin. 'I almost quit right there and then, but we really need the money for Mexico. I know what I'll do – I'll email Tom when I get home.'

'Good plan,' said Oscar. 'Mind you, I guess I can understand how Mr Harris feels – you do look incredibly sexy in that busboy getup!'

'Fuck off!' Kevin laughed, giving Oscar a shove that almost sent him crashing into a lamppost.

'Sorry,' said Oscar, grinning sheepishly.

'Hmm... you know, come to think of it,' said Kevin, 'I guess I do make quite a lot of money from middle-aged men giving me rather large tips.'

'It's those tight black pants, dude, I'm telling you!' Oscar laughed.

'Oh, so I'm asking for it by dressing provocatively, huh?'

'Hey, I never said that.'

'Good,' Kevin said with a smile, reaching out to give his companion a quick squeeze.

'Well, now we've gotten all that straightened out,' said Oscar, 'I guess I could go home and leave you to get on with your babysitting.'

'No,' said Kevin, 'please stay. I mean, I want you to stay. Maybe you could sleep over. Just to talk, I mean... and to sleep, obviously.'

'Sure, I'd love to stay over,' said Oscar. 'Are you gonna bother getting the spare mattress out?'

'No – we can top-and-tail, if that's okay with you.'

'That's more than okay with me. I'll have to call my mom and tell her what's going on.'

'I'll email Tom while you're doing that,' said Kevin. 'Here we are.'

Kevin skipped up the front steps, opened the door and entered his house, whereupon his mother – dressed in an elegant red ensemble – immediately dumped a baby into his arms.

'Hi, honey,' she beamed at him. 'Thanks so much for doing this. The number of the restaurant is on the hall table in case there's an emergency, there's freshly expressed milk in the fridge, and I changed him about fifteen minutes ago so you should be okay for a while. Hi, Oscar. Carl, let's go – we'll miss our reservation!'

Carl came downstairs, dressed in a dinner suit, and was immediately dragged through the front door by his wife. Oscar closed it behind them.

'Yeah, well,' he remarked, 'there they go.'

'Could you take James for a few minutes while I go upstairs and get freshened up?' said Kevin. 'Just keep one hand supporting the back of his head, okay? He hasn't quite gotten to grips with his neck yet.'

Oscar nodded, and Kevin transferred the baby to his arms. Oscar watched Kevin run upstairs and shut himself in the bathroom, then he turned his attention to the baby.

'Hi, James,' said Oscar. 'Do you know who I am? I'm Oscar. I'm gonna be your brother-in-law... at least, I hope I am... someday. Let's go and sit down while we wait for Kevin, shall we?'


Lucy and Jandro were in Central Park, walking arm in arm along the lakeside. Jandro was wearing three badges on his shirt advertising the fact that it was his eighteenth birthday.

'Did you enjoy your school-based birthday?' Lucy asked.

'Oh yeah, of course,' Jandro laughed. 'At least we know for sure that I'll never have another one!'

'Unless you have to repeat the twelfth grade for some reason,' said Lucy.

'No way,' said Jandro. 'I'm coming to England with you next September, even if I have to... stow away or something.'

Lucy laughed, and squeezed him around the waist. Jandro smiled.

'Are you looking forward to McDonalds tomorrow?' she asked him.

'Yes,' said Jandro, 'but I'm more looking forward to spending a few more hours with you this evening, Luce.'

'Shut up – don't be so soppy!' Lucy laughed. 'Do you want to go back to my place now so I can give you your present?'

'You bet,' said Jandro.

'You'll have to keep up with me,' Lucy giggled. 'There'll be no present if I get there more than sixty seconds before you!'

With that she pulled away from him and broke into a run, but she misjudged the slope they were standing on. There came the sounds of frantic scrabbling, a terrified shriek and then an almighty splash as Lucy fell into the water.

'Jesus Christ!' Jandro exclaimed in alarm, as he ran to the edge of the lake. 'Luce!'


Kevin entered the living room, now dressed in his around-the-house clothes, to find Oscar mopping James's chin with a sodden tissue.

'Everything okay?' asked Kevin.

'He had some sort of clear liquid coming out of his mouth,' said Oscar.

'Yeah, that happens,' said Kevin. 'I hope you didn't get too messy.'

'My shirt's covered in it, but I don't mind,' said Oscar.

'In that case,' said Kevin, 'maybe you wouldn't mind keeping hold of him while I go and warm up some milk? He's due a feed.'

'Sure, no problem,' said Oscar. 'We're perfectly happy, aren't we, James?'

'He likes you,' said Kevin, smiling at the sight on the sofa. 'Normally he cries if he's picked up by anyone except me or my mom.'

'What about your dad?'

'My dad and James are still getting used to each other.'

'Aren't your dad and you still getting used to each other too?'

Kevin laughed and ruffled Oscar's hair, before disappearing into the kitchen for several minutes. When he returned, he was wearing a harness across his chest with a fake breast attached to it.

'Oh my God,' Oscar giggled. 'You've got one of those things!'

'Yeah,' Kevin grinned sheepishly, as he came to sit on the sofa. 'He just won't take it from a bottle. Here, pass him over.'

Oscar transferred the baby to Kevin's arms. As Kevin began to suckle him, Oscar burst out laughing.

'That's priceless, dude,' he giggled. 'You're obviously a natural at suckling babies. Does your dad use that thing too?'

'He tries to,' said Kevin, 'but... well, like I said, they're still getting used to each other.'

At that moment, the phone rang. Oscar reached for the cordless extension and put it to his ear.

'Hello?' he said. 'Rivera residence. Yes, this is Oscar. Oh, hey. Yeah, he's right here, but he might find it a little difficult to talk because he's breast-feeding right now. Yes, I'm completely serious.'

'Who is it?' said Kevin.

'It's Jandro,' said Oscar. 'He says he needs to ask your advice about something.'

'Can you hold the phone to my ear?' said Kevin.

'Sure,' said Oscar.

'Hi, Jandro,' Kevin said into the mouthpiece. 'What's up?'

'Are you really breast-feeding your little brother, Kev?' Jandro's voice came to his ear.

'Yes,' said Kevin. 'With a fake breast, obviously. I can't actually lactate myself. What do you want my advice about?'

'Something a little frightening happened in Central Park,' said Jandro. 'Lucy fell in the lake and I think she's got hypothermia. I helped her out as quickly as I could and I brought her straight home – to her home, I mean; not mine – but she's all shivery and she can't really talk properly.'

'Where is she now?' Kevin asked.

'She's in the bathroom,' said Jandro. 'She took a clean set of underwear in with her.'

'Good, so she's taking off her wet clothes,' said Kevin. 'What you need to do is wrap her up in as many layers as you can and then give her a rub.'

'Give her a rub?'

'You've got to bring her body temperature back up. Actually, the best thing you can do is get into bed with her and give her some of your body heat, if you're up for that.'

'She'll think I'm trying it on, Kev.'

'Tell her it's Kevin's orders.'

'Okay, I'll do that,' said Jandro. 'Thanks, Kev. What do I do if she doesn't stop shivering?'

'She probably will,' said Kevin. 'If she starts going into shock then you'll have to call an ambulance, but you should be able to warm her up okay if she wasn't in there for too long.'

'Okay, great,' said Jandro. 'We'll see you and Oscar at McDonalds tomorrow, right?'

'Of course,' said Kevin. 'You can tell me how the treatment went. Ciao for now.'

Oscar removed the phone from Kevin's ear and returned it to the cradle.

'What's up?' he asked.

'Lucy fell in a lake,' said Kevin.

'Wow,' said Oscar. 'I hope she didn't swallow a snake and end up with bellyache.'

'What the hell is that?'

'Oh, nothing. It's from a stupid playground song my half-sister in England told me once.'

'Are you nearly finished, Jimmy?' Kevin asked his brother. 'I'll put you in your carry-cot and write that email to Tom when we're done here.'

'And I'd better call my mom,' said Oscar. 'She'll be getting worried about me.'


Jandro covered Lucy's bed with all the duvets and blankets he could find, then he went to meet Lucy as she came out of the bathroom in her fresh underwear.

'Kev says you need to get into bed,' said Jandro.

'Okay,' said Lucy, still shivering all over.

'Don't try to talk,' said Jandro. 'Just let me take care of you, okay?'

Lucy nodded, and Jandro led her to her bedroom and helped her to burrow her way under all the covers. A few seconds later, he joined her in the bed and wrapped his arms around her.

'Don't worry – I'm not being a pervert,' Jandro said reassuringly. 'I'm just sharing my body heat with you – Kevin's orders.'

'Why have you taken your shirt off?' said Lucy. 'Is that Kevin's orders too?'

'No,' Jandro admitted. 'But it'll probably help, don't you think?'

Lucy fixed him with a knowing smile, then she wrapped her arms and legs around him as tightly as she could. Jandro readjusted his position slightly.

'I'm starting to feel better already,' said Lucy. 'Kevin really knows what he's talking about... and so do you, Jandro. Oh, is that your leg?'

'That's my leg, yeah,' said Jandro. 'But other parts aren't. Do you mind if I rub you now?'

'Rub which part of me?'

'Your back, I guess, as that's where my hands are. Kev said it would help.'

'Go ahead, then.'


'Yeah, okay,' Oscar said into the phone. 'Yeah, I'll come home before I go to McDonalds – I'll need to get a change of clothes, for one thing. Sure, we will. Okay, thanks Mom. Bye.'

As Oscar once again replaced the phone in the carrier, Kevin finished reading through his email to Tom and then hit the send button.

'There,' he said. 'That's the facts as I see them, and now it's up to Tom to do what he thinks is right. If he starts closing ranks with Juan-Carlos then I really will quit! I'll just have to get another part-time job. But I don't think he'll do that – Tom's a good guy, and a scrupulous employer.'

'I bet he'll help you, then,' said Oscar.

'You've already given me all the help I really need.'

'Oh, I didn't do anything.'

'Don't be silly,' said Kevin. 'You listened and you cared – that's more than most people do when they tell each other their problems.'

'Well,' Oscar grinned, 'that's the entire basis of our relationship, isn't it?'

'It's a big part of it, yeah,' said Kevin, 'but it's not the only thing.'

'Why don't you come over here and sit with me?' said Oscar, stroking the sofa cushion next to him.

'Okay,' said Kevin.

'Is James asleep?' asked Oscar.

'Almost,' said Kevin, as he settled himself on the sofa. 'I'll give him my finger to hold – he likes to have it in his hand while he falls asleep.'

Oscar peered over the top of the carry-cot to see James wrapping his tiny fingers around Kevin's proffered appendage, and snuffling happily to himself.

'Oh my God, that is so cute!' said Oscar. 'Kinda leaves you stuck in one place for a while though, huh?'

'I've still got a spare arm,' Kevin pointed out. 'Do you want to make use of it?'

Oscar smiled, and snuggled up to Kevin's free side.

'Should we take James upstairs and put him to bed properly?' said Oscar.

'Yeah, in a little while,' said Kevin. 'Let's just stay like this for a few minutes first.'

'Mmm,' said Oscar, 'good idea.'


The top blanket fell off Lucy's bed as Jandro rolled onto his back.

'No, don't stop,' Lucy said to him. 'Carry on with what you were doing – I want you to.'

'Are you sure?' said Jandro.

'Yes, I'm sure,' said Lucy. 'I'm still cold and I need you to warm me up as much as possible.'

'Okay,' Jandro grinned, eagerly remounting her, 'I'll see what I can do!'