Pepa and Angela were at the wash-house, leaning over the troughs and scrubbing the clothes. Baby Rafa had been left on a blanket beside them, where he smiled at every passer-by. Most of them picked him up and played with him, stopping to gossip with the girls.
"I've never seen you at the wash-house before, Angela," said Marcia-Belén.
Angela paused in her scrubbing and pushed her hair back off her face with the back of her hand.
"We?ve got a spring at home," she said. "I never thought about bringing my washing here. But I think I might. You see everyone who passes."
Marcia-Belén nodded and picked up Baby Rafa. "Who is a beautiful boy?" she crooned. "Have you got a little kiss for Marcia-Belén?"
Angela went on with her work. Nobody was interested in anything else when there was a baby t
