芒果街上的小屋路易、他的表姐和表兄

路易、他的表姐和表兄

　　么么家的楼下是一个地下室，么么的妈妈把它收拾了一下，租给了一家波多黎各人，路易一家人。路易是老大，下面全是小妹妹。他其实是我弟弟的朋友，可我知道他有两个表亲，他的T恤从不掖进裤子里。

　　路易家的小表姐比我们大。她住在路易家里，因为她自己的家在波多黎各。她好像是叫玛琳或玛芮斯，或者跟这差不多的名字。她总是穿暗色的尼龙丝袜，化很多妆，那是她推销雅芳的时候不花钱得来的。她没法出门——得照看路易的小妹妹们，可她常常站在门道里，一直唱着歌，打着响指。她只唱一首歌：

　　苹果桃儿南瓜派哟，
　　你在恋爱我也在哟。

　　路易还有一个表兄。我们只见过他一次，可那次很轰动。我们在巷子里玩排球，他开着一辆又大又气派的黄色凯迪拉克过来了，白壁轮胎，镜子上系着一条黄绶带。路易的表兄把胳膊伸在车窗外面。他摁了几下喇叭，许多张脸从路易家的后窗露出来，接着，出来很多人——路易、玛琳和所有的小妹妹们。

　　每个人都朝车里看，问他怎么弄来的。车里有白色地毯和白色皮座。我们都求他带我们兜兜风，并问他是从哪里弄来的。路易的表兄说上车吧。

　　我们每个人都得抱个路易的小妹妹在膝盖上才挤得下，可这没事儿。座位又大又软像沙发一样，汽车的后窗上有只小白猫，汽车停下或转弯的时候，它的眼睛就会变亮。车窗不像普通的车窗那样要摇上去，而是有一个按钮会自动地代你开关。我们沿着巷子兜了街区六遍。路易的表兄说，如果我们不停止玩车窗和拨弄调频收音机的话，他就要让我们走着回去。

　　我们第七次开进巷子的时候听到了警笛声……开始很轻，后来就很响了。路易的表兄马上就地停车，对我们说，统统下去。接着他猛踩油门，汽车飞出去变成一团黄色。我们还没反应过来，停在巷子里的警车同样飞快地追了上去。我们看到街区那头的黄色凯迪拉克想要左转弯，可我们的巷子太细了，汽车撞在了一根灯柱上。

　　玛琳尖叫起来，我们朝街那头跑过去，警车的警报器在那里闪着炫目的蓝光。那辆黄色凯迪拉克的鼻子皱得像美洲鳄的一样。除了流血的嘴唇和淤青的额头外，路易的表兄没什么大碍。他们给他戴上手铐，推进警车的后座。他们开走的时候我们都挥手送别。

　　Downstairs from Meme's is a basement apartment that Meme's mother fixed up aed to a Puerto Ri family. Louie's family. Louie is the oldest in a family of little sisters. He is my brother's friend really, but I know he has two cousins and that his T-shirts ay tucked in his pants.

　　Louie's girl cousin is older than us. She lives with Louie's family because her own family is io Rico. Her name is Marin or Maris or something like that, and she wears dark nylons all the time and lots of makeup she gets free from selling Avon. She 't e out——gotta baby-sit with Louie's sisters——but she stands in the doorway a lot, all the time singing, clig her fingers, the same song：

　　Apples, peaches, pumpkin pah-ay.

　　You're in love and so am ah-ay.

　　Louie has another cousin. We only saw him once, but it was important. We were playing volleyball in the alley when he drove up in this great big yellow Cadillac with whitewalls and a yellow scarf tied around the mirror. Louie's cousin had his arm out the window. He honked a couple of times and a lot of faces looked out from Louie's back window and then a lot of people came out——Louie, Marin and all the little sisters.

　　Everybody looked ihe car and asked where he got it. There were white rugs and white leather seats. We all asked for a ride and asked where he got it. Louie's cousin said get in.

　　We each had to sit with one of Louie's little sisters on our lap, but that was okay. The seats were big and soft like a sofa, and there was a little white cat in the back window whose eyes lit up when the car stopped or turhe windows didn't roll up like in ordinary cars. Ihere was a button that did it for you automatically. We rode up the alley and around the block six times, but Louie's cousin said he was going to make us walk home if we didn't stop playing with the windows or toug the FM radio.

　　The seventh time we drove into the alley we heard sirens……real quiet at first, but then louder. Louie's cousin stopped the car right where we were and said, Everybody out of the car. Theook off fl that car into a yellow blur. We hardly had time to think when the cop car pulled in the alley going just as fast. We saw the yellow Cadillac at the end of the block trying to make a left-hand turn, but our alley is too skinny and the car crashed into a lamppost.

　　Marin screamed and we ran down the block to where the cop ca's siren spun a dizzy blue. The nose of that yellow Cadillac leated like an alligator's, and except for a bloody lip and a bruised forehead, Louie's cousin was okay. They put handcuffs on him and put him in the backseat of the top car, and we all waved as they drove away.

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