TAPAS HUSTLE

The first day train to Barcelona rattled past. Its diminishing rhythms made Mrs.Guerrero aware of her own sorrows. The day was innocently glorious; spring sunlight scented the pines and sparkled the wooden walls of her little home. Old Mrs. Guerrero had just finished her morning coffee and was flipping through the newspaper. She had not heard a single sound from the kids.” This is weird,” she murmured to herself.
Mrs. Guerrero raced up the stairs to Joaquin’s room to check on the kids. It was so unlike them to be this quiet, especially on a Sunday morning. The floor of the room was in such a mess that Mrs. Guerrero decided to just pop her head through the door and peek inside. She found the two toddlers lying in the middle of the mess with their eyes fixed on the crossword puzzle and their pens slouching on it.
“Joaquin! Lisa! Look around and see how messy the room is. You definitely need a clear up here,” she said, her voice high and shrill. “But why, grandma?” Joaquin exclaimed.
“Why? Oh kids, things can be spoilt or lost in a place when it is willy-nilly like this,” she answered. “But grandma, we can’t do all this by ourselves. It will take us ages to clean this all up! Por favor grandma, why don’t you do it with us instead?” Lisa whined. “No, little lady. I’m afraid that isn’t a wise option. So, why don’t you both starting cleaning this mess up while I go make some yummy tapas for the two of you?” she said. “Hooray! We will start right away grandma,” cheered Joaquin and Lisa in unison. Mrs. Guerrero just winked and left.
An hour later, when she came back into the room, all the toys, books and stockings had miraculously disappeared. “Dios Mio, I can’t believe my own eyes! Now, who’s ready for to dig the tapas?” she asked. Within a fraction of a second, the two hungry cubs were already dancing around the kitchen table with excitement. However, Mrs. Guerrero was suspicious. She walked over to the bed and knelt down. As she lifted the bed covers, what she saw shook her to the core of her being. All the toys and other junks were stuffed mercilessly under the bed!
Joaquin and Lisa were busy licking their fingers on their whoopee cushion when Mrs. Guerrero caught them both by their tiny soft ears and stared at them like an angry bull ready to knock down a matador. “Uh-oh. Do you think you can join us to do the cleaning this time grandma?” asked Joaquin, his eyes welled up in tears.
“You little cheeky monkeys! Con gusto, of course I would!” Mrs. Guerrero burst out laughing. She was just so thankful to God for bringing the two kids into her life, how they make her forget all her sorrows and pain, her two little grandchildren, Joaquin and Lisa.