What Isidro thought was, maybe this guy was a little strange. Innocent, but abnormal in his interests. He’s still a prize though, Isidro told his wife. His wife didn’t say anything.

The third day at the beach the tourist went swimming. It was easy to find him in the ocean, the sun reflecting on the dark glasses he always wore. He splashed out there, cupping his hands and hitting the water. Man, he was white-holding his arms as though to protect himself or trying to hide his body as he came out of the water in his red trunks. It was interesting to see a body this white, to see veins clearly and the shape of bones. Isidro, originally from Loíza, a town where they made West African masks, was Negro and showed no trace of Taino or Hispanic blood.

“It was when he came for his towel,” Isidro told his wife, “I saw the name on his arm, here.” Isidro touched the curve of his arm below his right shoulder. “You know what name is on there? MR MAGIC. It’s black, black letters with a faint outline that I think was red at one time but now is pink and almost not there. My Mr. Magic.”

His wife said, “Be careful of him.”

Isidro said, “He’s my prize. Look what he gives me,” and showed his wife several twenty-dollar bills. He didn’t tell her everything; it was difficult to talk with the washing machine and the television in the same room and she didn’t seem interested. But that night his wife said again, “Be careful of him.”

There were whores on Calle de la Tranca in Old San Juan, different places for anyone to notice. In Condado the whores stood in front of La Concha, another empty hotel that had closed. But none had approached Teddy because Isidro was with him, taking care of him, and the whores knew Isidro in his black Chevrolet taxi. He believed, from the way Teddy looked at the whores displaying themselves, his tourist desired one but was timid about saying it. So Isidro didn’t roll his eyes and ask how would you like some of that, ‘ey? He wanted to offer him the pleasure of a woman without presenting it as a business transaction. He cared for his tourist.