Today Pez is visiting the local fish market. She is buying tuna and squid for a little Wednesday party with some friends. This is why she is called Pez, she is a master seafood chef. No one, not even Pez, knows why she loves seafood so much. Maria thinks it is because she is from the coast, but Pez knows she is originally from San Jose.

Pez does not remember that her mom used to prepare seafood dishes all the time for her. Her mother was fierce in the kitchen and taught Pez just enough to develop on her own.

Pez makes up a four course meal. Her friends, of various professions bring la cerveza and some rum and Pez keeps up her pace in kitchen with three beers and a pina colada. She has won a drinking contest once and practices drinking small doses of tranquilizers in case she ever needs to use it against a dangerous client. She does not ever cheat a client.

Their meal is seared tuna and fried calamari with salad and rice. Desert is flan that Anton brought over. The conversations flow from sports to the president to the middle east and Europe. They stay up late into the night, hanging out outside watching the stars or watching T.V. inside or just sitting at the dining table. Pez enjoys chatting about film star gossip or international music. She is a fan of Bono and wants to visit Africa someday and support AIDs relief.

Do not ever talk local politics with her. Once she had a client who was an important congressman from Guanacaste. He was married and she almost had to travel to Libreria to testify on in a corruption case. Now she makes sure she is with foreigners only. Anyone she meets at a bachelor party or bar is perfect, but nothing too close to home.

The party dies down and friends depart. Ronron is cooking steaks and tortillas next week. He wants everyone to watch the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie with him. Everyone accepts his invitation and Pez is excited to watch a movie.

Maria helps Pez clean the kitchen and Pez does not wake up tomorrow. She is fortunate to have air conditioning in her house. She won’t go out today. She wants to watch the Matrix today. She has a lot of fun trying to simulate all the moves from the movie, but will never do any real martial arts.