Although Ana and her sister Isabel don't live with their father, they get to spend time with him during the week. Ana feels safe with him unlike she does at her grandmother's house. Everything is an adventure with him and they have great times when they are together. In his world she was safe, in her grandma's world she felt vulnerable.
Her grandma never wanted to talk about AIDS to Ana so when was ten, she took her to a children's hospital to the nurses could teach her what she needed to know. At school she heard her friends making fun of others with AIDS and she felt ashamed. She didn't say anything though because she was afraid of being rejected and losing her friends.
Ana's grandma lived with her boyfriend Ernesto. He is described as looking like Humpty Dumpty. When he came home from work he stripped down to his white tank top with his gut hanging over his belt buckle. He had black greasy hair and heavy eye brows. Ana and Isabel did not feel safe whatsoever around him. They were always afraid to be left alone in the room with him. Many nights their grandma and Ernesto drank heavily and smoked, ending up in big fights with doors slamming and screaming. The girls would stay in their rooms afraid of what was going on. As time went on, Ernesto became more and more scary to the girls. Sometimes he would pull them close and touch them in bad areas. It got worse and worse as time went on. Ana didn't know what to do or who to tell. She finally got the nerve up to tell her grandma what he was doing to them. She did not believe her. She told her to stop lying. The next time she saw her dad, she told him about it. He became angry and said if it ever happened again he would hurt Ernesto. A couple days later, Ana woke up to the sound of a slamming door. She sat up and saw Isabel leaning against the door sobbing. Her hair was tangled and her skin was red and blotchy. Next Ernesto walked into the room and threatened Ana. "Tell your father and you'll never see him again," he said. She screamed for her grandma but she was not there.
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