Summary

In “‘I Only Came to Use the Phone,’” María’s “car broke down” while driving “back to Barcelona” (71). Afraid of being late to meet her husband before his magic show, she went in search of a phone. A “ramshackle bus” stopped for her, agreeing to give her a ride (71).

María was surprised that all the passengers were women wrapped in blankets. She sat near a woman with whom she shared her cigarettes. The woman assured her the matron at the establishment where they arrived would let her borrow the telephone.

María asked the matron to use the phone. The matron insisted she give her her name. Then the supervisor comforted María, “escorting her to her bed” (74).

María repeatedly insisted she had only come to use the phone. Once she...