What they all do, instead, is wander aimlessly around the house in a nether world of paperwork and suits and cameras. What they all do, instead, is answer questions about Elian. Armando Gutierrez, the family spokesman and a local political consultant, says they are about to run out of money but will take no financial help. Rarely does anyone in the family step outside with Elian. But when someone does, dozens of news reporters sitting in lawn chairs in the street rush to the chain-link fence with cameras, pads and pens.
Lights go on.
Reflectors and scrims are adjusted. Sometimes Elian runs with his new Labrador-mix puppy. Sometimes he shoots a peace sign or a smile at the crowd. Sometimes a politician in the yard with the family comes to the fence and speaks into one of the dozen available microphones. But if Elian is looking healthier, it is not because of a normal family life inside the house.