“Because he does.”
“But he’s an artist.”
“Yes, that too.”
I did all this on purpose. Jaime knows the Priscila who arrived in Boston, but nothing before that. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing—not about me, not about my life here, not about my people. I’ve told him the minimum necessary.
“Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What about River?”
“He’s a computer engineer. You know that. The computer guy. He works for a company in Alicante.”
“Does he work for a computer company?”
“No, he’s a computer engineer in a company.”
“You already said that.”
“Exactly.”
“And what about Hugo? Is he just a vet?”
“Yes, Jaime. An animal vet.”
“I know what a vet is.”
“Just in case.”
“He must be an awesome vet.”
“Who?”
“Who do you think, Pris? My granma? Hugo, who else.”
“What? You’ve never seen him with an animal!”
“No need, one knows these kinds of things. Also I’ve seen how he deals with Marcos and River.”
“Well, I have to agree with you on that one.”
“I’m dizzy, Pris,” Jaime complains a while later when, inexplicably, we reach safely the mile-long green-tiled slope that will lead us home.
He gets off the bike, engages the kickstand on the first try—unbelievable—and then lays down on the ground, on his back.
“Get back on your bike,” I urge him. “I promised Mom and Dad we’d have lunch with them at home, and I think we’re late.”
“No can do, Cabana. I can’t move. Accept it and lie down with me. The pavement is so warm. We could take a nap.”
No way. We are meeting my parents for lunch. And even if we weren’t, I’m not going to lie down and sleep in the middle of the street. People in this town know me. So I get off my bike, put down the kickstand—I succeed on my fifth try—and help Jaime to get up and on his bike again. We ride a few feet up the slope, but we don’t make any more progress: we stumble over each other and fall hopelessly to the ground.
“Ouch! That hurts!” I complain, my bike on top of my body, my body on top of Jaime’s bike, and Jaime’s bike on top of his body.
“Damn right it hurts! Fuck! Get off me, Cabana! I don’t want to get crushed to death!”
“I can’t move.”