players, even dancing around with Vera like a lunatic, letting our hair fly around us. I have to admit, it feels good to let loose a little. I don’t think I’ve laughed this much in a long time.
I’m also doing my best to avoid his mother who is still giving me the stink eye.
In the kitchen, when I’m filling up a glass of water from the sink, I run into Armando.
“It’s you again,” he says in English.
“Hi,” I tell him. “I’m Thalia. We never properly met before.”
I offer my hand, and he gives it a limp shake. “Hey,” he says, sounding all lazy and trying to be cool.
I hide my smile behind my glass. He’s the spitting image of Alejo, though shorter and hair a bit lighter. Pretty sure he’s wearing Alejo’s leather moto jacket though because it’s a bit too big on him.
“So, are you really my brother’s therapist?” he asks, getting a beer from the fridge.
I feel like I should scold him on the beer, but the attitude toward drinking is so lax here.
“I really am. And he’s getting better every day.”
He nods at that. “Seems like it.”
“Your English is very good. Did you learn it in school?”
“I did. Do you speak Spanish?”
I shake my head. “Your brother is trying to teach me. I guess I’m a slow learner.”
“Probably easier if you just fix his knee.”
I laugh. “Yes. That is actually easier.”
“Perhaps Luciano could teach you,” Armando says.
“Ah, what’s happening here?” Luciano says, appearing in the kitchen. “Are you talking about me? De qualquer forma, eu estou com uma pulga atrás da orelha.” He looks between the two of us.
“And what on earth does that mean?” I ask.
“I have a flea behind the ear,” Luciano says.
I’m still staring at him. “For real?”
“It’s a saying in Portuguese. Means I have a flea behind the ear.”
“I was just saying you should be teaching her Spanish instead of Alejo, so she can concentrate on Alejo’s knee,” Armando explains, while I’m still hung up on the flea behind the ear thing.
“Is that right?” Luciano muses. He folds his arms across his chest and rubs at his chin. “And how are those Spanish lessons coming?”
Okay, that has to be a euphemism again, right?
“Fine,” I tell him. “More importantly, he might be back for El Clásico.”
I know I shouldn’t start talking like this, but I’ve had a few drinks and it’s getting harder to keep my cards close to my chest.
“I know, I was just talking to Mateo about it,” he says.
“Word travels fast, huh?”
“It’s good news, right?” he asks hopefully.
Armando mutters something in Spanish under his breath and leaves the kitchen. Probably along the lines of, this is boring.
“It is good news. Whether it’s for El Clásico or not, he’s going to be back soon. I can’t say that it will end your losing streak. Only you and Mateo have a feel for that.”
“It will help,” Luciano says with a shake of his head. “It’s been hard. You know, you lose a few games in a row, and with each loss, the team forgets how to play. They second guess themselves. They start trying new things but those new things might be worse. That’s what I’m dealing with now. We have the skill. We have some of the best players in the league, and yet we keep fucking up. We’re not a unit anymore.” He has a gulp of his beer and then winces, giving me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m laying this all on you.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
“You know what we need to do?”
“What’s that?”
“Mateo actually taught us this. We need to run that animal down.”
I frown. “Animal?”
“Okay, so hear me out,” Luciano says, his hands becoming animated. I watch his beer carefully as it sloshes around in the bottle. “Humans have the ability to hunt any animal, whether it be a horse or a lion or an elephant. Whatever it is, we can hunt them, and it’s not because we have the tools but because we have the will. If we keep walking and tracking and keeping on the animal, staying the course after them, day after day after day, eventually the animal will tire, it will weaken, it will give up. But we won’t. We’ll keep going. We have the willpower and the determination and the intelligence to succeed. We run that animal down. That’s what we need to do. Just keep at it and eventually we’ll be back in the game.”