Miguel looked at the man coldly for a moment then turned away again, all in silence.
"What, not even a hello?" the dark haired man said, sounding slightly nervous.
"Hello. Goodbye," said Miguel, continuing to walk away.
"That's it? That's all you've got to say?" the man said, now sounding offended. Miguel whirled back around.
"What else do you want me to say, Tulio?" he demanded icily.
"How about, 'thanks for springing me from jail'?" Tulio said, trying a new tactic – humor – now that Miguel had stopped walking away for a moment. Miguel wasn't biting.
"Right. Thanks." He began to turn away again. Tulio grabbed his shoulder.
"Miguel, I'm sorry," Tulio said, as sincerely as possible, looking his friend directly in the eyes.
"You should be." This wasn't going the way Tulio had hoped. He had messed up before and good old Miguel had always forgiven him but maybe this time he had finally pushed Miguel too far.
"Can we talk? Please?" It was taking everything Tulio had in him to be as humble and nice as he possibly could. Miguel shrugged and resumed his walking away, but not as briskly this time. Tulio took this as a good sign and fell into step beside him.
"Look, Miguel, I really am sorry. I know I messed up big. Chel— "
Miguel cut him off. "I'm really not interested in hearing about her! You ditch me, twice, to run off with her and you think the minute I get out of jail I want to hear what dear old Chel's been up to?" He shook his head angrily and quickened his pace. Tulio kept up with him.
"That's just it, I don't know what she's been up to either, she took off on me the minute we got to Barcelona," he said quietly.
"Oh, so that's why you came back! The woman runs off so suddenly I'm good company again?"
Miguel's voice rose slightly with anger. For a brief second, Tulio had the urge to smile. Sure, Miguel hated his guts right now and was yelling at him, but at least they were together, and that was the first step at putting things right. Then Tulio sobered again.
"That's not it at all," he said with remorse that he really did feel, for once. "What I did was inexcusable. All I can say is that I was thinking with parts other than my brain…" (At this, Tulio thought he saw the corners of Miguel's mouth twitch and again fought the urge to smile) "…and I know I really hurt you and I'm very, very sorry."
Miguel stared at him, his face blank. He sounded sincere but Tulio was a conman through and through, just like himself. When Tulio had abandoned him for Chel – again – he wasn't as hurt as he had been the first time. It was almost as if he had expected it to happen. He had been angry, though. Angry at Tulio, of course, for being such a jerk but also angry at himself for allowing himself to be taken advantage of again.
But then he spent two months in jail pondering his life. After so much reflection he realized he didn't know if he had been truly happy with Tulio in the first place but they certainly were the most interesting times of his life.
If he couldn't even figure out when he was or wasn't happy, why shouldn't he at least have some entertainment?
Miguel stopped walking. Without meaning to, he had wandered down a few side streets, right back to the old disused storage building where many "street folk" often stayed, including himself and Tulio at times. He glanced around, realizing where he had unintentionally led them. A humorless smirk came to his face.
"I guess this might be one of those signs that always seem to come at exactly the wrong moment," he said.
Tulio couldn't think of anything to say that he was sure wouldn't jeopardize his chances of getting back in Miguel's good graces, so he said nothing. Miguel flopped down on one of the old overturned crates outside the building's door. There was another crate next to him that he shoved further away with his foot. Tulio sat down on it and Miguel looked at him, less coldly this time. "I haven't forgiven you yet, you know," Miguel said.
Tulio sighed. "I know."
"But…I have been locked up for two months and bored for a lot longer," Miguel went on.
"Yeah?" said Tulio, excited to see a bit of humor come back to Miguel's face.
"Yeah, and I'm in dire need of a proper adventure." Miguel raised his eyebrows at Tulio challengingly. Tulio grinned.
"I'll see what I can do."
