Stealth and Cunning
Two days later Tony and his buddies had just beaten the guys in the neighbouring town in an intense, nail biting, down to the last point game of soccer. He and his team sat on the ground under several shade trees and drank the last of their soft drinks. They replayed the game's highlights over and over, congratulating Tony on both of their game goals. As the euphoria of the victory wore off, the teens departed one by one for their homes.
Tony remained last with his good friend, Miguel, their conversation a mixture of both English and Spanish. Tony had been fluent in Spanish since he was a pre schooler, thanks to Maria, but it was from Tony's visits that Miguel had learned to speak so well in English. The two boys were the same height, and had similar thin builds, though Tony had begun to develop some obvious muscles the last few months. Weight lifting had been his last semester elective in high school.
"So are you free tomorrow?" Miguel asked.
"No, only in the morning is my presence not demanded. Abuela wants me to help in the house and yard, and then we are supposed to eat supper with Tia and her family. What about you?"
Miguel sighed dramatically. "I, too, am a slave to the whims of my padres. They have ordered me to stay home for the day. If my sister would return from Mexico City some of the burden would be off of me. Until then, my father sees only me, out of school for the break and with no job. So he focuses only on what he can think up for me to do."
Tony laughed agreeably. "My dad is the same way." Changing the subject, he remarked that he wanted to see Emily, Miguel's sister, as well, and hoped she'd be back before he returned to the States. He and Emily had been on again- off again boyfriend and girlfriend since Tony was five years old. Nevertheless, they claimed no ties to the other, and insisted that there were no strings attached to each other. The mention of Emily brought them to a discussion of the senoritas around the town, and their collective thought that those females spent too much time at Mass. It was virtually impossible to engineer solitary time with even one of them, and Emily was one of that group.
As often happens when two minds are working in the same direction, Miguel and Tony quickly came to the devious conclusion that they needed to wander further afield to find some fun and female company. The nearest area of promise was Campeche, the port city several kilometres away. It came with drawbacks. That town required permission to visit, plus transportation, money to spend in town, and a club to attend when they got there- one that didn't mind if you were fifteen and seventeen.
One by one, they addressed their obstacles. Permission would never be granted by Miguel's parents- that was a given. As for Tony, Abuela would as soon give him permission to sky dive – she would reply with an unequivocal no and send him to his room for even thinking such absurdity. So, they concluded that they would have to circumvent the adults. The transportation was solved next, since Miguel's cousin owned a motorcycle, and Miguel knew he would let the boys borrow it for the evening, because Miguel had driven it before. Tony had money he'd brought with him that he would be happy to share with Miguel. With a few more minutes of putting the finesse on their plans they separated with a plan to meet after supper.
Tony found Abuela in the courtyard when he returned, and blowing her a kiss, he slipped into the house to shower. Jethro had bought the home some years ago and then had parts of it remodelled. The house was shaped like an octagon, or circle, with the middle of the home an outdoor courtyard. Rooms opened to the courtyard with their outside doors, and there were two outside entrances to the main house from the roads. The main three bedrooms had private baths, then two smaller guest bedrooms shared one. A large living area bordered the high ceilinged, stone tiled kitchen.
It was a beautiful home, and Maria had decorated it herself. There had been a few requests from Gibbs- the workshop that bordered the garage was one, and several requests from Tony over colours and furnishings, and all three loved the place and the finished product. It was a showplace. Maria now lived in the house full time.
Tony dressed carefully after his bath, choosing his favourite khaki pants teamed with an emerald green shirt he loved, because he got lots of compliments from the ladies when he wore it. According to women, it brought out all of the lights in his green eyes. He spent some time on his hair, but then decided he had better hurry outside before Abuela became suspicious.
She was actually in the kitchen finishing their supper when he found her. She was still an attractive woman, even in her sixties. Her hair was grey now, but styled simply away from her face. Her brown eyes were kind, and her smile was wide and welcoming. She had always been plump, and it was rare to find her without an apron around her waist. Tony had more childhood remembrances than he could count of being curled in Maria's lap as she read to him, or sang to him, or simply rocked.
He slipped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the cheek. He loved her, very much, and the feeling was mutual. Sniffing the aromas in the air he commented, "You have fixed flan with caramel, just for me, haven't you, Abuela mia?"
She laughed and ordered him to set the table, then noticed his clothes and frowned. "Why are you so dressed? I don't want you to get that shirt dirty."
"Actually," he responded, smoothly, "I wanted to ask your permission to spend the night at Miguel's tonight. His mother invited me, and he and I haven't had time to catch up since I got here. You know he's always been my best friend in the village. I was going to take Risky Business over for us to watch. He likes Tom Cruise, and he's never seen that one. So, may I go?"
Maria put down her fork and shook her head. "No, no Bambino. There is too much I need you to do tomorrow. Besides, there is no reason for you to sleep at someone else's house when it is only a few houses from your own. You have your own bed in your own room."
Tony had expected an automatic negative response. "Abuela, por favor- I really want to spend some time with my friend. Don't you want me to be happy here?" Turning an innocent expression her way, he continued. "Besides, you already said that we are not going to do anything here until after lunch tomorrow. I can be home right after lunch, or if you don't like that, before lunch- whatever time you say. Please?"
"No. You don't need to spend the night. Ok, go watch the movie with him and come home after."
Tony marshalled his defenses, and puffed his lip into a pout, turning a defeated look her way. "Never mind, Abuela. It doesn't matter. I have friends in Washington to hang with. I don't really have to have any in Mexico. After all, it's not really my home here." His voice dropped as he spoke and he concentrated on looking down at his plate, pretending to toy with his food.
Maria studied him a couple of minutes and she took in his sadness and the fact that he wanted to make sure he had roots in Mexico. He was, after all, her baby, her very own baby, and there really wasn't any big reason why he couldn't go to his friend's. "Miguel's mama invited you?" she questioned, her decision beginning to waver.
Realizing the tide had turned in his favour, Tony lied smoothly, "Oh yes. She said to make sure that it was okay with you, and then to tell you I was no trouble when I visited, and she loved having me." The last remark would be the kill shot. Maria prided herself on Tony's manners, which she had supervised from babyhood. The compliment over his upbringing was directly attributed to her.
"All right, then, " she agreed. "But I want you back here before lunch tomorrow."
Tony jumped up and kissed her, then told her to go relax while he took care of cleaning up the kitchen. A half hour later he was out the door and free.