The next morning Maria told him about that guy Carlos who worked as a janitor in a big hotel complex. He was an older man looking for help. The work was hard and exhausting but Sean didn't want to screw it up and tried his best.
Carlos kind of reminded him of Stephen. They were almost the same age and both fans of tinkering. He was also a gear head so Sean could use all his knowledge from his Dad to impress Carlos. They both got along pretty well. Carlos niece was on the same school like Maria. He also has a grandson in Sean's age.
When Sean came home in the evening he lay down on the couch felt asleep immediately.
At night he heard Maria coming home. She went directly to the bathroom and took a shower. When the sound of the water stopped Sean could hear her sobbing quietly. He stood up when she left the bathroom. "Hey, is everything alright?" he whispered.
The room was dark but the moonlight spent a little light. "Yeah, fine. I'm just tired." Sean could hear her voice shaking. "How was work?"
"It was great. Carlos is really chill and showed me a lot. He asked me to come again tomorrow and I guess it shows that I didn't mess up."
Maria smiled - and yawned. "Well done, Sean. You can tell me more about it – tomorrow. I need to sleep." She headed to her bedroom but turned around to give Sean a quick hug "Good night!" Before he even realized what happened she disappeared in her room.
Despite her offer Sean and Maria did not see each other over the next few days. They were mostly communicating via notes they left on the kitchen table. He was working very hard to show Calos that he's a good worker to keep the job. At the end of the week he got his first salary. It wasn't much but he hoped it will cover some grocery shopping. He just spent some money to get a new sketchbook and some new pens.
Next Monday morning Sean had a day off. He got up late and saw Maria sitting on the kitchen table with headphones on, drinking coffee and typing on her phone. She looked exhausted Sean could see red marks on her arm. When she notices Sean Maria pulled down her sleeves and took her headphones off. "Good morning!"
"Hey, good morning." Sean sipped on his coffee. "How are you?"
"The festivities for Cerro de la Campana are finally over – so I'm good. What about you? How is work?"
"Oh, great, really. Carlos is very nice to me. He shows me everything. I learned a lot this week. It's really great."
"Really?" she giggled. "Oh, I got something for you." She stood up and put something out from her jacket. It was a Mexican identity card for someone named Luis Cruz. "It's a fake ID. But it's actually a good one. The chip doesn't work but no one will check it. And the boy on the photo looks a little bit like you. We had to do something about your missing eye but I think it worked out really well" She was kind of fascinated by the card. She explained him the little components that are somehow important.
"How did you get this?" he wondered.
"Oh, I do have my connections." She winked. "Remember the guys on the day we met - Ivo and his friend?"
Sean tried. "Yeah - not really - it was all dizzy, a black spot in my memory. How come you know those kinds of guys?"
"We all do have a history... Is your eye ok?" she asked.
"You mean this one? Or the other one?" he joked. "Yes. They're fine." He looked at her. "How come you never asked me about my eye? That's the first question most people come up with. Even my Mom after she left for fucking 8 years asked me about it directly."
"Don't know. Thought that maybe you don't want to talk about it. And that you will tell me as soon as you're ready." She shook her shoulders.
"Thanks anyway for the ID card. I hope you didn't get in trouble for this?" He was focusing her arms again.
"Don't worry about that!" She fondled with her sweater and looked away.
Sean didn't want Maria to get hurt because of him. She was his guardian angel here in Mexico and he doesn't want to lose her and his new home. "I tell you about my eye if you tell me what happened to you!" he insisted.
First she hesitated but then she nodded: "OK!"