A Different Lie by Derek Haas

Author:Derek Haas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books

We sit in a small restaurant by the port that sells plates of meat and rice that look more or less like the pictures in the windows. After Ochoa did a face plant in the parking lot of the lavanderia, I followed and put another kick into his ribs and he got up and gave me a wink to let me know it was all good and then he limped away. He’d told me to hit him, to really hit him, anything less would compromise the ruse, so I didn’t hold back. My knuckles are raw but they’ve seen enough action not to bleed, the way a guitarist builds up the pads of dead skin on his fingers.

Angelina looks like a mouse afraid to come out of her hole. The only movement is her fork, tentatively poking her food. I wear my best smile.

“Are you okay?”

She nods but nothing about the response conveys a yes.

“Do you want me to leave?”

For a moment, she doesn’t answer. Then she shakes her head with a gesture so tiny I’m not sure she moved at all.

“What’s your name?”

“Angelina.”

“I’m Jack. Jack Walker.”

“American?”

“Australian.”

“Your Spanish is good.”

“Adequate.”

“No, it’s good.” She makes the okay sign with her thumb and forefinger. Her hands are small, her fingers delicate. I wonder if she’s passed that physicality on to her son. It occurs to me that Ochoa hasn’t described the kid. I’ve painted a picture in my mind, I always do, and I’m usually surprised by how far off I am, like when I read a book and then they cast the movie and I think how the hell did they pick that guy?

“Why’d you help me?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I didn’t think. If I would’ve thought, I wouldn’t have done it. It just happened. I saw him hurting you and it just happened.”

She takes a bite of meat, leans back, her eyes snapping open like she just remembered something. “Your clothes.”

“I’ll get them in the morning.”

“But your boat.”

“I’m the Chief Engineer. They’ll wait for me.”

She smiles, and though it is lopsided from the old wounds, there is something lovely about it. I can see why Ochoa pulled down his sail and turned ship when he watched her before. There’s strength inside this broken woman that softens hard hearts.

“How long have you lived here?” I ask.

“Twenty-five years.”

“Married?”

“Who would marry me?” she asks by way of answer and the way she says it is more of a reporter telling the facts than a defeated woman seeking pity. She holds up one of her fingers and wags it. “And don’t tell me you don’t see me. I despise it when people say that. Oh, I didn’t notice. I know how I look.” And she pushes her hair the rest of the way out of her face so the light finds the damage.

“No, I see it. I noticed. I saw it the first time I looked at you. But the truth is, it doesn’t bother me.”

“Okay,” she says and goes back to picking at her rice.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.