Clutch Hit Faith O'Shea (red queen free ebook txt) 📖

It wasn’t like anywhere she’d traveled before. She felt like she’d taken a step back in time, the old cars and phone kiosks, relics of her past.

“It is so different?”

“Yes. I’d have to go to the southwest to find this kind of Spanish influence. Boston has its own unique culture but it’s nothing like this.”

“I am looking forward to seeing it myself. Mateo seems to like it very much.”

She smiled, warming up to the woman now that she’d given herself permission to do so.

“All except for the weather, I think.”

Jelani suggested, “Why don’t we check in and then find someplace to eat. We can talk over dinner and you can get to know each other.”

“Yes, yes. I will bring you to the best place in the city.” She looked down at Alicia’s flip-flops and pointed.

Allie gave away her first genuine smile. “Mateo told me. I brought shoes.”

“Could you move out of the doorway? I can’t get through.”

A solidly built man, his voice gruff and demanding, all but pushed them out of the way when they were slow to understand his broken English.

Mariposa sputtered to his back, “Where are your manners?”

They took the hint and Jelani led them to the registration desk, where she attended to the business at hand, leaving Allie to answer the question posed.

“How is my son? Is he as good as he tells me?”

Allie read concern, or maybe it was fear. “He’s doing far better than I’d expected, actually. He has a good head on his shoulders.”

Mariposa’s worry lines disappeared, replaced with a look of relief.

“It is because he has you to guide him, I think.”

“Or maybe it’s because he had you to guide him before he got there.”

Wistfulness stole over Mariposa’s features. “He was always a good boy. A good son.”

Allie could believe that. She couldn’t imagine him going through that pre-teen stage where he rebelled, causing the kind of gray hair she’d given her parents. She’d been a little bit wild. In hindsight, she’d chalked it up to her mother’s re-entry into their lives when she was sixteen. There was a residue of anger that she’d stored while her mother was married to Jasper that exploded when that marriage failed and Ida moved back in. At least when Mateo’s father had left, he left for good. It was done, dealt with, accepted. Moving on was never an option for her. She still wasn’t convinced her mother was back for the duration.

When Jelani joined them, she handed over a card key. “Room 434.” She handed another to Mariposa. “I thought it easier if you stayed at the same hotel as us. You’re right next door in room 436. Do you have any luggage with you?”

“I made plans to stay in a casa particular, and that is where I left my things. I will have to retrieve them after we eat.” She looked at Allie to explain. “It is a private guesthouse. It allows for extra income for the family.”

“Mateo told me about them, said you converted your house to accommodate renters.”

“We were only able to legalize it when the laws were loosened up. We could have been fined for doing so before that. I took the risk because it was the only way to make sure Mateo had what he needed to play ball.”

“He told me he went to a state-sponsored sports academy. They didn’t provide for the athletes?”

“The state only provides for so much. There was one time he had two left-foot cleats. He had to trade some of his equipment to another player for a right one. It took me some time before I could afford to replace his sports cup. He not only had to protect his base, he had to protect his man parts.”

No wonder nothing unbalanced him. He’d had to play under some harsher conditions than she could have imagined.

“I don’t understand. People here look so cheerful and there’s such scarcity.”

Mariposa’s expression turned pinched.

“We were taught to be resolvers, encouraged to get by with what we have. For the good of the country. We survived, but I want something better for us, and you have provided that. I will be eternally grateful.”

Unease flowed through Alicia. She didn’t like this subterfuge, but she’d made a promise and meant to keep it.

Jelani suggested, “Let’s take up our bags, freshen up, and then we can find somewhere to eat.”

Allie asked, “Are you coming up with us?”

“No. I have heard Americans like their privacy. I will wait here.”

“You’ve heard right, but I don’t mind. It’ll give us a chance to talk, get to know each other.”

“I would like that. Mateo has told me so very little. As a mother, I want… I—”

“To judge for yourself?”

“No. Not judge. Mateo has a good eye for character. As a mother I want to know his heart is safe.”

Allie wished she could guarantee it was. They hadn’t gone into this for love but for expediency, so his heart should have been safe. Now, she wasn’t so sure. They’d fallen into a false sense of matrimonial bliss, choosing to be together whenever they could. She was even going home early to be with him. Was his heart in danger of being broken? She hoped not. He knew where she stood. Didn’t he? She shook off the thought that she’d been blurring the lines lately with her actions.

Mariposa’s expression was hopeful. Was getting to know her smart or would it create a bigger problem once the time came for the divorce?

As they crossed the tiled patio, she wondered how she’d gotten here.

Doesn’t matter. You promised to play a role so play it.

She linked her arm through her mother-in-law’s as they stepped into the elevator and Mariposa smiled generously. When she keyed the door open, she walked into a modern room with iron rod bed frame, mosaic tiled floors and a window that she knew would face the street. It was elegant and contemporary with a flat-screen TV and coffee machine. Mariposa went and opened the white-louvered