Page 9 of Cartel King

“Oh, yeah. They both played Division One soccer. So did a couple of my nephews, but my sisters’re fiercely competitive, especially protecting any of their sons who are on their teams. It doesn’t matter how many times we say no slide tackles or shoulder checks. If they think one of their boys is about to go down, Mama Bear comes out. So, it’s two of us to each one of them. We’ve played two on four and two on five before, and they’ve smoked our asses.”

“Really?” I can’t help but think he’s exaggerating, but he stops and points to a massive bruise I didn’t see on the back of his calf.

“That’s from my second sister, Luciana. Last week, she subbed in for two of my nephews, neither of whom is her son. When I got a little too close to one of them, she made sure I understood.”

“And your nephews are in their early thirties?”

“Yeah, but my sisters will always be their moms.”

I glance away, but I can’t hide my laugh unless I want to sound like I’m choking. I shake the hand that doesn’t have the leash in front of me. I don’t want him to think I’m laughing at him.

“I’m just like your sisters, to be honest. I’ve only gotten more competitive with age. Most of the time these days, I just compete against myself with work and my workouts. But I’m also a fiercely protective Mama Bear, too. I get how your sisters must feel. My boys rarely want to do anything competitive against me because, even though they’ve been bigger than me for years, I still put them to shame because my competitiveness makes me wily.”

“That’s what my sisters say. I’d invite you to play one of these days if you didn’t have calf issues. It’s a shame.”

“It’s tempting, but I tore it the second time kicking a ball around with my youngest. I still remember the feeling of tearing my calf both times. It’s not one I feel like repeating, even for a game as good as that one sounds.”

I caught myself before I said,even if it was for you.

“Maybe we could go out on the water together one of these days.”

I didn’t expect him to offer that alternative.

“That would definitely be nice. I still don’t know my way around the adjoining cove. I don’t know if there are any parts of Lake Hopatcong I need to avoid. I pretty much stick to the same route each time I go out. I just vary the workout.”

We walk for a few minutes in companionable silence. He suggests we work out together, but he doesn’t suggest a day or time. I guess he just tossed that out there.

“You know I come from a huge Latino family. What about you?”

I knew that question was coming. It doesn’t mean I want to answer it.

“It’s just been me the last twenty-nine years. My older brother died in a car accident when I was twenty, and he was twenty-three.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Elodie. I know it never gets easier, even if you get used to it.”

I look over at him and wonder who he’s lost as he speaks from experience. He must read my thoughts.

“My sisters didn’t move to America permanently until well after my brother and I did. The younger of the two—the one with the three boys—didn’t come here until they were teenagers. It was four years after her husband died.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. It must have been horrible for them to lose somebody so important and then make such a massive change afterward.”

“Yeah, it was rough for them.”

He doesn’t sound like he wants to offer more explanation, which is fine because I don’t want to explain how my brother died. It was a car accident, but there was a lot more to it than just a head-on collision.

“You said your sisters didn’t move here until after you and your brother did. Did you all move here as adults?”

“Yes.”

He hesitates for a moment. I’m not sure why, since he opened the door to that.

“Luis—my brother’s two years younger than me—and I went to different prep schools in New England, so we started coming to America when we were very young. We went home during all our school breaks and for the summers all the way through high school. Then he and I each moved here for college and considered America our home, even though we kept going back to Colombia during most of our breaks. After I graduated, I split my time between Bogotá and New York for several years.”

“Have you been in Jersey for very long?”

“Yes. About eighteen years now, so this is definitely home.”

“Have you been in the same area the whole time?”

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