Page 94 of XOXO, Valentina

“Where is he?” I asked.

“At Angela’s.” Santiago pulled out of the airstrip and onto the main road. “He told me to tell you he’s sorry he couldn’t pick you up.”

I clutched my plate in my lap as we bumped over the dusty, pothole-filled roads. I’d been looking forward to many things about Costa Rica, but the roads weren’t one of them. At one point, we had to stop because there was a skinny cow standing in the middle of the road.

“That’s the sorriest-looking cow I’ve ever seen.”

Santiago laughed and tapped lightly on his horn to shoo the animal. “That’s a horse,” he said.

The creature ambled out of the way, and I stared after it. Santiago was right. Itwasa horse. “That’s the sorriest-looking horse I’ve ever seen.”

“That it is,” Santiago said. “How is your Spanish coming?” he asked in his native tongue.

“Muy bien.”

“Would you like to speak in Spanish or English?” he asked politely.

Everyone in Costa Rica was so nice. They went out of their way to make visitors feel welcome.

Most people knew English and were happy to have someone to practice with. Costa Ricans were happy in general. And who wouldn’t be happy surrounded by the sea, the mountains, and all the fresh air?

The last time I’d visited Joey, I’d gotten to know Santiago a little better, and I was glad to have some unexpected alone time with Joey’s oldest friend.

“English, please.” If I was going to pump Santiago for information, it was better to do it in a language I could easily understand. “How long have you known Joey?”

“Since we were kids.”

I sipped my beer, hoping he would elaborate, and he eventually, he did.

“Fernando was a brat. He used to beat me up and take my lunch.”

I choked on my beer. “What?”

“Just kidding. Fernando was too skinny. He couldn’t beat anyone. But he could run fast.” His eyes crinkled in the corners. “He never let anyone win in a race.”

“I beat him all the time.” Okay, so I cheated and took any advantage I could get, but I still won. Sometimes.

“That’s just because he’s watching your ass.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s what he says.”

Santiago shrugged. “What else do you want to know?” he asked. “Maybe something about Maria?”

“That’s okay. I’m good with Maria.” She was in the past. I had no room for worrying about the past.

“That’s good.” He was quiet for a moment and then exhaled. “Maria dumped Fernando and took off with one of our best friends. He tell you that?”

“Not exactly.” We hadn’t gone into details, but I was fine with that. I really didn’t want to know more now, but Santiago seemed determined to tell me.

“She crushed him. They were going to move to America together when he finished college, but she had already moved on before then, you know?” Santiago glared out the window. “It ruined him for a while. He got that tattoo with her name because he said it would remind him never to be so stupid to fall in love with a woman again.”

The cab of the truck became thick with tension, and Santiago fell silent. As we bumped along the road, I got the feeling he was purposefully staying quiet until I gave him some sort of reassurance.

“I can’t promise not to hurt him,” I said. “But I love him.”

Santiago glanced away from the road and appraised me. “He’s my brother,” he said.

I nodded. “Is it weird I call him Joey?” This was what I was dying to know. Joey had insisted it didn’t matter that I called him his American name while everyone else he loved used his given name, but I didn’t completely believe him.

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