Page 30 of Nomad

“Like I said… whatever. Is there anything else you need from town? More juice?”

“Snickers.”

He looked at Maria, who nodded. Bud assumed that meant Snickers is Snickers in any language.

“And shampoo! Something that smells nice.”

After another brief exchange Cann handed Maria a couple of large bills. She nodded at Bud and smiled on her way out the door.

“So. You speak Spanish.”

“Well, yes, sugar. I’m from Texas.”

“I’mfrom Texas and I don’t speak Spanish.”

“I don’t know how that’s even possible? Didn’t you say you’re from El Paso?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you’d have to be workin’ at not learnin’ it.”

“Not true.”

“You don’t know any Spanish?”

“Gracias. Mucho. Grande. Si. No. Señorita.”

He stared for several seconds. “That’s just sad. How do you expect to get a job here without speakinganySpanish?”

“There are always other people around who do?”

“That’s ridiculous.” She laughed. “What’s funny?”

“I don’t know. The way you say ‘ridiculous’. It just seems so out of place on your bad ass bikeryness.”

“I don’t need to tell you that’s not a word. Right?”

“Okay. Since there is nothing else to do here, why don’t you teach me Spanish?”

He seemed to be considering that.

“I might. What do you have to offer in exchange?” Her smile fell and he realized how she’d taken that. “No. Not that. Something to teach me that I don’t already know.”

“Oh. Okay.” She looked around the room. “Wow. Seems like you already know how to cook.”

“Got it covered.”

“I know how to shoot.”

Though he seemed interested, he didn’t ask. “Got that covered, too.”

She looked over at her bag. She didn’t have a lot of stuff with her, but she did have a deck of bicycle cards. “You know how to play cards?”

“Of course.”

“Gin rummy?”

“No. Poker.”

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