Clutch Hit

by Faith O'Shea

  She came out of the kitchen, where she was making a list of what they might need for the next week and took a seat beside him, paper and pen still in hand.

  “Where did you find it?”

  “Something called Amazon Prime Video. Is that a station?”

  “Not really. It’s a streaming service offered by Amazon. You’ve heard of that, right?”

  “The river?”

  “No. It’s the biggest sales venue in the world. Books, videos, clothes… the list is endless. You want it, go to Amazon.”

  “It is extra?”

  She explained as the montage of Cuban landmarks passed over the screen, guitars, bongo, and maracas playing in the background.

  “I thought it might be something you could use, so I applied for it. If you have a prime membership, you get free delivery for all your purchases, no matter the cost or weight, videos, and even discounts at Whole Foods. Why this documentary? I’m sure you’ve seen every part of the island when you played the different provincial teams.”

  He took her hand, met her eyes. “I wanted to go with you, see my country through your eyes. This will give me the opportunity to do that. Please sit and watch with me.”

  She wanted to. While she’d been walking the streets, Mariposa playing tour guide, she’d yearned for his presence. She would have loved to talk to him about all she saw. Even though there were signs of wear and tear on people’s faces, their clothes, their possessions, the citizens looked happy. They were friendly, with broad smiles, and witty banter echoed across the open spaces. There were men in the parks playing dominoes, throwing their tiles down with gusto. She’d observed those who sat on the seawall on the Malecón, an esplanade that ran along the coastline. She could hear the waves crashing on the rocks, smell the brine that filled the air, witnessed lovers making out and fishermen dangling their rusted rods over the sides.

  She put the pad and pencil down and sat back, recognizing many of the historic buildings that appeared on the screen.

  Mateo excitedly pointed to the marble statue that was situated in the middle of the Plaza de Armas.

  “There, there is a statue of Céspedes. Remember I told you about him?”

  “I do. He is one of your heroes.”

  She’d seen the statue from the hotel, had passed by it when they strolled through the plaza late Friday afternoon. His mother giving him a running documentary on who he was and what he’d done to gain fame.

  The camera was panning over an open-stall book market.

  “And there, that book he’s displaying is a famous one about Che.”

  She’d seen the iconic picture of Guevara everywhere, but didn’t know one of the facts the narrator spoke to.

  “I didn’t know Cubans were voracious readers.”

  “Yes. When we can get books. There are many good authors, but many topics are off-limits. I can order on Amazon now. Anything I want. Am I right?”

  “You are and you can order many of them in Spanish if it’s easier to read for you.”

  “I need to learn to read English better if it is to be my first language. I do that by practice.”

  She glanced back to the TV to see the Santa Isabel. More excitedly than she’d intended, she exclaimed, “That’s where we stayed.”

  He whistled. “Very exclusive. My mother told me she stayed there, as well. I told her she should have insisted you stay at the casa particular where she was registered instead. It’s more reasonably priced and you would have gotten a better idea of what life there is really like.”

  “But I would have missed the street life.”

  “Was it what you expected?”

  He hit pause, intent on her answer.

  “You think you can conjure up the images of what you’ve heard, but no way did my imagination capture the sounds, smells, and sights. The architecture alone is worth the trip. I never gave a thought to the kind of Spanish influence that would be evident in Havana. And the renovations, from what I could tell, are staying true to the original flavor.”

  “New money is being allowed in for that due to the burgeoning tourist trade. The state finally figured out it was the only way to achieve economic stability. It is too bad it must come from outside. Many of the buildings will be owned by foreigners.”

  “You could be part of that now.”

  His eyes lit up. “I could. I have the money to buy up property and invest. Would that be wise?”

  “You’re right about the tourist trade, so I don’t think you’d be wasting your money. You just have to invest cautiously.”

  “Can we look into it?”

  “I’ll talk to the guy who’s handling your investments, see what he suggests.”

  Seemingly satisfied, he resumed watching.

  She became absorbed by the out-of-the-way-streets she’d missed, the scenes showing a more realistic view of daily life, with clothes hanging on clothes lines, children playing soccer in the dirt, and wires strung in criss cross fashion from one building to the next. It looked downright dangerous to her. When she was about to ask about it, a man who was role-acting Ernest Hemingway came on screen. She’d forgotten how much time he’d spent in Cuba and turned to ask Mateo, “Have you read him?”

  The Old Man and the Sea when I was in school. Islands in the Stream while I was on the road with the Alfareros.”

  “Nothing else?”

  “No, but maybe I will. Have you?”

  “I’ve attempted The Sun Also Rises but put it down rather quickly. I’m not a fan.”

  After the third lion stature came into view, she joked, “We may have our ducks, but you seem to favor lions. They even guard the city. Are they symbolic of something?”

  “It goes back to before the revolution, to when it was the mascot of our national baseball team, but that was before Castro outlawed professionalism and introduced the amateur league. The Havana Industriales adopted the blue lion as their own and the colors are everywhere. If you know anything about the country, you know that baseball is a national obsession. It’s too bad you couldn’t get to a game. You would have enjoyed it.”

  “We tried to squeeze it in but couldn’t. We spent more time at the consulate and the emigrant office than we wanted. My father wanted one of your team’s shirts, but I couldn’t find one.” She laughed. “I ordered it on Amazon on the flight back. Let’s not tell him.”

  “I brought one with me that he can have.”

  She flipped her hair back, gave him a wide-eyed stare.

  “Are you kidding? If you’re going to give it to someone, give it to me.”

  “Consider it yours. It would make me proud to see you wear it.”

  She collected tee shirts and wasn’t sure why she hadn’t ordered one for herself when she’d ordered her father’s. This would be even better. She’d have a piece of his history and a reminder of what they’d meant to each other. Today.

  She settled beside him, her head on his shoulder, needing the connection, her eyes back on the television. The scene showed a line of men sitting on a concrete bench, chatting, sleeping, smoking.

  “Why is it always men at rest? I never once saw women hanging around like that. They’re always in motion, with shopping bags or children running ahead of them.”

  “Women take care of the home and family. Men are mostly unemployed and have nowhere else to be.”

  “Here’s an idea. They could help the women.”

  “But that isn’t the Cuban way.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but that isn’t the way I envision marriage.”

  “Are you envisioning it?”

  She pursed her lips at him and said, “For today.”

  He placed his mouth on hers and her lips took hold. When he broke contact, he was smiling. “I can try to do it your way.”

  “Smart man.”

  They settled back again, and only when the tour came to Camagüey, did she become animated again.

  “This is where you’re from.”

  “The province, yes. I
t is where I played when I was older, but I doubt they will show the stadium here.”

  “It’s just like you said. A maze of streets to counter the pirates. I wish I could have walked them, seen for myself what it’s like.”

  No matter where she went, with Casey or without, she always sought out the quirky sites, the less-traveled by-roads. It gave her a better sense of the country and the people. The only place she’d stuck with the regular tourists traps was in Cancun. Another one of those existential breezes flowed through her and she shivered.

  “Are you cold?”

  She shook her head. In spite of that, he wrapped his arm around her, sharing his body heat.

  He picked up the thread of their conversation. “They say there are hauntings there. Dead privateers come back to guard the hidden treasures they left behind.”

  “Are there treasure maps?”

  “Most go on rumor and old tales of buried gold. I tend to doubt the famous ones left much behind.”

  “Was the sports academy there?”

  “Yes. I think if you had lived there, we would have dated.”

  She pulled back and stared at him. “What makes you say that?”

  “You would have drawn me to you then, like you do now.”

  “I’m older than you. We would have been in different grades.”

  She was twenty-eight to his twenty-six. Not that it made a lot of difference today, but in high school? She wouldn’t have given him the time of day.

  “I would have been more mature than many in your class.”

  When she saw the gleam in his eyes, she thought he might be right. What he did to her system still amazed her. She’d found treasured gold from Camagüey and hadn’t even looked for it. Needing him more than she needed a tour of his country, she climbed onto his lap, put her arms around his neck, and nestled against his groin.

  When he pulled her against him for a kiss that was wet and wild, Cuba was forgotten.

  While they were still enjoying the afterglow, Mateo’s cell rang, a salsa number she’d helped him find and program in. It only took a couple of seconds for her to know who was on the other side of the conversation.

  “Rique wants to know if we want to go to his place tonight. He’s invited Reid and Izabella, Seb, Fiona’s assistant and his wife…”

  Allie could hear Rique’s voice as he rattled off a couple more of the players who’d been invited. She didn’t know if she wanted to tell the world quite yet that she’d hooked up with the Cuban, but she thought it might be a fun way to spend the evening.

  “He wants to celebrate his engagement. Fiona’s taken the night off and he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to pry her away again.”

  “Are we talking one of his infamous parties?”

  He quirked a smile and asked. Mateo relayed the answer. “He doesn’t know what you’re talking about. He’s a happily engaged man and parties are no longer on the agenda.” He put the cell back to his ear before adding, “And he says no way would you get an invite to one of them.”

  She believed that. One of the mandates of the trade was that he stop partying and get serious about the game. She finally noticed he was waiting for her answer when he asked, “Do you want to go?”

  The question was: did she want to meet Rique’s future wife? And the answer to that was yes, she did.

  “Sure. Anything we can bring?”

  He shook his head a second later, finished up the call, and shut off the television.

  “We can watch the rest of the documentary some other time.”

  She nodded. “I’d like to see the rest of it. I’m sorry I couldn’t get out to see where you were born.”

  “Maybe, if things ever settle between here and there, we can go and visit for more than a couple of days.”

  “Would you ever want to move back?”

  “No. That is my past. I prefer my today.”

  He gave her a kiss, telling her without words why. When they came up for air, he said, “I will get cleaned up. We should leave soon.”

  She thought she should change as well. She’d worn jeans on their outing, and she couldn’t show up looking like she did. Assessing what the appropriate attire would be, she asked, “Where does he live?”

  On his way to his bedroom, he said, “He just leased a place not far from the Jacksons. It’ll take about half an hour with no traffic.” He glanced back. “Will there be traffic on a Sunday night?”

  She’d started down the hall after him. “Shouldn’t be. I feel like we should bring something.”

  “Fiona is good with the speed dial. You tell her what you want, and she’ll have it delivered in no time at all.”

  As she was about to walk by him, he took her in his arms and kissed her. She wondered if she’d ever get used to the electric current that always surged when he did.

  “I would think they’d want to be alone tonight.”

  She was fingering his hair, thinking that if she ever got engaged, she might not want to invite friends right over. She winced inwardly, forgetting again that she’d never be engaged. She’d jumped right into marriage. While gazing into his eyes, she didn’t see a downside at the moment.

  He thumbed her cheek and the feather like stroke shot right to the core of her.

  “I think they are in need of a break with all the celebrating they’ve done, and this is it.” He paused before asking, “What are we going to tell them?’

  She felt fear knot in her belly.

  “I don’t know. That we’re together?”

  “Why not just tell them the truth?”

  “They won’t understand. They’ll all think I did it to get you here.”

  And that wasn’t the only reason. She’d finally been able to admit it to herself.

  “We tell them we are now a couple. It can be no other way. I’m unable to control myself when I’m with you. There will be kisses and looks of undying devotion.”

  “We tell them we’re a couple, and word will get around quickly. Soon everyone will know, Mateo. Be sure this is what you want.”

  He kissed her then, and with the feel of his lips on hers, she let the worry skitter away. She had today, and as many todays as he’d allow. She’d fallen in love with her husband, but fear was a dangerous bedfellow, and it was still trying to push him out. She was not looking forward to seeing which emotion won.

  Fiona seemed to be in the same type of haze as she was. Flustered yet happy, she showed off her ring with open disbelief. And it was beautiful. Rique had done a great job with both the ring and future wife. She was grounded, practical, and didn’t take his shit. And brilliant, from what Allie could tell, something she’d never thought Rique would be comfortable with.

  “He says he had to go to Brazil to find me. He’s such an idiot.”

  Rique had come up behind her, kissed her neck. “Don’t go making me look like a loser. A wife’s job is to make a husband feel like the million-dollar man.”

  “And if he needs no help with that?”

  Before he dropped his head just below her neck on her shoulder blades, Allie saw his eyes brimming with love.

  Izabella had come over and said, “Isn’t she just perfect for him? Makes me proud.”

  Allie was still on the fence about that. Could Rique content himself with one woman? Would he be satisfied with a home life devoid of the parties and clubbing he was famous for?

  She glanced at Reid who was standing close to his wife, and she knew some could. Her ace had had the same kind of reputation before his wife had tamed him.

  When the doorbell rang, Rique nodded his head at Mateo, then in the direction of the door. When he left her to tag along with the host, it gave Allie time to take in the place. It was beautiful, although she thought it a bit sedate for Rique. Gleaming hardwood floors covered the whole downstairs of the open-concept space and the kitchen was all stainless-steel, with quartz counters and white cabinets. She switched her focus to the men as they carried bags of food to the dining room table.

&
nbsp; Rique called over, “Allie can you oversee this, please?”

  “I guess I could, being superwoman and all.”

  When she went over to join the twosome opening bags and extricating containers, Rique asked, “What’s up between you?”

  Her eyes flashed up to meet his, a smile curling the edges of his lips. How the hell did he know? Had Seb…

  “Don’t look so surprised, Allie. I know what love looks like now.”

  Mateo put his arm around her, and she unconsciously rested her head on his shoulder and said,

  “She’s your sky and you can take flight in her.”

  She realized it not only had a metaphysical meaning but a symbolic one as well.

  Rique nodded his head, a myriad of expressions crossing his face. “It’s a perfect way to describe it. When did you become a mystic?”

  “Not me. Someone named Rumi.”

  “Smart guy.”

  Someone had switched on an audio system and Paul Simon’s Cecelia came booming out of the speakers. She hadn’t noticed the arrival of another couple of ballplayers and wives, so wrapped up in Mateo, but the looks they were getting were blatant and obvious.

  Fiona had come over and grabbed the front of Rique’s shirt, taking her mind off the others. “How many people did you invite?”

  “Eleven but only ten came. I wouldn’t have gone over your limit.”

  She let go with a harrumph and explained, “I’m not good in crowds.”

  “Talk to Allie. You’re great one on one.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him as he went off to play host. Wanting to break the ice, Allie said,

  “I hear you’re a scientist.”

  “Yeah. Didn’t know the difference between an umpire and a referee until about a week ago. Hear you’re the guys mama bear.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t know the difference between an amino acid and a double strand helix. I can imagine Rique’s surprise when he learned you didn’t walk dogs for a living.”

  Fiona smiled and it lit up her face. Allie was beginning to understand why Rique had fallen for her. She was unique and she doubted he’d ever be bored.

  “Mattie tell you the story? He’s a good guy. You together?”

  “For today.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said. I never thought I’d have a chance in hell with him for the long haul. Curiosity got me started. I mean, look at the guy. Who wouldn’t want to mess with all that gorgeousness?”