Chapter 8

“That’s where you were going?”

AC nodded.

“You speak Spanish?”

The space between AC’s thumb and index finger fluctuated as he tried to decide how much.

“Uno piquito?”

Nodding was getting old already and they’d barely moved five miles.

“El hombre es hermoso. Esos ojos, esos labios, el regalo que deseo abrir en la ma?ana de Navidad o tal vez antes. El hombre es hermoso. I just made that up. It sucks. I write poetry like a third grader. Do you know what I said?”

AC loved the Spanish language when spoken by someone fluent. He had understood the words, more or less, but shook his head no, since he wasn’t a hundred percent sure. This made Manny smile for the first time since he’d sat down.

“Maybe I’ll tell you later,” he said.

AC knew it was something like, “He is beautiful, those eyes, those lips, it’s the gift I want to open Christmas morning or maybe before. He is beautiful.” He just didn’t know who it was about.