Felicia led Gilbert to the door of the bar and opened it. The bar was in the first level of a two-story building, enough to keep thirty people, a few tables and chairs and a music player inside. On the other floor were Antonio’s apartment and the storage room, which used enough space to leave the owner with room for a bed, a tiny bathroom, a tiny kitchen and something that was a living and dining room at the same time. He’d have liked something bigger, but he figured that he’d be have enough space once he bought his farm, and he’d be fine until then, after all, he had a lot more space than some people he knew and felt he had no right to complain, especially since he was, unsurprisingly, happy.
“Nice place, don’t you think?,” commented Felicia as she sat at one of the tables. “Sit down, Gilbert, Toño is probably still sleeping.”
Gilbert sat in front of her and looked around. “Yeah, it is a nice place. I’m still surprised he managed to buy it so fast.”
Felicia smiled the same smile she’d had when she’d been talking about her grandmother. “Don’t let them know I told you, but my sister helped him. I told I bought my car with part of my inheritance on my last birthday, right? When Lovina turned eighteen, she took her car, drove to the farm in which Toño was working and told him she’d lend him all the money he needed for the bar. Then she grabbed him from one arm, dragged him to his boss’ office, made him quit and brought him back. Then he named the bar after us and she swore murder,” Felicia grinned and looked around too. “Still, she’s something of a co-owner here until she gets her money back, so she comes around every day to check the stock and the finances. You’ll meet her soon, she usually comes around midday.”
Gilbert looked at the time. 11:45. Really? That early? Not knowing what else to say, he went for the first thing that came to his mind.
“Your English is very good.” He’d been surprised to hear her; he didn’t expect her to speak it so well.
“It has to be, just in case, you know?”
“Eh, no, not really.”
“Toño hasn’t told you? I want to be an artist. I mean, I am an artist, I paint, but I want to be recognized. I’m studying art and taking classes. I want to learn French too, but English is more spoken, so I figured I could start from there too. Lovina taught me, but she didn’t speak it too well, so we ended up learning together.”
“Toni probably told me, but he usually never shuts up when he’s talking about you and I get a bit distracted,” he admitted, trying to not reveal he felt a bit embarrassed by the fact.
“Don’t let him know about that, he’ll probably feel sad. But he has a tendency to repeat everything, so you’d probably find out sooner or later,” she added with a reassuring smile.
The door to the street opened and a woman entered. Gilbert recognized her instantly as the second Vargas sister, because she looked like a slightly older version of Felicia. The main difference was that Felicia’s face was more round and happy, while Lovina’s was slightly more angular and seemed to be stuck on a frown. The other differences were about style, because Lovina kept her hair loose and stopped it from bothering her by wearing a red headband (that still couldn’t keep a curl from the right side of her head in the right place, seriously, this two were obviously related), and while her sister seemed to favor clothes that made her attractive but didn’t bother her, the older one just went for comfortable but feminine clothes, in this case, brown trousers, a blouse and a cardigan (she was also carrying a jacket in her hand).
Lovina and Gilbert’s first meeting could be summed up in two words: mutual dislike.
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Flamenco, Tango y Tarantella (2c/?)
(Anonymous) 2012-03-25 01:34 am (UTC)(link)“Nice place, don’t you think?,” commented Felicia as she sat at one of the tables. “Sit down, Gilbert, Toño is probably still sleeping.”
Gilbert sat in front of her and looked around. “Yeah, it is a nice place. I’m still surprised he managed to buy it so fast.”
Felicia smiled the same smile she’d had when she’d been talking about her grandmother. “Don’t let them know I told you, but my sister helped him. I told I bought my car with part of my inheritance on my last birthday, right? When Lovina turned eighteen, she took her car, drove to the farm in which Toño was working and told him she’d lend him all the money he needed for the bar. Then she grabbed him from one arm, dragged him to his boss’ office, made him quit and brought him back. Then he named the bar after us and she swore murder,” Felicia grinned and looked around too. “Still, she’s something of a co-owner here until she gets her money back, so she comes around every day to check the stock and the finances. You’ll meet her soon, she usually comes around midday.”
Gilbert looked at the time. 11:45. Really? That early? Not knowing what else to say, he went for the first thing that came to his mind.
“Your English is very good.” He’d been surprised to hear her; he didn’t expect her to speak it so well.
“It has to be, just in case, you know?”
“Eh, no, not really.”
“Toño hasn’t told you? I want to be an artist. I mean, I am an artist, I paint, but I want to be recognized. I’m studying art and taking classes. I want to learn French too, but English is more spoken, so I figured I could start from there too. Lovina taught me, but she didn’t speak it too well, so we ended up learning together.”
“Toni probably told me, but he usually never shuts up when he’s talking about you and I get a bit distracted,” he admitted, trying to not reveal he felt a bit embarrassed by the fact.
“Don’t let him know about that, he’ll probably feel sad. But he has a tendency to repeat everything, so you’d probably find out sooner or later,” she added with a reassuring smile.
The door to the street opened and a woman entered. Gilbert recognized her instantly as the second Vargas sister, because she looked like a slightly older version of Felicia. The main difference was that Felicia’s face was more round and happy, while Lovina’s was slightly more angular and seemed to be stuck on a frown. The other differences were about style, because Lovina kept her hair loose and stopped it from bothering her by wearing a red headband (that still couldn’t keep a curl from the right side of her head in the right place, seriously, this two were obviously related), and while her sister seemed to favor clothes that made her attractive but didn’t bother her, the older one just went for comfortable but feminine clothes, in this case, brown trousers, a blouse and a cardigan (she was also carrying a jacket in her hand).
Lovina and Gilbert’s first meeting could be summed up in two words: mutual dislike.