“Let me have an American coffee,” I told the waiter at Sailaway Café.
“Anything else, sir?” he asked, when he served the coffee.
“Can you please turn the music down just a little bit?”
When he turned the music down I turned on my electronic book and started to read. Then I realized that with the quiet I could hear the conversations around me. At the next table two attractive young Spanish women in their early twenties took a seat.
“Oh, Maria!” one of them said. “I am so glad I ran into you. I have something very important to ask you about.”
“What’s up?” Maria asked.
Switching languages, her friend said, “Let’s talk in Spanish. I don’t want anyone to hear me.”
“Don’t worry about that old gringo at the next table,” Maria said. “He doesn’t look like he speaks Spanish. So what’s going on?”
“You remember that Ivan who was talking to me last Saturday at the park?”
“The one from up by Boca del Rio?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I remember him. He is one sexy looking guy and handsome enough to be on TV. What about him?”
“He asked me to go out with him this weekend. We’re going to start the night by going to the disco.”
“Oh, be careful!” Maria said. “He is O.K. to dance and flirt with but you be careful if you go on a date with him.”
“Why?”
“I know three different girls who have been out with him,” Maria said. “They all have the same story. This guy, Ivan, is so nice and a gentleman and he sweet talks them into getting alone with him. Then he rips their clothes off and has his way with them.”
“Oh, my! What would you do if he asked you out?”
Maria said, “If it was me I would wear an old dress.”
