Her chestnut hair is silky smooth and rests in a subtle curl above her shoulders.She’s polished, and her jewelry appears to be expensive.
I slip quietly into the booth directly behind them and set my purse down.
Mateo is more intense up close, especially with the glare he’s sporting.His brown eyes are deep-set and surrounded by long lashes.With the mustache and the beginnings of stubble along his jawline, he could easily be mistaken for older than he is.
“How’s the food?”she asks.
“Fine,” he replies, his tone flat.
A few minutes later, she speaks up again.“How’s soccer?”
“I quit the team,” he says with a shrug, as if it doesn’t matter, and lays down his fork.
“What?Why?”
“I don’t see the point.”
“But you lovesoccer!”Her voice rises, almost pleading.
“No,youloved watching me play soccer until something better came along.”
“That’s not fair, and you know it.This isn’t about me loving him more than you.”
“So what?”Mateo continues, his voice dripping with sarcasm.“If you hadn’t met him, we’d be fine?I’d still be living at home?”
Her voice rises when she replies.“You needed a good male role model, Mattie.That’s why I did what I did.We were fighting all the time.”
Mateo lets out a bitter laugh.“Yeah, nothing says good role model like the man you dumped me for.”
Her breath hitches.“That’s not—”
He sits forward and places his arms on the table.“Isn’t it telling…?”
“What?”
He raises a brow at her.“That, when I needed a male role model, your new husband isn’t the first guy who came to mind?”
“Why do you always have to start a fight?I’m trying to spend time with you.Can we not argue about him every time?”
He mutters something under his breath.
I sit still, caught between feeling like I should leave and wanting to hear more.This is private, but the devil on my shoulder wins out because this has only given me yet more questions I need answers to.
“Look, I know you think I’m a bad mom for what I did, and maybe I am.But I was making the best decision I could at the time.”
“Looking out for yourself, you mean,” Mateo shoots back, his voice cold.“Moving me out so you could move your new life in.”
“Dammit, Mattie,” she hisses, frustration evident.She starts to slide out of the booth.
Mateo’s tone shifts.“Okay, I’m sorry.Don’t leave.”
She huffs and exhales heavily.“Then tell me honestly,” she says, sitting back in her seat.“Why are you so angry with me?Is it just him, or is this about your dad?And why did you quit the team?”
His answers are less aggressive this time.“I don’t want to talk about him or dad.With soccer… it was just taking up so much of my time.It’s not going anywhere, so I don’t see the point anymore.I’d rather get a job.I’m done wasting my life on it.”
She sighs, long and deep.“Okay.I guess that makes sense when you put it like that.How are your grades?”Her tone softens.
“Fine.I’ve got the credits I need to graduate.”
