Page 83 of Penalty Shots

"That, my new friends, is the best part."

"You're up!" Ryker says, the screen door closing behind him.

The girls all slept in Rina's room and they have yet to come out from their slumber party.

"Me?" I say through a yawn.

Ryker nods. "Don't keep the man waiting."

I slip my shoes on and kick Fergie on my way out. He startles awake on the couch. "Hey, ‘the hell was that for?"

"You were snoring." He points the way to heaven and then settles back onto the couch to continue his nap.

Beto woke us boys up early to teach us how to properly prepare a pig. He had the giant thing sitting on an old table outside, looking pale and not tasty. And by the time we finished seasoning it with his family's secret rub, it looked good enough to eat.

Now, he's been calling us out interchangeably to have a turn with clearing the ash, refreshing the charcoal, and flipping the pig as needed.

I step out into the lush green backyard. Now, in the daylight, I can see just how close their property is to the ocean. There are palm trees, and the kind of plants that look like they were around during the time of the dinosaurs. Beto is at the back of the property, under a big umbrella-like tree.

"This place is beautiful," I say, just as the neighbor’s rooster crows, reminding me this isn't like any place I've ever been.

Beto smiles and reaches into a small cooler. He tosses me a tiny gold can.

"What's this?"

"The best beer in the world," he says, cracking one open for himself.

I laugh. "Beto, the sun barely just came up."

He shrugs. "We weren't expecting to have guests show up at our doorstep at one in the morning, but here we are. In Puerto Rico, anything is possible."

I chuckle, cracking open my can and clinking his as I sit in the folding chair beside him.

There's smoke coming out from the roasting box currently cooking tonight's main dish. It already smells so good.

"You see this tree." He motions to the tree just above the metal box.

"Yeah?"

"In the Spring and Summer—it produces the most vibrant red flowers. It looks like a fiery red tree. There are so many of them. When Rina was little, she used to sit under it and color. Said it gave her inspiration."

A red tree was Rina's favorite. Of course, it would be. Red suits her.

"She likes you," Beto says matter-of-factly.

I tear my eyes from the foliage and look at him. "What?"

"My daughter doesn't just hug people. When I came out to the porch and saw her hugging you—I knew you were more than just a friend."

"Oh… well, I like your daughter, sir. She's… really special."

He nods, his eyes watching me intently.

"Rina doesn't open up to people. She was always a quiet kid. Smart. Calculative. Hard-working. But peopling…" he chuckles. "I used to beg that girl to go make friends. Be social. Being an only child can be so quiet. But she liked quiet. She was always in her head."

"I can see that."

"But now, I see her with you guys. This group of friends. She's what, thirty-one and finally getting it. Life is no good alone."

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