Page 11 of Sinner's Bond

“Really? Do you think he was trying to get out of paying you?” I ask. I remember that Vinny seemed a little sleazy. It seems like something he might try to do.

“No. I wandered around the club looking for him for a bit. Then I found one of the bar backs and asked if he knew where Vinny was. He said he didn’t. I told him I was trying to get paid. He looked at me really weird and I was like ‘dude, I was the DJ.’ I guess he called someone on the phone behind the bar because this other guy comes out a few minutes later. He says Vinny had to leave. He pulled out a big stack of bills and hands them to me and thanked me.”

Andre takes a sip of his orange juice that has just arrived.

“He paid me more than double what I was supposed to get paid. So, brunch is on me,” Andre smiles.

“Ha! That’s awesome,” I say.

The waiter comes back a moment later with our food.

“Was the guy that paid you a big guy? In a suit?” I ask.

Andre thinks while he chews his first bite of food. “He was big,” he nods. “But he wasn’t wearing a suit. Just nice pants and button up shirt.”

I can feel my face warm. That’s right… we took off Mateo’s jacket and tie. I guess he didn’t put them back on after I left.

“Why?” Andre tilts his head and peers at me. “Do you know him?”

Goddammit, I’m too old to blush. I use my napkin to wipe my mouth, but also to cover the smile that wants to spread across my face.

“I met him,” I nod. There’s no use trying to lie about it, my face is giving it all away.

“Really?!”Andre says, he can’t help but smile as well. “Damn, girl. You still got it.” He laughs to himself.

I poke at my plate, spearing a bit of waffle. I can’t bring myself to make eye contact yet. I don’t know why I’m embarrassed. But I am.

“Who is that guy?” Andre asks. “Does he own the place?”

“His name is Mateo,” I say. “I don’t know what his job was. He didn’t really say.”

At the time I didn’t really care. But now I’m curious.

“Huh,” Andre replies. “Well, if you see him again, thank him for me. And see if he can put in a good word with Vinny to book me again. Or whoever’s doing the booking now.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever see him again,” I’m comfortable enough to make eye contact with Andre again.

“Was he a dick?” Andre asks.

“No. He was cool. And…interesting,” I say, remembering how much Mateo was not a dick. “It just wasn’t a long-term thing.”

Andre nods and continues eating his food.

“It was just for fun,” I say.

We finish our brunch and our drinks without coming back to Mateo again. It’s fun reminiscing about when we used to go to clubs together all the time. The late nights and the stupid situations we got into. Remembering the people that were always around, seemed like they always would be around, then realizing we haven’t seen them in years.

I don’t keep in touch with a lot of people I knew from back then. Really, just Andre. Andre is still connected to a few people we both knew, so he tells me what they’re up to now and then.

He forces me to let him pay for brunch. I make him promise to let me take him out for a meal sometime sooner than later.

I walk home alone, my thoughts drifting back to Mateo. I’m remembering how much fun I had last night, but I’m curious about who he actually is. I’m oddly glad that Andre got to meet him. But I don’t know why.

In the elevator up to my apartment, I pull out my phone and search the internet for “Mateo Sinners.” It’s basically all I’ve got on him. The first results are quotes from the Bible. Matthew 9:13. Something about spending time with sinners, not the righteous.

There are also a couple of results related to books that have “Sinner” in the title and must have a character named “Mateo.” But nothing about my Mateo.

I try again when I get back to my apartment. Grabbing my computer, I open up the Pennsylvania Government Website and go to the Business Search. I search for “Sinners.” There are a lot of results this time. So weird. I get distracted for a minute by a result from 1972 where the “National Gospel Sinners of Pittsburgh” amended their initial filing to fix a typo.

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