“My apologies,” Mateo mentioned, rapidly folding the slice in half and taking a big chew. Freddie nodded in satisfaction.

“They aren’t very pleasant up right here in New York,” Jack whispered to me.

I snorted. “Are you kidding? That’s the nicest I’ve ever seen Freddie act to a buyer. When you weren’t with me, he would have thrown a salt shaker at you!”

That evening, we went out to the Bronx to go to Mateo’s uncle. Liam and Jack had been stunned {that a} ten-mile journey because the crow flies took over an hour by subway, however I simply rolled my eyes at them. It will’ve taken twice as lengthy by automotive.

Mateo’s uncle and aunt had been candy, though they spoke little or no English. Mateo launched me as “a girl I’m seeing,” which made the 2 older Cubans fawn throughout me like I used to be probably the most distinguished visitor to ever grace their house.

“You’re taking excellent care of Mateo!” his uncle instructed me as we left. “He’s fortunate. Very fortunate.”

“I really feel just like the fortunate one,” I instructed them. He won’t have understood the phrases precisely, however he understood what I meant.

Early Sunday morning, we loaded every little thing right into a roof field on my automotive and began driving south. The blokes had taken a full week off work, so we determined to have some enjoyable on the return journey. In Virginia, we visited a couple of Civil Warfare battlefields, together with the spot at Yorktown the place Cornwallis surrendered to Washington to finish the Revolutionary Warfare. Liam made a joke about New Zealand remaining within the British Commonwealth for a couple of further centuries, and the way they’re the nicest individuals on this planet due to it. The opposite three of us couldn’t argue with that logic.

We spent an evening in Atlanta, the place I had lived earlier than shifting to Clearwater once I was eleven. I didn’t keep in mind a lot from my time there, however there was one cease I insisted on.

“Have a look at this stadium!” I mentioned, sweeping my hand throughout the view in entrance of us from the higher deck bleachers. “Truist Park is roughly a billion occasions nicer than Tropicana Subject.”

“The stadium is sweet,” Jack admitted. “Too dangerous it’s crammed with Braves followers.”

I elbowed him, which made him spill a bit of little bit of beer. He gave me a glare. “Spilling beer at a baseball recreation? That’s a horrible crime. You’re similar to your sister.”

I gasped, then burst out laughing. Jack seemed relieved. We had all been making jokes about Brandi’s state of affairs. That was my coping mechanism: darkish humor. However the guys nonetheless hesitated and questioned if they might go too far.

A crack break up the evening, and the group roared and jumped to its toes. I pumped my fist and grinned at Jack.

“There’s no one like Acuña on the Rays. That’s why the Braves are successful all of it this yr.”

“That’s cute you suppose so,” Jack mentioned, placing a comforting arm round me. “I’ll be there to console you when the Braves get swept within the first spherical once more.”

“Randy Arozarena is an excellent outfielder,” Mateo mentioned heatedly.

“You’re simply saying that as a result of he’s Cuban.”

“That’s precisely why I’m saying it,” Mateo agreed. “Cuba has the perfect baseball prospects on this planet. Arozarena, Yordan Alvarez, Adolis Garcia…”

“Remind me why that is higher than cricket?” Liam requested. “Is it as a result of you’ve gotten 4 bases as an alternative of two?”

“That’s precisely why,” I teased. “4 is best than two.”

“I’ll say,” Jack added.

The 4 of us grinned at one another once we received the joke.

*

We drove the ultimate seven hours from Atlanta to the Tampa Bay space the subsequent morning. Surprisingly sufficient, driving into Clearwater felt like returning house. It hadn’t felt that approach once I arrived by aircraft and rental automotive a month in the past, however now I used to be crammed with heat and happiness. I made a decision that was a great signal as we unpacked my automotive and hauled every little thing into Jack’s visitor home. Regardless of my protests, he was letting me keep right here without cost for a couple of months. He would “enable” me to pay lease as soon as I used to be extra established and had constant revenue from my pictures.

We celebrated with pizza and beer. Because the guys had helped me transfer my stuff all the best way down the east coast, I allow them to resolve the place to order it from. To my dismay, they selected Pizza Hut.

“I can’t eat this whereas the style of Freddie’s remains to be contemporary on my tongue,” I mentioned whereas sitting down on the kitchen desk in Jack’s home.

Jack tore into a bit, crust-first. “I don’t know. You possibly can’t beat stuffed crust.”

“That is my favourite pizza,” Mateo mentioned. “It was the primary meals we ordered once I got here right here from Cuba.”

“I’ve received a delicate spot for Pizza Hut,” Liam mentioned with an enormous grin.

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