Ace

SAM

               He laughed.

               "Hey," I called, "Are you all right?"

               "I know where he is," Rodriguez grinned.

               "What's up with you? Are you having a psychic vision?" I chuckled.

               "No, when I bumped into Daniel on the sidewalk–"

               "You bumped into him on the sidewalk?" I repeated.

               "I didn't realize who it was. He was wearing–"

               "You didn't realize who it was?" I interrupted again.

               "Just listen, please. It was dark. I recognized the face but couldn't place it, so I put a tracker on him."

               "Your intuition is too good," I told him, then asked, "Why didn't you just say so?"

               "Because you kept interrupting–"

               "Let's go!" I grabbed his arm.

               "Wait, what about Antonio?" he asked.

               "I called your dad yesterday, and he said he would love to babysit Antonio," I said.

               "Then why did you ask me who would watch Antonio a few minutes ago?!" he asked, obviously confused.

               "To start a conversation, now let's go!" I said, dragging him along.

               "Wait, but my dad lives in Mexico!" he stated.

               "He said he would get a flight here yesterday," I said.

               "But how did you talk to him?" Rodriguez inquired, "He only speaks Spanish."

               "I understood some from my high school Spanish classes," I told him.

               "What makes you think he'll be here today?" he asked. I stopped and stared at him.

               "Rodriguez, what city are we in?"

               "Houston," he answered.

               "And what state is Houston in?" I questioned.

               "Texas..." he replied.

               "And what is Texas' neighbor state?" I asked. He sighed.

               "Hey, look, I didn't pay attention in Geography class, okay?"

               "It shouldn't take long to get here by plane. And he also said that he would check in at a hotel here and that he made a reservation already for room two-thirteen, so he should be there now."