(18+) Smooth Xscape (Complete)

Ch. 21: Barbeque

Days became weeks, and weeks became months, and Michael and I were staying longer than expected. A lot longer. Therefore, Michael had gotten a job at the local gas station, in addition to the work at the farm, just so we could pay a little rent, buy some clothes and save up some. In the beginning, I borrowed clothes from Ennio's late wife. But I could feel Ennio's sadness when he saw me wearing them, so I quickly decided that I needed to buy some of my own. Besides, my stomach was starting to grow so big, that her clothes wouldn't fit anymore.

Luckily, it seemed like Emanuel and Ennio were satisfied with our help. Especially the old man, who we learned suffered from an old back injury that forced him to sleep in a chair instead of a bed. And even though I felt really sorry for him, I soon realized that he was happy the way things were, bed or no bed. He even picked up on some English words too, because of me. And smilingly, he teached me some more Spanish in return. He was a really sweet man, as was his son, and since we were living pretty cramped in their small house, our friendships grew impressingly strong in only a short amount of time.

There was only one thing, though. We never told them we were fugitives and wanted by the Police. Emanuel asked a few times about our lives before we came to Cuba, but I only answered vaguely before I managed to distract him by talking about other things instead, and after a while, he stopped asking. It felt really bad, though, but that's just the way it had to be. But there was also one other thing that made me feel guilty, and that was that we had to go behind their backs to get the medicine Michael needed.

One day when the veterinarian was checking up on one of the cows, we managed to take the vet aside and explain, half in English and half in Spanish, which medicine we needed prescription for. And even though it wasn't exactly the same as Michael had used back home, the small, chubby man said it had the similar stimulants, and therefore had the same function. And he was probably right too, because Michael hadn't changed since we got here. Not even once. My life was better than in years.

One early Saturday night, we were having a barbeque, just the four of us, and Michael was busy getting the lamb chops as close to perfection as possible. The salad and the rice was already on the table, and Ennio was smoking his pipe. Emanuel was playing old 60's songs on his guitar, and I hummed along while I soaked up the last rays of the setting sun. I gently stroke over my belly, feeling how the little one was having a soccer match in there, and I wasn't actually looking forward till he or she got bigger, since it was unpleasant enough as it was, only six months pregnant. Even though the thought of having a baby had scared me half to death at first, I had grown into the idea of becoming a mother, and found myself even looking forward to it. And the closeness I felt with Michael every night when he stroke my belly until we both fell asleep, was something I wouldn't trade for anything.

As we began to eat, the conversation flew lightly, as it always did, with jokes and stories, or just topics from our everyday life. But I noticed Michael kept quiet. He especially studied every move Emanuel did, and I even caught him frowning and clenching his fists a few times. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought he was turning into Mr. Jackson.

Haha! Good one, Gail. You know he's taking his medicine, and he hasn't changed in weeks. No, months! You're imagining things. Or... Maybe you miss him a little? NOOOO! I most certainly don't miss him! Yeah... Keep telling yourself that.

I took no further notice of it, until Emanuel wanted to show me something he'd read in the newspaper. But since my Spanish still kinda sucked, he spent some time explaining what it was about, and it became natural that he put his hand around my back and leaned forward as he pointed at a paragraph on one of the pages.

Suddenly there was a loud 'BAM' as Michael had slammed both of his hands onto the table so two of the glasses got knocked over, and Ennio's knife and fork fell to the ground.