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“How do you two know each other?”
“Chris is my flight instructor.”
“Ohhhhh. How is she doing?”
“She’s an excellent student. A natural pilot.”
I’m shocked to hear him say that. “You really think so?”
“Absolutely. You’re one of my best students ever. You study hard and listen to what I tell you, and you take a cautious approach, unlike some of the kids I teach who want to skip to the flying right away. They don’t take the time to learn the fundamentals.”
Like the fool I am, I soak up every word of praise.
“We worry about her getting hurt,” Marlene says as if I’m not there.
“She’s in very good hands.” Chris unleashes his sexiest smile on me. “Don’t worry.”
Desperate to change the subject and regain some equilibrium, I glance at Marlene. “Have you spoken to Nico or Sofia? They were in rough shape last night.”
“I haven’t, but I heard they’re back at his house.”
“I’m glad she’s there, with those lunatics shooting innocent people.”
“I am, too,” she says, “but they’re blaming themselves. I hope this doesn’t drive a wedge between them. I like them together.”
“I do, too, which is surprising because I wasn’t at all in favor of it at first.”
“Why not?” Chris asks.
“My Nico… He’s too handsome for his own good and has had women flocking around him since he was a teenager.”
“Poor guy,” Chris says with a twinkle in his eye.
Alfredo laughs. “A terrible burden, I’m sure.”
The four of us share a laugh.
“The attention has come too easily to him, and as a result, he hasn’t always been as honorable in his dealings with women as we’d like him to be.”
“He’s different with Sofia, though,” Marlene adds. “I think he’s in love.”
“I think so, too, which is why I’m feeling better about it than I was.” For Chris’s sake, I add, “Sofia came into our lives when Jason diagnosed her son with a cancerous brain tumor that he removed. We took her under our wings, gave her a job and a family. She’s been through a lot with her son and leaving an abusive marriage. We care for her very much. The last thing we wanted was our grandson causing her any more heartache.”
“I can understand that,” Chris says.
“When he’s at the restaurant while she’s working, he never takes his eyes off her,” Alfredo says. “It’s like he can’t help but watch her.”
“I’ve noticed that, too,” Marlene says with a warm smile for her partner.
The two of them are so damn cute together. She told me over Christmas that he wants to get married, but she isn’t sure that’s what she wants. I get that. The two of us have been widowed longer than we were married and are set in our ways.
“Nico hasn’t spent this much time at the restaurant since he was a waiter,” I tell Chris. “He’s there all the time these days, but only when Sofia is there, too.”
“It sounds like your grandson has met his match,” Chris says.
“I sure hope so.” I take a sip of coffee and a bite of the delicious Cuban pastry Marlene brought. “She’s good for him. She won’t put up with any of his crap.”
“I doubt she’s going to see that side of him,” Marlene says. “She brings out his softer side. In other news, when do you suppose Maria is going to tell us she’s expecting?”
