Notes from a Spinning Planet—Mexico (4 page)

I translate this for Sid, and she smiles and nods at the handsome man, who is, I'm guessing, about her age.

“My English is not so good,” says Juan after the introduction. “But I saw you two lovely ladies, and I wanted to offer you a gift.”

“A gift?” Sid looks suspicious now.

“Yes.” He nods eagerly. “My brother owns a very nice restaurant in San Lucas, and I would like to give you a coupon for dinner.”

“Really?” Sid still looks suspicious. “Why?”

“To show my appreciation.”

“Appreciation for what?” she asks.

“If you would let me tell you about our time-share program here.”

“Oh, I don't want to buy a time-share,” says Sid.

He smiles. “That's what everyone thinks.”

“But I really—”

“If you hear my presentation, you might change your mind.” He waves his hand. “Imagine being a shareowner in this. You could come here anytime you like.”

She frowns, and I can tell she wants to get rid of this guy, even if he is good looking and smooth talking. “I really don't think I—”

“Please,” he says. “It will only take an hour, or just a little more. And the dinner coupon is for one hundred dollars—American.”

She seems to consider this. “And the restaurant is really good?”

“It's the best.”

“Hmmm…”

“Please, lovely lady. I promise, you wont be disappointed.”

“One hour for a hundred-dollar dinner?” She narrows her eyes slightly.

“On my honor.”

“Well, okay then. But first you have to tell me the name of your brothers restaurant and where its located.”

“Even better,” he says, pulling a card out of his pocket. “Here is his card. We are brothers, you see. We must help each other.”

“Okay.” She nods.

“What time is good for you?”

She considers this. “Well, were going to town for groceries.”

“Groceries?” he says. “You must let me tell you the best store.”

She nods. “Yes, thank you. That would be nice.”

He pulls out another card. “Are you a Costco member?”

She shakes her head. “No, I live alone. Costco is for big families.”

He laughs. “Oh, but you are too beautiful to be single.”

Well, I can tell she's flattered now. And Juan writes down the names and addresses of several places that sound helpful.

“How about three o'clock this afternoon?” he asks her as we stand to leave. “We could meet right here. I'll buy you a drink.”

She looks around, then shrugs. “Sure, I guess that will be fine.”

“Thank you,” he says with dark, sparkling eyes. “I look forward to it.”

I stifle laughter as we walk away. “That guy is hitting on you, Sid,” I warn her.

“No,” she tells me, “he's just trying to sell real estate.”

“I can't believe you let him talk you into listening to his time-share presentation,” I say. I consider warning her about the conversations I heard this morning. Still, I don't want to spoil her fun.

She laughs. “Well, he has no idea what a hard sell I am. And a hundred-dollar dinner for spending an hour listening to a handsome guy? Well, I guess I might be a sucker after all, but it sounds like an easy deal to me.”

We get our maps and the little list that Juan made for us and head out in the rental car. After getting lost a couple of times, we finally make our way through San Lucas and find the restaurant that Juan's brother owns.

“That looks pretty nice,” I tell Sid as she slowly drives by.

She nods. “Yeah. It looks legit to me.”

Then we drive around looking for a parking spot so we can get out and do some shopping. Finally Sid gives up on finding an opening on the street and pays to park in a tiny lot.

“Whew,” she says as we get out of the car. “Driving in this city is a little crazy.”

“Maybe walking will be better,” I say.

Her cell phone rings. “Sorry,” she tells me. “I should take this. It might be work related, and I promised to be in touch.”

We go over to stand in the shade while she answers the phone. But I notice a small store nearby. It has colorful blankets hanging outside and lots of terra cotta pots stacked up by the door, sort of the quintessential Mexican shop. So I go over to explore it.

“You want to buy something, miss?” asks a boy.

I smile at him. “No, gracias.”

Just the same, he begins showing me his blankets, talking them up, and practically begging me to reconsider my answer. I look at the blankets and admit they're pretty, but I'm not ready to buy anything yet.

“Manana, “
I tell him, starting to walk away.

“No no,” he says, insisting that he has the best prices and selection and that I should buy something
right now.

I can't help but laugh at his stubborn enthusiasm. I try to explain that we're going to walk for a while and I don't want to carry anything. That maybe I'll buy something when we come back for our car. I even point to our car like it's proof of my sincerity. For some reason, he seems to accept this. Or maybe it's because an older couple has just walked up. Judging by the woman's jewelry, it looks like they could be pretty wealthy. The woman studies the blankets but seems unimpressed. Still, he makes his pitch.

“Are these old?” she asks the boy.

“No no,” he says.
“Nueva”

Now she actually smells them. “They don't smell clean to me,” she says. “I think they've been used.”

He frowns, but he doesn't give up. He insists the blankets are new and clean and
very nice.
But she is not buying this—and she's not buying a blanket, either. She makes a sour face, then looks like she's literally turning up her nose at the boy and his blankets. It's all I can do to control myself from going over there and telling her to
straighten up.
But I don't. Instead I just watch a dark shadow of hurt and disappointment wash over the boy's face. And this makes me mad.

So I go over and ask him how much for the blanket I liked the best, and he tells me. Now, I know I'm supposed to try to get him to go down on the price—that's what I've read in the travel books—but twenty-five dollars for a really cool hand-woven blanket sounds like a pretty good deal to me. I ask if he takes American money, and he nods eagerly. So I pay him. He smiles as he carefully folds up the blanket and slips it into a pink plastic bag and hands it to me.

“Gracias,” I tell him.

“De nada,” he says with a big grin.

I go to find Sid. I want to see if I can leave the blanket in the car while we walk around. She's still standing in the same place, but I can tell by her face that something's up. She says good-bye to whoever's on the other end and hangs up with a happy sigh.

“You'll never guess who that was.”

“Who?” I ask.

“That was Ian.”

“Oh, good,” I say. “How is he?”

“He's on his way to Mexico.”

The statement almost doesn't compute. “Mexico?”

“He's just waiting to get on the flight,” she says with sparkling blue eyes.

“To come here?” I ask.

She nods.

Okay, I'm happy for her. But suddenly I see myself as odd man out. Make that odd woman out. I know how Sid feels about Ian and how he feels about her. But where does that leave me?

“Oh yeah,” she says, like she's been playing me. “I almost forgot. He's bringing Ryan with him.”

“He's bringing
RyanT

“They met in Seattle last night when Ian flew in from Dublin. And in an hour they'll board a flight to Mexico and arrive here this evening.”

“Seriously?”

She nods with wide eyes. “I'm stunned.”

“Me too.”

“I guess he got a really good deal, one of those last-minute vacation packages. He booked it online.”

“Where are they staying?”

“It's called Casa del Sol,” she says. “I think I remember seeing the sign on the highway last night. It's not too far from where we're staying.”

“Cool.”

She smiles. “Yes, very cool.”

“So does this change our plans for today?” I ask.

She considers this. “No, not really. Ian said it might be late by the time they get to their hotel tonight and that he'd call tomorrow.”

“Oh.” I hold up my purchase. “Can I put this in the car?”

“Of course. What did you buy?”

So I pull it out and show it to her, explaining about the young salesman and the unfriendly American tourist.

“Well,” says Sid as she slams the trunk closed, “I guess I better go buy a blanket too.”

“That'll show them,” I say as I lead her over to the shop. The boy is pleased to see that I've returned with a new customer. Sid buys two blankets, and he gives her an even better deal. I point this out, and he offers to make it up to me if I'll purchase another blanket. This boy is good! But I fall for it and buy another one. It's a good thing our car is nearby so we don't have to carry them.

“I can't believe it,” says Sid as we wander down the narrow street, looking into various shops. “Ian is really going to be here!”

“I'm pretty stunned myself,” I say. “What made Ian think to invite Ryan?”

“Well, you know how they made that connection in Ireland and how they've stayed in touch since then? I just think Ian has sort of adopted Ryan into his heart. Ryan was just as disappointed as I was when Ian couldn't make it for Christmas.” She smiles as she holds a piece of rainbow-colored glassware to the light. “But at least they'll be together for New Year's.”

“And down here in Mexico with us!” I say happily. I can hardly wait to see them tomorrow!

try not to obsess over the fact that Ryan is actually going to be down here. I mean, its not like he and I really have anything going on besides a good friendship. And yet, I cant help but imagine how fun it'll be to have him around.

Even as Sid and I enjoy a great lunch at a downtown restaurant called Pancho's, complete with bright-colored tablecloths and pottery, not to mention amazing service, I think how much better it would be if Ryan and Ian were here. Afterward, Sid and I do a bit more shopping, and once again, Im looking at things and thinking,
Wouldn't Ryan like that belt?
Or /
wonder if Ryan would buy this? Okay
I tell myself as we stop by the market to pick up some groceries,
quit obsessing over this guy Just chill

“I think I'm ready for a little siesta,” I admit as Sid drives us back to the condo. In the back of my mind, I'm probably thinking I'm ready to have a nice dream about Ryan.

“Me too,” says Sid. “But I've got that silly meeting with Juan. I wish I could cancel it.”

“Maybe you can,” I suggest with a sleepy yawn.

“Maybe…”

We're barely back in our room when I suddenly feel wide awake
again. I have this dire need to go check out the pool and the beach and hopefully catch some rays as well as some z's and work on my tan—sort of a multitasking outing. I tell my aunt, and she decides to join me. So we put on our suits and the sarongs we got in Hawaii and trek down to the pool, which turns out to be pretty crowded and noisy. Plus all the lounge chairs seem to be occupied. So we wait in line to get some towels from the towel guy, then head down to the beach, where we finally locate a couple of lounge chairs and make ourselves comfortable.

“Not bad,” I say as I stretch out and soak up the warm afternoon sun. There's a delightfully cooling breeze coming off the Sea of Cortez, and the ocean air smells fresh and clean. Nothing like what I expected to find in Mexico. I cant wait to see how Ryan reacts to all this.

“Not bad at all,” agrees Sid with a yawn. “I think I'll have that siesta after all.”

I sigh and close my
eyes.
“Yeah, I could get used to this.”

“Wake me up before three o'clock if I'm asleep.”

“You're still going to meet with Juan?”

“I guess so.”

We both snooze for a while, and I wake up feeling pretty groggy and sweaty. I run down and plunge into the ocean, which feels ice cold compared to my hot skin, but it wakes me up. When I get back to where Sid is still sleeping, I glance at her watch to see that it's almost three. I'm tempted to let her sleep, except it looks like her back might be getting sunburned. So I wake her.

“Sorry,” I say. “But your back is getting kinda pink, and it's almost three.”