Page 46 of Wicked Games
“Sounds great,” I told them, pulling out my phone to make notes. I heard Lucien chuckling beside me, but he’d appreciate my thoroughness later.
“We’re in line to eat at our favorite place, but Versailles is a close runner up,” Dennis said.
“Versailles, huh?” Lucien asked, winking at me.
“Oh, yes,” Desiree said. “I know most of the world associates Versailles with France, but in this part of the world, we think of an amazing restaurant in Miami that offers Cuban cuisine.”
“Sounds amazing,” I said. “I think we should try it.”
“They only serve lunch and dinner,” Dennis told us. “For breakfast, you need to eat at Little Heaven Café. Oh my goodness. Thick ham, fried eggs, and a plate of delicious fruits.”
“Papaya,” Desiree added.
They spoke so fast I had a hard time keeping up with them, but they kept us entertained while we waited to get inside Sal’s to ask for Renaldo. I was so hungry after talking to them, I practically drooled on my phone while taking notes. Noting Dennis’s nice hat and traditional guayabera shirt, I pulled him off to the side to get some other recommendations for the plans I’d made for Lucien and myself.
“It was lovely meeting you,” Desiree said when we reached the counter.
“Likewise,” I said. “Happy anniversary.”
“Thank you, honey.”
When it was our turn to order, Lucien wasted no time asking if Renaldo was in. The young lady working behind the counter looked like she’d worked five hours over her scheduled break time. Her crooked name tag read Dulcie, and her expression told us she thought we were idiot tourists. “Renaldo won’t be in until five o’clock tomorrow night. And no, I don’t know where you can find him.” It sounded like Renaldo was quite a popular guy. Who the fuck was Carmen hooking us up with?
“Okay, thank you for your help,” Lucien said calmly.
“We’ll take two orders of the ropa vieja and two Cuban sandwiches to go,” I told the lady. To Lucien, I said, “There is no way I’m leaving here without food after standing in line for forty-five minutes.” I handed my credit card to Dulcie. “The smells are incredible, and I’ve heard that no one beats your food.”
“Damn straight,” she said. “Do you want drinks too?”
I smiled evilly when I saw the beverages available. “We’ll take large Pepsis.”
“You got it.” Dulcie added the drinks, swiped my card, then returned it to me with a slip for me to sign. “You pick up your food at the other end of the counter. Have a great day.”
“You too,” I said. “Finally, an opportunity to drink quality soda.”
Lucien frowned but followed me to the end of the counter to wait for our food. “Where do you want to eat?” he asked once our order was ready. I picked up the drink carrier so he wouldn’t be tempted toaccidentallyspill my precious elixir. Lucien picked up the paper bag and smirked at me. He either knew what I was thinking or knew I was using mental air quotes again.
“There’s a great spot nearby called Maximo Gomez Park, but we locals call it Domino Park,” a young man wearing a Leo name tag told us. “It’s a great place to chill and eat your meal.”
“Where is it?” Lucien asked.
We headed in the direction Leo sent us, holding hands and soaking up the sunshine. I could immediately see how the park had earned its nickname. Teams of two men dotted the park, studying the tables between them. We found an empty table in the shade and divided the food and drinks. The meal was out of this world, but we could’ve gotten by with a single order of both and split it. I loved the tender beef and peppers in the ropa vieja, and even though I wasn’t a fan of mustard, it was the perfect complement to the pork, ham, and swiss cheese in the Cuban sandwich.
“I might order this again tomorrow when we go back to speak to Renaldo,” Lucien said, looking around the park.
“I want this to be me when I’m sixty-five,” I said to Lucien, gesturing to the men playing dominoes like they didn’t have a care in the world.
“I don’t even know how to play dominoes. I may not offer up much of a challenge,” Lucien told me.
“I don’t either,” I confessed. I sure liked the idea of Lucien sitting across from me thirty years in the future. “I bet we could get some of these nice gentlemen to teach us.”
For the next hour, José and Roberto gave us our first lesson on how to play dominoes. Unsurprisingly, Lucien caught on faster than I did because he could accept that a rule was a rule, where I wanted to know why it was a rule. Roberto got a kick out of my attention to detail, and José patiently explained things to me.
After we thanked José and Roberto for their graciousness, I googled the store Dennis told me about to check if it was in walking distance. I’d hoped so because I could use the exercise to burn off the calories from the rich food. Luckily, Diego’s Fine Couture was two blocks away. Without telling Lucien what I had in mind, I told him I wanted to give him his surprise then instead of waiting.
We strolled hand in hand, noting many of the places the Watsons mentioned to us and making plans for the following day. “Here we are,” I said when we reached Diego’s. “There is no way in hell we’re going out on the town without dressing properly.”
Lucien looked at the display of fedoras and Panama hats, guayabera shirts, and linen pants in the window and grinned. “This is going to be so much fun,” he said.