Night of dominó, pulque & tricks

The waitresses went from table to table carrying mugs full of pulque and trays of green and red picaditas, dodging their way among the people who were dancing to the rhythm of the mariachi and the dogs that came in from the street, in the back near the bathrooms were the players' tables, poker tables, dominoes and billiards, among others, there he found he’s brother playing dominoes with three other companions, his eyes shone with malice, he had just thrown the last of his pieces and claimed the bills and coins in the center of the table, for the inside of his leather jacket, his style of dress was too eccentric for his own taste, but he was happy to see that he maintained the same ornaments and the shaved hairstyle of the warriors of yesteryear.

He arrived without being seen, with the mariachi music high in the

air, his footsteps could barely be heard, thanks to the simplicity of his

huaraches, due to the reflection of the light the shadow of his hat arrived

first, shadowing the table.

-Hey bro- he called, drawing his attention.

Xolotl noticed him with a shock, and was left with his mouth open,

stupefied by his presence, his soul had gone, falling along with the cigarette

to the bottom of his mug.

-Koatl- he said with an exhale.

-And who is this?- asked Alejandra.

-Is he's his brother- responded Pedro drawlingly- or so I think, I

imagine I've heard him mention his name at some time.

-The one was looking for him, to return him to his family’s ranch-

Juan pointed out.

-I see that you still like to tell stories, it's time to fulfill,

brother.

Despite Koatl's effort to put weight to his words, the pulque

ingested at the table and the rhythm of the mariachi made the ignorant immune

to it.

-Yes, that's what I would have liked to tell my father- said Juan.

-We are no longer in a time to impose anything on anyone, dear,

except me on my husband, it should be clarified.

-Yes- Xolotl reacted, as if suddenly awakened from a dream- yes,

you don't want to make a scandal or something like that here, do you?

The others did not notice it, only his brother was able to see the

mischief appearing in Xolotl's eyes, and the willingness to intimidate

everything within his reach to free himself from him, and from his

apprehension, the complete opposite of what Koatl intended.

-How about you play?- proposed Alejandra.

-Yes- Xolotl supported her- Yes, let's play, but a good game, the

first to collect one hundred and fifty points wins, we all start from scratch.

-My business is with you brother, and with no one else.

-Here the table is communal, my dear- declared Juan- your money is

our money, understand?

-And my money belongs to my wife- said Roberto with the weight of

pulque marked in his voice- you can enter in my place, I'm already clean, from

my pocket at least.

-You're not going to tell me that you don't have money, are you,

brother? Because here we don't play with chocolates.

-There is an ATM three blocks away if you need it- Juan pointed

out.

-Also take into account that the seat costs two mugs and a snack

minimum, that is Doña Male´s fee for you to play.

Koatl thought that was what Xolotl really wanted, to push him away

so he could escape in the meantime, but to his surprise he was still there when

he returned, sitting with a new full mug, and a new cigarette already smoking.

-I'm leaving- said Juan, emptying his mug- before my wife arrives

and sees that I'm not there-

-It will still take me a while to clean the table- Alejandra said-

don't wait for me lying there, at least pull out the petate.

In the establishment the dogs seemed to accompany the customers as

if they worked there, whether they were entering or leaving the pulqueria there

was a dog behind them, even outside the bathroom they followed them, likewise

there was one attentive to the gaming tables as if it were a croupier.

María, a young waitress, with dimples in her cheeks, took Koatl's

order along with the rest of the table. In appearance, it seemed to be a normal

game night. The picaditas and pulque played an important role at game time,

since the effect of both combined disconcerted the senses of the players. The

pulque with its drunkenness, and the picaditas with its very spicy sauce with

wich were bathed them, small pieces of  finely chopped green chili could

be seen on its surface, their spiciness, apart from demonstrating that they

were not just for decoration, caused the commensal to automatically bend his

elbow with his mug in his hand, as if it were a gym routine.

Xolotl had been playing that game for decades, and more, however

in the course of the night he had only managed to win once while his brother

had won twice, the rest of the players had also won a round at different times

each, apparently it could be said that they were all on a normal streak but

there was something that did not quite add up to Xolotl, there was something

that bothered him in how each game had been played, it was something extremely

tense, in such a way as if something was walking from the base of his neck to

his shoulder, just when he was about to grab a new  picadita he realized what

was happening and took the bite without any hesitation, but when he went to

grab his mug, hi made a  wrong move and spilled the entire contents of his

mug all over the table, along with his dominoes.

-Wow man! Don't serve him anymore!- Alejandra said.

A knocked over mug was not unusual at all, there were more than

one every night, at least each waitress was forced to over-clean a table.

-Sorry, sorry, sorry, oh my God, my hand was all covered in sauce,

I'm really sorry, María, what a shame, it was unintentionally- the responsible

apologized for what he had done - But look at the good side.

-You had a hand of fuck and now we're going to have to start over-

Juan said grumbling.

-No, those bunch of ants are no longer going to be bothering us-

he pointed to the table- Look, they were surely spying on our hands.

-Slow down on the pulque, you fucking sucker- said Alejandra- Hey

you, I don't know why they want your brother there at the big ranch, but here

he lives like a slacker, and very crafty.

-It is a family inheritance Ale, and here, as you see it, a very

humble record of huaraches and guayabera, my brother is the biggest cheater of

all or why do you think they sent him to look for me? Because of his great

persuasion skills? Not at all, here my brother is more of a cheater than the

devil himself - he said, slapping his empty mug - He already has a history of

being a cheater, you're not going to deny it to me, right, brother? Like the

time you stole Don Chaac's crops, or when you blew up the fence and took out

even the bones of a cemetery.

-You're already making that up- Juan interrupted.

-No no no, it's all true, tell me yourself if I'm lying brother.

Even though his brother had discovered his trap and was throwing

dirt at him, Koatl remained calm, his very look showed the control he

maintained over himself, it was that or the pulque was already dulling his

consciousness.

-There is more context behind what you say- he responded defending

himself.

-So all that is true? - María inquired curiously. The look she gave

him caused a pleasant and self-satisfied sensation. It was a look that denoted

a broad thirst for curiosity, but innocent at the same time, and Koatl found

himself wanting to quench that thirst.

-Mari, put some lemon on the table so that no more ants get on us-

Xolotl told her.

-What is that for? That's no use- said Alejandra.

-Let me know when the table is ready- Juan stood up- I'm going to

have a cigarette in the meantime.

-I'm going to go to the bathroom, I'm going to clean up all this

stuff that I already threw on myself- said Xolotl- why don't you tell them in

the meantime how you and our brother managed to get that crocodile out of the

lagoon?

Koatl followed his brother with his gaze as he completed his

journey to the toilet, followed by a canine, as was the custom of the place,

while María and Alejandra waited for him to begin his story. Koatl tried to be

careful while he told his story, paying faithful attention to the toilet door,

waiting for his brother to return, his hand accidentally bumped into a dog that

was also curiously approaching the table, with his other hand he repeated the

process of prodding his elbow with a mug that had just been served by the young

María. Meanwhile, at the venue, the mariachi music continued to set the rhythm

on the dance floor, and the waitresses and the dogs came and went as was their

routine, talking, time flew by like mugs, one after another one.

Once again his hand left without thinking, this time ending up

caressing María's hand. When he heard the bathroom door open he made an effort

to look for it. His brother was not there. It was a Xoloitzcuintle that came

out and immediately his eyes met those of the tender María again.

After some time had passed, Xolotl had dare to come out of his

hiding place, on all fours, He found his brother bent over under the weight of

the mugs of pulque to which he had subjected him 

 In this way, while his brother was distracted with the face

of a half-dead sheep, he passed, not being able to recognize him he turn his

gaze to young Maria, more than one man have been caught by those dimples Xolotl

raised his ears slightly surprised, he has never consider that his brother

would surrender in that way to feminine charms again, but an additional

destruction will not hurt him, in that way while his brother was distracted

with the face of a half dead sheep he passed by him with complete naturalness

and left the pulqueria to the cry of the mariachi with his tail held high.