there. He chuckled and then said, “Alexandra, yo
soy Marco Flores de San Cristobal del Galapagos. No soy Hollywood
Marco, ok?” she nodded and he continued, “I can’t wait for you to meet my
mother and grandmother!” he laughed again at the thought, “If they ever thought
I did something as tonto as hire a driver when I have perfectly working
arms and legs, they’d, ay, dios mio , I don’t know what they’d do. They’d
probably break all of them just so I’d actually need a driver!” he continued
laughing and shaking his head at the thought.
Alex wasn’t sure how he hadn’t yet let Hollywood
affect him, if that truly was the case. She still wasn’t sure if this small
town boy act was just that. But so far, everything she had seen of him was so
good natured and playful, well of course except for the competition with Jesús,
but she chalked that up to boys being boys. So far, she hadn’t seen any of the
drama or arrogance that typically came along with fame and stardom. She wasn’t
naïve enough to think that he hadn’t let the industry get to him at all, and
she reminded herself that he is an actor, and his job is getting people to
believe he’s something and someone he’s not.
They drove a short way out of town to what seemed
like a residential neighborhood, though everything was so small, residential
was probably the wrong way to describe it. Local was more apt. Alex didn’t see any
tourists around when they stopped at a small restaurant that was tucked just
off the road. It had a thatched roof and a couple tables in front, but Alex
could see from the road that the restaurant sat on one of the many long
stretches of beach even though you couldn’t see the beach from the outside as
the view was eclipsed by trees on either side of the structure. The three of
them got out of the car and for the first time since landing, Alex allowed
herself to actually relax and take in her surroundings. The island was
beautiful, what she saw of it so far. Very small town and tropical. Very
simple. Having grown up in Los Angeles, she couldn’t imagine growing up
somewhere like this. More than that, she couldn’t imagine the culture shock of
growing up here and then moving somewhere like LA. She was looking forward to
talking with the writer and hearing Marco’s story. Then again, she was here
with him and his family, maybe she’d find out first hand.
They walked into the little restaurant, Nuestra
Casita , and Alex just stopped for a moment taking it all in. The entire
back of the restaurant was open, revealing the white sand beach that it sat on,
and the crystal clear blue water. She looked at Marco, who was watching her for
her expression. He had a huge grin on his face, “ Te gustas?” he almost
whispered. It seemed like he was holding his breath as he waited for her reply.
“It’s beautiful, Marco.” She said
reverentially. The minute the words were out, he exhaled, as if relieved that
he had pleased her. Which, given where they were, wasn’t difficult. It was just
spectacular. So pristine and calm. She looked out at the water and then back at
him wondering whether which was bluer, his eyes or the water.
“ Como ti, Corazon .” He winked. It was
really hard not to fall for his charms, especially here. But luckily? Jesús was
here with them, grounding Alex. It was very hard to flirt with him by her side,
which was probably a pretty good thing.
“ Marco! Look at you! How are you? Long
time, Mr. Hollywood !” the older gentleman exclaimed when he came out from
the kitchen to greet them. Marco laughed as they embraced and patted each other
vigorously on the back. They chatted for a while like old friends as Alex and
Jesús walked out to the patio.
“Look at this, Jesús! Can you imagine
growing up here?” She asked rhetorically before she realized what she had said.
He just shook his head no. She had an idea what he was thinking, having grown
up in East LA with nothing but concrete around
soy Marco Flores de San Cristobal del Galapagos. No soy Hollywood
Marco, ok?” she nodded and he continued, “I can’t wait for you to meet my
mother and grandmother!” he laughed again at the thought, “If they ever thought
I did something as tonto as hire a driver when I have perfectly working
arms and legs, they’d, ay, dios mio , I don’t know what they’d do. They’d
probably break all of them just so I’d actually need a driver!” he continued
laughing and shaking his head at the thought.
Alex wasn’t sure how he hadn’t yet let Hollywood
affect him, if that truly was the case. She still wasn’t sure if this small
town boy act was just that. But so far, everything she had seen of him was so
good natured and playful, well of course except for the competition with Jesús,
but she chalked that up to boys being boys. So far, she hadn’t seen any of the
drama or arrogance that typically came along with fame and stardom. She wasn’t
naïve enough to think that he hadn’t let the industry get to him at all, and
she reminded herself that he is an actor, and his job is getting people to
believe he’s something and someone he’s not.
They drove a short way out of town to what seemed
like a residential neighborhood, though everything was so small, residential
was probably the wrong way to describe it. Local was more apt. Alex didn’t see any
tourists around when they stopped at a small restaurant that was tucked just
off the road. It had a thatched roof and a couple tables in front, but Alex
could see from the road that the restaurant sat on one of the many long
stretches of beach even though you couldn’t see the beach from the outside as
the view was eclipsed by trees on either side of the structure. The three of
them got out of the car and for the first time since landing, Alex allowed
herself to actually relax and take in her surroundings. The island was
beautiful, what she saw of it so far. Very small town and tropical. Very
simple. Having grown up in Los Angeles, she couldn’t imagine growing up
somewhere like this. More than that, she couldn’t imagine the culture shock of
growing up here and then moving somewhere like LA. She was looking forward to
talking with the writer and hearing Marco’s story. Then again, she was here
with him and his family, maybe she’d find out first hand.
They walked into the little restaurant, Nuestra
Casita , and Alex just stopped for a moment taking it all in. The entire
back of the restaurant was open, revealing the white sand beach that it sat on,
and the crystal clear blue water. She looked at Marco, who was watching her for
her expression. He had a huge grin on his face, “ Te gustas?” he almost
whispered. It seemed like he was holding his breath as he waited for her reply.
“It’s beautiful, Marco.” She said
reverentially. The minute the words were out, he exhaled, as if relieved that
he had pleased her. Which, given where they were, wasn’t difficult. It was just
spectacular. So pristine and calm. She looked out at the water and then back at
him wondering whether which was bluer, his eyes or the water.
“ Como ti, Corazon .” He winked. It was
really hard not to fall for his charms, especially here. But luckily? Jesús was
here with them, grounding Alex. It was very hard to flirt with him by her side,
which was probably a pretty good thing.
“ Marco! Look at you! How are you? Long
time, Mr. Hollywood !” the older gentleman exclaimed when he came out from
the kitchen to greet them. Marco laughed as they embraced and patted each other
vigorously on the back. They chatted for a while like old friends as Alex and
Jesús walked out to the patio.
“Look at this, Jesús! Can you imagine
growing up here?” She asked rhetorically before she realized what she had said.
He just shook his head no. She had an idea what he was thinking, having grown
up in East LA with nothing but concrete around
Similar Books
