Andres was watching a pool game at la Carta Brava Monday night.
Gaspar was slicing a new guy apart and had lost the first two games at $1 a piece bet on purpose, but just barely. Now they were playing for real money, $10 a table.
It was masterful the way Gaspar had played the newcomer, but also a bit boring because he had done it so many times before.
"Last pocket," Gaspar, the winner, had said before the game. "Cantaditas no guevas." (Call your shots, no slop.)
At about that time his barfly buddy El Chino sidled up to him at the bar. He ordered his usual Natural Light and asked Andres whether he had signed the petition.
"Cual petition?," he asked Chino.
"The one that asks pinche Trump to release El Memo. I signed it over at Brownsville Cafe on International. La tiene Javier tambien en El 1,2,3."
"Release cual memo, guey?"
"Memo Gonzalez, bro. El bato que vive en la Ringgold por la 4(21)."
Oh," I thought you were talking about the Democrats'," Andres said.
"Nombre, Memo no vota," said El Chino. "I don't think he's even registered to vote. Como que Democrats? Que no se de cuenta Trump porque se le cae el canton peor al pobre carnal."
"Te encerrado, Memo?," Andres asked. "I just saw him last week at La Movidita. Por que lo encerraron?
"Nobody knows, but the cops picked him up for P.I. and then the ICE guys nabbed him at the jail in the morning," El Chino said.
"ICE?,""Memo no gotte papers, o que onda?"
"Es mojarra and nobody knew," El Chino has answered. "I grew up at la 421 and went to school with him en la Faulk and I didn't even know que era de lotrano."
"Shit, one of his kids went to school with mine at Hanna," Andres had replied. "How long had Memo been here?"
"Since he was a kid, maybe five or six," said El Chino. "Sus jefes brought him from Mata when he was a kid. He went to Canales, then Faulk and Brownsville High School."
"So he's Dreamer, o que?," Andres asked.
"Dreamer my ass," El Chino said. "Se le durmio ell gallo. He never signed up. Pero te habla bien el ingles. De chavalones nos ivamos a Mata a agarrar la peda y nunca hubo pedo. Ahora con Trump 'ta pelón."
"Pinche Trump," Andres said under his breath as he took a sip of his tarro. "Next time I go to the Brownsville Cafe or to Javier's I'll make sure I sign it."
"Pinche Trump," El Chino agreed.