Seeing Mateo at Harriet's home meant I could lower my guard around him. I looked up when our next shift together at work would be and decided to use this as an opportunity to make a new friend. I arrived early at Cielito Lindo and waited for him to walk up. A few minutes before our shift, he arrived. He was walking with his headphones in, but as soon as he saw me, he stopped and took them out. He smiled as he put them away in their case. "Hey, Olivia!" He sounded excited to see me. I decided to use my best diplomacy skills to smooth things over between us. I reached out my hand for a handshake. He smiled at me. He reached out his hand and then paused. He looked at me with this playful smirk and said, "Finally giving me a chance?" I rolled my eyes.

 

I tried my best not to be too excited. I don't want to make assumptions, but as someone who knew Harriet for so long, she would have warned me about him if he were problematic. That night at work, we also took our break together in the back. We talked about our customers who came regularly, we talked about employees, and the food. My break time sped past me. I looked at the clock and was shocked that I was already done with my thirty-minute break. Up until now, my breaks had felt long, but with Matteo, I felt like we had to stop mid-conversation to get back on the clock for work. He was easy to talk to. He asked me questions and answered the questions I asked him. He came across an open person. 

 

Mateo and I began this ritual on any days we were scheduled to work together. I would arrive early and wait for him to show up, and then walk in together. He would come and help me with anything I needed at work. He would restock things for me or clean something up. It took him longer to finish up at the end of the night, so I would wait for him to finish up. We would leave together. He would walk with me all the way back to the shelter. I didn't know how close this was to where he lived.

 

I found out that Mateo had graduated the same year as Martin, but he had not gone to college. He went straight to work. As the eldest, Mateo was expected to help the family out financially by working. Mateo had gone straight into working full-time. He had been working as a bouncer at a nightclub for a while, but wanted to get a second job. So he got the bussboy job at Cielito Lindo. He has been working at Cielito Lindo for two years. He is fluent in Spanish, so he is able to speak to everyone who works at our job.

 

After a few weeks of being friends, I asked him if he thought he could teach me some Spanish as well. I figured it would only help me be a better employee. When I asked him, he responded, "You looking for a way to spend MORE time with me, Smith?" He had started calling me by my last name, something he did with most of his friends. I had begun to get used to the constant teasing that came out of his mouth. 

 

We arranged to meet up at a coffee shop to start my Spanish lessons. On the first appointment, he actually showed up before me and waited for me. I began with very simple Spanish phrases. We decided to prioritize anything I could use to take orders or talk to the chefs. I asked Mateo how long he had been speaking Spanish, and he told me that he had been speaking since he was born. Both his parents had been living in Mexico and came to America after they got married. They speak only Spanish in their house, but the kids learned English at school. I was impressed. He spoke multiple languages. In my old life, only the elite had learned second languages. It was fascinating to see how different our lives had been.

 

Mateo was always on his phone when he wasn't talking to me. I saw him on it during his lunch breaks. He also pulled up an app on my phone that I could use at the shelter to practice Spanish on my own, when Mateo isn't around. Mateo mostly used his phone to listen to music. He always had headphones in his ears. He also used the phone to read things. I was surprised by how important the phone was to his life.

 

One lunchtime, I was curious about what it was on his phone that had his attention. He held it out and showed me. On the screen was art, and he started scrolling with his finger. There was dialogue too. He told me this was called a web comic. Something that an artist published online, and anyone with the app can read it. He got a little embarrassed and said that it was a bit nerdy. I don't fully know what nerdy means, but the fact that he was embarrassed made me feel like it wasn't entirely a good thing.

 

He then explained that he also watched anime. I explained to him that I had never heard of anime before. He told me that it was an animated video, like the comic, but moving. I had seen videos already. Harriet had sent me some. But they had always been of real things. I tried to imagine one made entirely out of art and just couldn't. So Mateo said I could come over and watch an episode of his favorite show to see if I liked it. We made plans to do that after our next Spanish lesson.