Doughnuts with Toothless Man

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It was Lou and Razor's first day exploring the scorched terracotta metropolis of Barcelona. They walked from their cheap apartment in the centre of town to the seafront, appreciating being in a city on the coast for a change. Up ahead was the beach - that was what they were here for. The boys tried to find a shady spot, jealously eyeing the complacent thirty-somethings with enough money for parasols. Eventually they settled on the periphery of a shadow cast by a large abstract sculpture, feeling very white and very awkward. A group of locals and a black dog slumped directly underneath the sculpture, claiming it as their territory. Lou caught Razor's eye.

"Uh... do you think here's the best place?" he asked.

"Sure, so long as we don't sit too close it'll be fine," Razor replied.

The nearest man to the boys observed them as he strummed lazily on a beat-up guitar. He paused, then held the guitar outstretched towards them - the olive branch. Razor took it, played a few chords. The man grinned toothlessly, kicking his foot in time to the music. Lou pulled a packet of doughnuts out of his rucksack and offered one to the man. He took it, smiling again. Razor stopped playing and the three ate together, communicating with broken Spanglish and exaggerated gestures. The dog came over and sniffed them, licking the sugar off their fingers. Lou scratched its ears.

Suddenly, the mood underneath the sculpture changed. The other men seemed agitated. Looking for the cause, Razor and Lou saw two dishevelled women approaching the group, screeching in Spanish. One of the women, seeing the packet of doughnuts, came over and signalled that she wanted one. Razor shook his head. Toothless Man said something and waved at the woman to leave them alone. This only enraged her. She snatched a doughnut and kicked the dog, which yelped and hid behind Toothless Man. Toothless Man stood and snarled at her, the dog still cowering behind him. The woman, whose mouth was stuffed with doughnut, shoved him. The other locals shouted from their positions under the sculpture, attracting the attention of a nearby policeman, who called the woman and Toothless Man over. Sulking and muttering bitterly, they walked to his car. The dog ran back to the other locals and curled up, the kick to the ribs already forgotten.

Feeling awkward sitting there without Toothless Man, Razor and Lou dusted themselves down and got up, taking the few remaining doughnuts. It was time to move on.

http://s7.zetaboards.com/PPooDD/topic/8410516/1/

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