jedediah and the locals

day 5 - I started the day without much optimism and hungry.  It was hot and humid, as it always was this time of year in Tamarindo.  I was on my back in bed, and I looked up at the ceiling of my rented apartment.  Cracked and dirty, with water stains from previous years discoloring the paint in concentric circles around the right wall.   I sat up, and got out of bed, grabbing the first pair of board shorts from the floor and a clean T from the closet.   I looked towards the girl still asleep in bed.   How had she ended up there, and what was her name?

I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of frosted flakes.  Going to the refrigerator, I discovered that we were out of milk.   I cursed my roommate, and then went to the coffee pot. Empty, I again cursed my Jim, and went back to my room. 

The girl was stirring now, as I looked her way, beautiful long, dark hair and a dark tan.   She made eye contact and smiled, and memories from the night before came back to me.

How could I have forgotten about the fight - her boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, or brother or someone.   With my poor Spanish, I could hardly understand what they were talking about aside from they guy was not happy, and what started with mean looks my way soon turned into pushing.  Before long he had me backed into a corner, and as the girl came between us he pushed her to the floor.  That's when it got ugly.  I remember the feel of the pool cue in my hand, the sharp texture of the grip, and the smacking sound it made as I swung it into his head, hard.  The cue snapped, and I was left with a 2 foot long piece of cue with a sharp end.  He fell into the side of the pool table, and I kicked him in the shoulder, nearly losing balance in my worn flip flops.  The kick wouldn't bruise, but the blow from the pool cue would. "Jedediah", I remember her yelling.  The girl was behind me, and I noticed an employee exit from the bar.   I looked again towards the guy, lean build, a thin stream of blood running down his left cheek.   I turned around and ran towards the exit, grabbing the girl by the hand.