Johan smiled. His teeth were bright and white, like a wolf.
…
That night, the three of us went out to a pizza place near the hotel. I was taken a bit by surprise when Johan ordered a beer.
“He’s too young for that,” I said reflexively to the server.
“She’s incorrect,” he said, pulling out his ID card.
The server looked at his card, nodded, and handed it back to him.
“The drinking age here is 18,” he smiled. “I turned 19 a few months ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, putting my hand over my mouth. “It’s 21 in America! I completely forgot where we are.”
“Would you like something to drink, miss?” the server asked.
“Just water for us,” I said.
“No, c’mon,” Johan said. “I haven’t seen Danny since he broke my record in the 4×4. You can’t toast with water. It’s considered bad luck.”
“Oh,” I said. “Okay, well… Danny, what do you want?”
“Coke,” he said softly. “Please.”
“One Coke, and one…” I looked down at the drink menu.
“One Coke and two beers,” Johan said, collecting the menus and handing them to the server.
“Did you just order for me?” I asked, a little shocked. “I… I don’t really drink beer.”
“Just for the toast,” Johan said. “Then I’ll drink it, if you don’t want it.”
“Should you be drinking the night before the tournament?” I asked.
“No,” Johan laughed. “But it doesn’t matter, but I don’t think anything is stopping this guy right here.”
“You hear that, Danny?” I said, giving my son a nudge. “Johan said something nice about you, so you should say something nice back.”
“Thank you,” Danny answered.
“Anyway,” I said, “One beer each, but that’s it. Tournament or not, it’s still a school night.”
…
It turns out one beer was all it took for me to get tipsy. As we walked back to the hotel, I felt the warm Sydney air caress my body, my nervousness temporarily forgotten.
This tournament was a big deal for Danny. He was the favorite for almost all of the events, and people expected him to break Johan’s 3×3 record on the third and final day of the tournament. Danny himself expected that he was going to break the record. With all that pressure, I knew that if he didn’t perform well, he would be crushed.
Arriving back at the hotel, I the three of us rode the elevator up to the 11th floor, which was where many of the cubers were staying in a hotel block.
“Well, that was a fun dinner, Johan,” I smiled.
I leaned forward to give him a hug goodnight, but I wasn’t prepare for the way that his long, lean arms wrapped around me.
“I need to speak with you, Mrs. Kim,” he said softly. “It’s about Danny.”
I began to pull back from the hug, but his arms held me there for several extra seconds. He was several inches taller than me, so my head was about at his shoulder height.
“What do you mean?” It was an innocent question, but somehow, the fact that his arms were still around me made it feel somehow conspiratorial.
“Let’s talk in my room,” he said, still holding me.
“I need to help Danny get ready for bed,” I said, trying again to pull away.