“Papa! There was a man, and he came out of nowhere! He tried to grab me, but I screamed really loud and bit him, like you taught me!”
The young boy’s voice held a note of pride, despite the serious topic of the conversation. He had a black telephone receiver mushed up against his ear, eager to hear the reply from the other line. A stern looking man stood against the wall, dark sunglasses covering his eyes and his arms crossed. The boy paid him no attention as he waited.
“Good job, Emmanuel. I’m happy you remembered your lessons. But you can’t go running off like that again, okay? Julian is there to protect you, because there are people out there that want to hurt you because of who you are. Do you understand?”
Emmanuel nodded his head, even though his father couldn’t see him, and glanced at the man standing in the motel room. He had been shocked when they’d driven to the rundown building, with the receptionist who looked half asleep and the paint peeling on the walls. He could have sworn he saw a rat scurry away when they got to their room as well. Definitely not up to the standards he was used to.
“Yes, I understand, Papa. I’ll see you soon, right? When are you coming back?”
He asked, trying not to let a whine creep into his voice, but it was really difficult and he didn’t succeed. A sigh came from the phone and the ten year old bit his lip, regretting his question. He knew his father was a very busy man, and he already had to change his schedule so that he could spend time with his son.
“Manny, my boy, you know I have a lot of meetings this week. I’ll be home as soon as I can, okay? Stay close to Julian and be a good boy. I love you.”
Emmanuel sighed and nodded again, muttering a goodbye and an ‘I love you’ back to his father. He hung up the phone, a pout on his face as he slumped on the ratty, lumpy bed. He turned his attention to Julian, the only source of entertainment, for it seemed like the television in the room had been stolen.
“Julian, Papa will be home soon, right? At least for my birthday?”
He asked quietly and the bodyguard shifted in his spot. A hand raised and lifted the sunglasses off the man’s face, revealing kind brown eyes that looked down at the boy knowingly.
“Yes, young sir. He wouldn’t miss it for the world, you know that. Just listen to your father, okay? Don’t run off like that again, or something really bad could happen.”
He said in a deep voice and Emmanuel nodded slowly, staring down at his lap for a moment before a grin spread across his face and he hopped a little in place on the bed, ignoring the loud squeaking from the springs.
“Do you think Papa will get me that dirt bike I asked for? That’d be so cool!”
The young boy continued talking about all the things he could do with the dirt bike if he got it, and what color he wanted it to be, and the flames he wanted to have on it. The bodyguard just shook his head with a small smile on his face and lowered the sunglasses back over his eyes. After the debacle with the almost kidnapper today, he wasn’t going to be taking his eyes off the young Almodvar for a second.