Outlaws Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t get lost.
    ‘That afternoon I took the Sant Agustí bridge across the Onyar, and once I was in the old quarter I turned left on Ballesteries Street, continued up Calderas and, as I left the Church of Sant Fèlix behind on my right and turned into La Barca Street, realized I’d arrived in the district. I realized that from the stench of garbage and piss rising up like a thick waft from the paving stones heated by the siesta-hour sunshine; also from the people at the corner of Portal de la Barca, taking advantage of the stingy shade those decrepit buildings cast: an old man with sucked-in cheeks, a couple of sinister-looking adults, three or four quinquis in their twenties, all smoking and holding glasses of wine or bottles of beer. I passed them without looking at them and once I’d crossed Portal de la Barca I saw the Sargento bar; next door to it was La Font. I stopped at the door and looked through the glass. It was a small place, long and narrow, with a bar on the left and a space that ran along in front of it towards the back where it opened out into a little room. The place was almost empty: there were a few tables in the little back room, but I didn’t see anybody sitting at any of them; a couple of customers were chatting by the bar; behind the bar a woman was rinsing out glasses in the sink; above the woman, stuck on the wall, a sign read: “Smoking joints strictly forbidden”. I didn’t dare go in and kept going along La Barca to the corner of Bellaire, the border of the district. I hung around there for a good long while, between the railway overpass and Sant Pere Church, wondering whether I should go home or try again, until at some point I gathered my courage, returned to La Font and went in.
    ‘There were quite a few more people in the bar now, although not Tere or Zarco. A bit intimidated, I planted myself at the end of the bar, near the door, and the landlady – a grim-faced redhead in a stain-covered apron – soon came over and asked me what I wanted; I asked for Zarco and she said he hadn’t arrived yet; then I asked if she knew when he was going to get there and she told me she didn’t; then she stood there looking at me. What’s wrong?, she finally said. Aren’t you going to order anything? I asked for a Coca-Cola, paid for it and began to wait.
    ‘It wasn’t long before Tere and Zarco showed up. As soon as they came through the door of La Font they saw me; as soon as they saw me, Tere’s face lit up. Zarco patted me on the back. Fuck, Gafitas! he said. About time, eh? They took me to the back of the place and we sat at a table where two young guys were sitting: one, freckled and with almond-shaped eyes, they called Chino; the other chain-smoked constantly and was very small and very nervous, had a face full of pimples and they called him Colilla, or cigarette butt. Zarco made me sit between him and Tere, and while he was ordering beers from the landlady, Lina appeared, a blonde in a miniskirt and fuchsia-coloured sneakers who, I later found out, was Gordo’s girlfriend. No one introduced me to anyone and no one said anything to me: Tere was talking to Lina, Colilla and Chino talked to Zarco; Gordo and Tío didn’t even give any sign of recognizing me when they showed up after a while. I felt totally out of place, but never for a minute did I consider leaving.
    ‘A little while later a slightly older guy came over to sit with us. He was wearing cowboy boots, very tight flared jeans and his shirt unbuttoned; a gold chain shone on his chest. The guy sat astride a chair, beside Zarco, leaned his forearms on the chairback and pointed at me: And this posh kid? Everybody shut up; I suddenly noticed eight pairs of eyes staring at me. Zarco broke the silence. Fuck, Guille! he admonished. He’s the guy from Vilaró: I told you he’d show up eventually. Guille made a face like he didn’t know what Zarco was talking about. Zarco was about to go on when the landlady appeared with more