Over the years, Lino developed a talent which may not have seemed impressive to others, but his survival and sanity depended on it. Standing up or sitting down, Lino could fall asleep anywhere or anytime. His talent began when he was a child and his younger brothers would cry at all hours of the night. With three younger brothers and a younger sister, sleep was nearly impossible to get, so he had to make do with blocking out any other noise. Even now, with as much as he worked, he often took naps during his breaks at Rayoné or on the fishing boat when the work was slow. There were also certain downfalls with living in one of the cheapest places to live in Innovo. The other tenants entered and left during all hours of the day, and in the old building, you could always hear the front door closing. Sound carried much more easily around the building and if someone listened carefully, they could hear the sounds of their neighbors moving around.
With Lino's talent, he could sleep through all different levels of noise, from traffic sounds to sailors shouting. However, after two years of living at the Archer Complex, there was still one noise he couldn't possibly sleep through. Somehow in the years that he had known her, Lou managed to learn that with a simple shout of his name, he was up.
"Entre," he mumbled sleepily, rolling onto his back. After a moment or two more, he slowly sat up and tried to open his eyes, but failed. If it wasn't for the persistent knocking, Lino would have gladly gone back to bed. Only one person knew how to knock like that and he couldn't leave her standing outside. He knew from experience that she wouldn't stop for some time. He continued his laborious journey to stand up from his army cot and, once standing, he forced his eyes open to find a clean shirt.
By the time he opened the door for Lou, he was more or less awake and presentable in his pajama pants and tee shirt. If his hair was a mess, oh well. "¿Qué pasa?" he asked, unable to speak English at this hour. Standing aside to let her in, he noticed the present in her hand. Great. More cookies. Well, at least it was free food, even if they were a little black around the edges at times.