Mateo had been home all of an hour and a half when Lino decided to drop in. Today had been one of his short days at work so he had actually been able to pick Third up from daycare himself instead of relying on his cousin to keep an eye of the rather energetic little boy. In truth he relied on Lino for a lot of things; to take care of Third when he couldn't, to keep him out of trouble, and to help keep him together when he was seconds away from losing it and murdering someone or collapsing under his own responsibilities. Everyday he felt a little more guilty about it.
Lino worked his ass off everyday of his life and Mateo knew that he was adding more burden to his cousin. The older man was a damn glutton for punishment, always going out of his way to help his family out and to take care of anyone and everyone without asking for a thing in return. Hell if Mateo would do that which is why he couldn't understand Lino. He was really starting to believe that the man actually enjoyed working himself to the bone. No matter how many times he said he would kick his cousin's ass if he didn't take a damn break every once in awhile, Lino would just smile and go right back wearing himself out. Who was that nice? It made no damn sense. And now with the apparent dishwasher position open at El Torro, he worried that Lino might have lost his job. It was just the kind of luck he had.
Third had been asking about his 'Tio Lino' for the past ten minutes as he waited for his Papá to finish reheating the leftover caldo de res for dinner. He was kneeling in his chair, elbows resting on the worn wood of the small table as he babbled on about all the things he wanted to tell Lino about his day at school and peppering Mateo with questions about if Lino was at work or if he thought the other man would want some of the soup. Mateo listening with half an ear, more to keep from being irritated than from lack of interest. He was about ready to send the little boy to watch TV when he heard the door open.
"Tio!" Third squealed at hearing Lino's voice, scrambling out of his chair as he ran to the door with arms open. A smile immediately spreading across his face at the stilted English phrase, Mateo followed a bit more sedately after his son.
"Did you smell the food and decide to show you're face?" He said in greeting, slipping into their native tongue. "Why are you here so early?" and looking surprisingly happy at that. It was a rare thing to see Lino so bright.