![\"\"](\"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Artboard-1-1.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nShe saw Kepa appear from around the corner, recognizing his dark curls from blocks away. She smiled as he approached the cafe, scanning the crowd. When he saw her, he smiled. She stood as he approached, and they traded kisses on the cheeks. As they sat down, Maite said \u201cSorry I didn\u2019t order for you, I wasn\u2019t sure what you would want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo worries,\u201d said Kepa, waiving to the waitress at the bar. The young blond woman, wearing a short apron over her white blouse and black slacks, came up to their table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA ca\u00f1a, mesedez.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman nodded as she headed back towards the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is good to see you,\u201d Kepa said. \u201cI\u2019ve missed you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buber’s Basque Story is a weekly serial. While it is a work of fiction, it has elements from both my own experiences and stories I’ve heard from various people. The characters, while in some cases inspired by real people, aren’t directly modeled on anyone in particular. I expect there will be inconsistencies and factual errors. I don’t know where it is going, and I’ll probably forget where it’s been. Why am I doing this? To give me an excuse and a deadline for some creative writing and because I thought people might enjoy it. Gozatu!<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Maite laughed. \u201cI bet you did. Sorry for how I left you last time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, no,\u201d said Kepa, shaking his head, \u201cit was wonderful. But, I admit, I\u2019m very confused.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite sighed. \u201cKepa, sometimes\u2026\u201d She was interrupted by the waitress who placed Kepa\u2019s beer on the table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMil esker,\u201d he said absentmindedly, staring alternatively at Maite and his beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLook, Kepa,\u201d said Maite, leaning forward in her chair. \u201cYou are my best friend and I love hanging out with you. But, I want something more. And I think you might too. But, right now is also a difficult time for me. I\u2019m about to finish school and I need to figure out what I\u2019m doing next.\u201d She sighed again, flopping back into her chair. \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asked Kepa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI mean,\u201d replied Maite, the emotion rising in her voice, \u201cthat I don\u2019t know if I should pursue things with you or not. If I should go to America or not. If I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo to America?\u201d interrupted Kepa. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been tentatively accepted to a graduate program in the United States,\u201d replied Maite, her eyes darting back and forth, looking at everything except Kepa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you mean tentatively?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFinal acceptance depends on a visit and an interview,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do your parents think?\u201d asked Kepa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t told them,\u201d replied Maite, her eyes welling up with tears. \u201cHow can I? I can\u2019t hurt them like that.\u201d She looked into Kepa\u2019s eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa reached out across the table and took Maite\u2019s hands. He gave her that crooked little smile that always made the butterflies flutter in her stomach. \u201cYour parents are the strongest people I\u2019ve ever known. Yeah, sure, it will be hard, but they will be fine. And, it\u2019s only an interview, right? You don\u2019t have to make a decision yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat about you?\u201d asked Maite. \u201cI don\u2019t want to hurt you either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe?\u201d answered Kepa, his smile widening. \u201cI\u2019m coming with you. I\u2019ve always wanted to see America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few days later, Maite found herself sitting at a small table outside one of her favorite tabernas on the plaza in Gernika. She took a sip of her cortado. \u201cI guess it is only fair that he keeps me waiting this time,\u201d she thought to herself. She saw Kepa appear from around the corner, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[864],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bubers-basque-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Artboard-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2sYNu-Jc","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2803,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802\/revisions\/2803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}