{"id":4412,"date":"2021-03-11T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/?p=4412"},"modified":"2021-03-10T21:20:04","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T21:20:04","slug":"bubers-basque-story-part-43","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/2021\/03\/11\/bubers-basque-story-part-43\/","title":{"rendered":"Buber’s Basque Story: Part 43"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you have comments or questions, or have simply been enjoying the story and want to say hello, please drop me a note!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next couple of days were a blur as Edurne and Unai led Kepa and Maite through the sites and sounds of New York City. Edurne made sure they spent some time in Central Park — \u201cIt\u2019s like an oasis of peace in the middle of the chaos\u201d — while Unai dragged them all to a baseball game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are they all just standing around?\u201d asked Kepa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are waiting for the batter to hit the ball, then they can run,\u201d replied Unai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey sure don\u2019t run very often,\u201d interjected Maite as Edurne just smiled. Maite suspected she\u2019d heard this argument play out many times before.<\/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

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the strategy,\u201d replied Unai with an exasperated sigh. \u201cThe duel between the pitcher and the batter, about who will out-think the other. It\u2019s like a chess match, with each side trying to out maneuver the other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edurne shrugged. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s an excuse to indulge in overpriced beer and hotdogs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That evening, they all gathered again at Anton and Feliciana\u2019s house for one last dinner before Maite and Kepa left for California. The spread was at least as abundant as last time, but this time, the food reminded Maite of home: platters of chorizo for appetizers, porrusalda, thick chunks of cod cooked in red peppers, and, to top it all off, rice pudding for dessert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought you might like a taste of home before heading off for the big interview,\u201d said Feliciana as Maite marveled at the feast laid out in front of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMil esker, Feliciana! This is so wonderful!\u201d replied Maite as she engulfed Feliciana in a huge bear hug. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBah!\u201d said Feliciana with a beaming smile. \u201cEz horregatik.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they all sat down to eat, Anton passed the carafe of wine around the table. \u201cAre you ready for the interview?\u201d he asked Maite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maite shrugged. \u201cI guess?\u201d she replied tepidly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to do great!\u201d replied Kepa with enthusiasm. \u201cShe\u2019s by far the smartest person I know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell,\u201d interjected Feliciana, \u201cif you do get the position, maybe it will be an excuse for your parents to come out and visit. They can stop by here on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think they would love that,\u201d replied Maite as she scooped a ladleful of porrusalda into her bowl. \u201cThey\u2019ve never really left the Basque Country, it would be nice for them to see something new.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs hard as they worked, I doubt they\u2019ve seen any of the Basque Country either,\u201d added Anton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maite smiled. \u201cEgia da. Just the beach every once in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The night continued with lively conversation about all manner of topics. After dessert, Maite began helping clear the table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPut those down!\u201d exclaimed Feliciana, her voice stern. Then she smiled. \u201cI\u2019ll take care of those later. You have an early flight in the morning, you better get back and get some sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maite smiled as she gave Feliciana another hug. \u201cMil esker, for everything. It was so good to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBerdin,\u201d replied Feliciana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They all said their goodbyes, which took another thirty minutes, before Edurne literally dragged them out of the door. \u201cSeriously ama and aita! They have to get some sleep!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A chorus of \u201cGabon!\u201d filled the air as Edurne led them all to the car, Amaia fast asleep in George\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have comments or questions, or have simply been enjoying the story and want to say hello, please drop me a note! The next couple of days were a blur as Edurne and Unai led Kepa and Maite through the sites and sounds of New York City. Edurne made sure they spent some time […]<\/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-4412","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-19a","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412","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=4412"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4413,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412\/revisions\/4413"}],"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=4412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}