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!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMaite shrugged as she took a sip of her beer. \u201cI\u2019m not sure. I suspect it all depends on how long the bubble exists when we get there. If we get there soon after the bubble was created and find the zatia quickly, I suspect that version of Marina is in pretty good shape. But the longer she lingers in the bubble\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe more corrupt she might become?\u201d finished Kepa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, not necessarily corrupt,\u201d replied Maite. \u201cAt least, I don\u2019t think so. But certainly more independent. More separated from the core that is Marina. So, I think we need to be finding the zatia as fast as possible whenever we enter a new bubble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa nodded as he picked up his gin and tonic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t long before they finished their drinks, paid their tab, and headed across the street to the next pub where they were going to meet Koldo and the rest of their cuadrilla. Koldo was already there, waiting for them, when they entered. He had more drinks waiting on the bar with their names on them. Kepa smiled as he took another gin and tonic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEpa!\u201d he cried. \u201cIs everything ready?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBai,\u201d replied Koldo. \u201cWe have the place for the evening.\u201d He looked over at Maite. \u201cYou ready for the best meal of your life?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite laughed. \u201cRemember, my parents used to run a restaurant. That\u2019s a pretty high bar, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, badakit! I know,\u201d replied Koldo. \u201cBut, I\u2019ve been practicing. I think I\u2019m turning into a pretty good chef.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Koldo\u2019s sister, Itxaso, and her boyfriend Xanti showed up a few moments later. Koldo downed his drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEveryone ready?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you have a date?\u201d asked Maite, making a show of looking around the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEz, not tonight. Tonight, the food is my date. I plan to lavish all of my affections on the wonderful meal I\u2019m preparing for you all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite looked quizzically at Itxaso, who smiled and nodded. \u201cYeah, he\u2019s always like this now. Ever since he joined the txoko\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m just glad you invited us,\u201d interjected Kepa. \u201cI could use a great steak!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Koldo laughed as he slapped Kepa on the back. \u201cEz, not a great steak. The best steak ever!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you get this post via email, the return-to address goes no where, so please write blas@buber.net<\/a> if you want to get in touch with me.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After Marina\/Ainhoa left, Kepa went up to the bar to order some drinks. \u201cOrain zer?\u201d asked Kepa when he returned, handing a beer to Maite. \u201cWhat now? What do we do if we can\u2019t trust Marina\u2019s manifestations in the bubbles?\u201d Maite shrugged as she took a sip of her beer. \u201cI\u2019m not sure. I suspect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4410,"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":[2640,864],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventures-of-maite-and-kepa","category-bubers-basque-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/maite-and-kepa-v2-01.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2sYNu-1z9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6023","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=6023"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6024,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6023\/revisions\/6024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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