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The Kennedy Kids: Mary Elizabeth, Jon & Matt as retold by Rick Kennedy Little Capablanca Madre de Dios… He was whipped. When he was an undergrad in St. Louis – when he was a graduate student in Madison – Matt looked forward to his volunteer weekends at the Free Clinic. He enjoyed working with the families, and his fluent Spanish set him apart. Now that he was working a “real” job, there was no reason to give it up. The street light glinted off of something in the youth’s hand as stepped away from the car. He extended his other hand. “Démelo…” Matt sighed. He could hear his father’s voice in his head: You got college credit for weight-lifting? Twice? What else did you get credit for…? He planted a foot, spun, and put an instep against the boy’s temple. The body staggered one way, the knife bounced the other. Matt picked up the knife and closed it. Jesús, Maria y José… The boy couldn’t be more than 10 or 12. He looked familiar. “Ramón?” He nodded up from the curb. “Ramón… the chessplayer? Our ‘Little Capablanca’?” “Si.” The voice was pitiful. Matt smiled slowly, thoughts rumbling through his head. There were so many ways that this could play out. He made his choice. “Tell you what. No harm, no foul, ok? Come to the clinic next weekend. Bring your chess set. You can take five bucks off of me per game. If you’re as good as they say you are, you’ll make a bundle.” He paused. “If you win.” Ramón smiled. “I’ll win.” Matt moved his attention to the knife in his hand. “Father Tony says confessions Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:30. You can get this from him when you stop by.” A silent nod. Matt returned the nod. Then, feeling ever-so-old, he continued his walk toward home. The next weekend, though, Ramón showed up at the clinic. Matt managed a draw out of a handful of games, and felt good about it for days. The following week Ramón was there again, with pretty much the same result. Matt left smiling. A week later, Ramón suggested that they just play “for fun”. He still won all the games. One Saturday, Ramón arrived with a friend. “I thought, maybe, you could teach him some chess,” he said. “But, you’re a much better player,” protested Matt. “You’re a pretty good teacher, though” said Ramón. ###
Perry the PawnPusher Series Sherlock Holmes Series
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