GG Mendoza

Carlos Mendoza wove the fine straw hats of Montecristi by hand for sixty years, the genuine kind woven so tightly they hold water, and took up backgammon during a single year away from the workshop when a knee injury kept him off his stool. He never went back to being without it. The year off ended, the weaving resumed, and the board stayed on the counter beside it ever since, played between orders and after closing. He plays a plain, unhurried game, more interested in the company across the table than the result. He finishes a match the way he finishes a hat, carefully, and sets it aside content either way.