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The door had creaked, and I had immediately smiled because it could only have been one person at that time. “Hey,” I heard him whisper that night.
I turned to look at Francisco, illuminated by the light in the hallway. The noises outside had subsided, probably because the staff was out doing their laps and had left the nurses’ station empty. It was only a few minutes at a time that that happened, and he had timed it perfectly. Years of practice, he had told me once.
“Hi,” I replied.
“How is she?” he asked immediately upon setting foot into the room. He turned around quietly and closed the door, making sure it latched all the way so that the nurses wouldn’t notice the intrusion. He was in a complicated spot.Entre la espada y la pared,some would say. Their—shared—father was adamant that he not see her, but according to what I’d been told, he felt partially responsible and wantedto be close to her. Even if it was for minutes at a time and at night while she was asleep.
“Bored,” I said with a playful tone. His gaze was intent on her, his brown eyes always on her the minute he arrived. He did this thing with people; he had a way with his words. It was like he turned it on. One minute it was there, and the other, it was gone. He was alwaysonwith her. In the beginning, the first few months of whatever that was, he had done it with me. A smile that reached his eyes, crinkling at the corners, even when it had been a hard day for everyone. A myriad of questions about anything—maybe what I’d had for lunch—and the accompanying body language that showed interest. It never looked too genuine, like maybe it was practiced, learned. He was the son of a politician, after all. So I assumed he had been trained, probably from early on, to turn on his persona.
But that had been slowly fading, and more of this—maybe his real, normal self—was coming out. Like this was a safe space for him. “It was a long day today. She wasn’t allowed to go do her laps around the ward.”
“And her tests?” He turned to look at me with a slight furrow in his brows. Jazmín was a social butterfly, and nothing stopped her. Except chemo and having to sit still in her bed for days at a time. Some days were rougher than others, but through the years, she had learned to listen to her body and rest. “What’s the update there?”
“They are not back yet,” I replied cautiously. We never wanted to give a patient’s loved ones any sense of falsehope. She was doing great, her spirits were up, she had no pain, but we could never be too optimistic. Just in case. “Should have them back tomorrow.”
He smiled.On.Then he turned his whole body towards me. He took a few steps, then held out his hand and squeezed my bicep. A small greeting. “And how are you?”On.
This was our dance, our little routine of sorts. He would walk in, ask about his sister immediately, then turn it over to me. Ask about my plants and my family or the newest nurse drama. And there was a lot of drama to keep us entertained for hours.
“Good. I’m actually off for the next few days,” I said absentmindedly. He had walked all the way to the chair in the corner of the room and angled his body in a way he could keep both me and Jazmín in focus. I was leaning by the window, flipping my view from the door to Jazmín and to him. We were careful because if the head of the service found out he was here, he would tell, and we wanted to avoid that. “Might go visit my family.” I shrugged.
“Nice,” he whispered, his gaze still on me.Off.He turned to look at his sister, who was still sleeping soundly. “How long has she been out?”On.
“Maybe a few hours?” I looked at my watch, then looked up at him. “She might be out for the night at this point.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll stay for a little, and then I’ll head out. Give me maybe thirty minutes, and then I’ll be gone.”
“Alright,” I drawled, heading to the door. I turned to look at him and smiled. “See you in a few days.”
“I’m serious about the cat,” Martina said, and I blinked out of my trance. She placed her elbows on the top of the bar and rested her head on her arms. “I’m actually thinking of maybe opening a little cat café at the edge of town. You would be my first success story if you end up keeping one of the kittens.”
Jacinto picked that exact moment to slide on my other side, looking down at me with those brown eyes of his. He had his puppy face on, head cocked to the side in a confused-slash-pleading look.
“Is this his idea?” I turned my body to face Martina and threw my thumb back, pointing at Jacinto behind me. He chuckled in response and moved a little closer, taking a big breath to answer, but I cut him off. “No, I want to hear what she has to say,” I said, not even bothering to look at him.
Martina smiled, then looked between us, finally settling her gaze on me. “No, actually.” She turned and thanked the bartender, who had set a few glasses of water on the bar. “I’ve been involved with a pet rescue org for a while, but there’s usually much more demand for puppies and dogs. It's very hard to place cats, so I thought maybe we could promote it another way.”
“And,” Jacinto said, moving from behind me to just next to Martina, “I happen to have a litter of kittens that are looking for homes. What a coincidence.”
What a coincidence indeed. “Why does trouble always find you?”
“Trouble?” he gasped. “Whatever do you mean?”
He let out a loud laugh, patting me on the back a few times. Martina was looking at him, giggling silently at his reaction.
“He’s going to help me,” she said. “And with the adjournment coming up, he’ll have plenty of time to put his body to work for me.” She looked him up and down with delight, but as soon as she saw I was looking, she pursed her lips. A flush formed on her cheeks, and I bit my tongue at her reaction.
“It’s my pet project,” he said and winked at me. “Get it? Pet project,” he added, then chuckled at himself in amusement, like what he said was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
“So are you?” Martina asked.
I frowned and turned to grab one of the water glasses. “Am I what?”
“Adopting a cat, Luli.”
“I don’t need a cat. I already have him,” I said, looking straight at Jacinto, who was oblivious now. “He keeps me busy enough.”
Martina laughed and took a large gulp from her glass. As soon as she set it on the bar, Jacinto took her by the hand and dragged her back to the dance floor, straight back to where some of their friends were hanging out.
