What Money Couldn't Ask For

Gabriel called while Valeria was helping Mateo press leaves between sheets of paper.

She almost let it ring. Then she saw the second message.

Call me. Nobody died. Stop imagining that and call me.

She took the phone into the garden, keeping Mateo in sight through the open door.

"What happened?"

"The hospital offered an earlier assessment with the surgical team. There's been a cancellation."

"That's good."

"There are more tests first. And Mom says we can manage it, which is her way of saying we absolutely cannot."

Valeria closed her eyes.

They had been paying down old bills in small installments while saving for the next stage of treatment. The new salary would help. It had not yet arrived.

"Send me the paperwork. I'll call them after work."

"You don't have to sound like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're picking up a refrigerator by yourself."

She laughed despite the tightness in her throat.

"Send it, Gabriel."

When she turned, Alejandro stood at the garden steps. He had heard enough to ask if there was a problem. She gave him the short version because pretending there wasn't one required more energy than she had.

"Would an advance on your salary help?" he asked.

"Yes. Thank you. We can put it in writing."

"I'll have someone arrange it."

An hour later her mother called, bewildered. A hospital administrator had contacted her about a private transfer and a new consultation. A driver was arriving at five. The family needed to be ready.

Valeria stood very still.

Then she asked Socorro to stay with Mateo and went to the study.

Alejandro looked up from his desk.

"The car is suitable for your brother. They said he shouldn't—"

"I asked for an advance."

His pen stopped.

"This was faster."

"For you. My mother thinks she's missed an appointment she never made. Gabriel thinks I've been discussing his health with strangers. Nobody knows where they're supposed to be going."

"I used a coordinator I trust."

"I don't know your coordinator. Neither does my brother."

He leaned back. "I was helping."

"You were helping without asking."

Her voice shook at the end. She hated that. She hated even more that part of her wanted to sit down and let him solve everything.

Alejandro watched her for a moment, then set the pen down.

"What do you want me to undo?"

The question took the force out of her next breath.

"Cancel the car. Tell the coordinator no changes can be made without speaking to Gabriel and my mother. Let us decide whether we want another consultation."

He picked up the phone and did exactly that. No argument. No meaningful look at the expense involved.

When he ended the call, she remained standing.

"I'm grateful," she said. "That makes it harder to say when something isn't what I wanted."

"It shouldn't."

"Maybe it shouldn't. It does."

Alejandro looked at the papers on his desk.

"I know how to make people do things quickly. I don't have much practice at offering something they might refuse."

"You could practice with me. I'm very talented at refusing."

His mouth curved, but the humor faded as he looked at her.

"May I pay for the additional tests? Your family chooses the doctors and the arrangements. You don't stay here a day longer because of it. You don't owe me anything personal."

She gripped the back of the chair.

"I want Gabriel to hear the offer from you. He needs to be included."

"Then introduce us."

They met on Sunday in the garden, after Valeria's mother had spoken with the hospital and Gabriel had agreed to accept help. Gabriel arrived wearing his best shirt and an expression suggesting he intended to negotiate an international border.

Alejandro shook his hand without telling him how well he looked.

Valeria appreciated that more than she expected.

"My sister says you interfere," Gabriel said.

"Gabriel."

Alejandro glanced at her. "She's accurate."

Gabriel nodded gravely. "All right. At least we're starting honestly."

Mateo watched from behind a chair. He held the brown dog by one ear.

Gabriel sat at the table rather than approaching him.

"You have a dog," he observed. "I once had a fish. Valeria killed it."

"I did not kill your fish."

"She moved its bowl into the sun."

"You named it Refrigerator and fed it bread."

Alejandro looked between them. Something in his face eased.

Mateo came closer, drawn by the argument. He put the stuffed dog on the empty chair beside Gabriel.

"He can sit there," Gabriel said. "As long as he doesn't steal my food."

"No bread," Mateo whispered.

Valeria covered her smile with her glass.

They ate grilled chicken and too many tortillas. Gabriel asked Alejandro direct questions about the proposed help. Alejandro answered without making promises about the medical outcome. Valeria's mother cried once, quietly, and then asked for more salsa as though nothing had happened.

After lunch Gabriel rested in the shaded sitting room. Their mother sat with him while Mateo showed him the yellow truck.

Valeria collected plates in the garden.

Alejandro took the stack from her.

"You aren't working today."

"The plates didn't know."

He carried them to the sideboard. When he returned, he stood close enough that she could see a tiny pale scar at the corner of his mouth.

"I like your brother."

"He behaved very badly."

"He was protecting you. I understand the impulse."

Her heart made an inconvenient movement.

"You don't need to protect me from every conversation."

"I'm learning."

A breeze lifted her hair across her cheek. He raised his hand, then stopped.

"May I?"

She nodded before she could become sensible.

He tucked the strand behind her ear. His fingers touched her skin for less than a second.

Neither of them moved away.

From inside came Gabriel's voice.

"Valeria, the dog is judging me. I need a character reference."

She stepped back, laughing too quickly.

Alejandro's answering smile was slow.

For the first time, she wondered what it would be like to touch him when there was no injured child, no emergency, no reason except that she wanted to.