But the next day at work, she took a call from a frantic Leonora. “What’s up?”
“It’s Jack. He collapsed at Tee Ball, and we took him to the medical center, but they said it was nothing. Healthy kids don’t just collapse, Noe.”
“Breathe, Leo. Bring him here and I’ll check him out, I promise.”
Noemi wasn’t unduly worried until she saw her nephew: the young boy’s skin was tinged blue, and when Noemi checked his fingernails, the beds were almost purple.
“Okay,” she said, her calm exterior belying the panic building inside her. “We’re just going to run some tests, slugger.” She smiled at her sister. Leonora was chewing relentlessly on her bottom lip and watching every one of Noemi’s reactions, looking for any clue to her son’s condition.
Unfazed, Jack grinned at his aunt. “Cool.”
“Can you tell me how it felt when you passed out, Jackie?”
“I just got real tired, and my chest felt tight. I didn’t realize I’d passed out until I heard Mom screaming.”
“Drama queen.” Noemi winked at her nephew, who giggled. Leonora sighed.
“Noe, can I talk to you outside?”
In the hallway, Noemi fixed her sister with a steady look. “We’re running tests, Leo. For now, there’s nothing more to think about than that.”
“I saw your face, Noe. Tell me the truth.”
“I don’t know anything until I run the tests, Leo.” Noemi said firmly. “His color is a little concerning, but we’ll figure it out. Come on now, you know I can’t tell you anything until we know for sure. Let’s not make things worse by panicking.”
Finn was at her side as they performed an echocardiogram; Noemi was glad of it when they saw the problem.
“Oh, Goddamn it.” Noemi looked at the scan of her nephew’s heart. “It looks like ASD.”
Finn nodded. ASD—Atrial Septal Defect—otherwise known as a hole in the heart. He put his hand on Noemi’s shoulder. “Okay, kiddo. First, let’s make sure, and then—I’m sorry, but you’ll have to take a backseat. You know the rules about treating family.”
“Fuck that,” Noemi said, “if Jack needs surgery…”
“I will perform the surgery, Noe. Come on now, don’t make me pull rank. Besides, we don’t know yet whether he’ll need it. Let’s do this step-by-step.”
Noemi felt numb as they went through all the procedures but finally, they all knew. Jack would need surgery and soon. Noemi was incensed when Finn told her she would not even be allowed to assist him, but Leonora calmed her sister down. Noemi shook her head.
“I’m supposed to be the one reassuring you.”
“Finn knows what he is doing. After your accident, he spent a lot of time with us explaining your surgeries. I trust him.”
“And you don’t trust me?” Noemi knew she was being unreasonable. Leo put her arm around her sister.
“Of course I do. But Jack’s sick, and he needs this surgery, and he needs it to be… on autopilot if you like. Emotionless to a certain degree. And I need you here with me. I need you.”
Noemi sighed and hugged her sister. “Of course.”
She went to call Rafa to tell him she wouldn’t be able to make it for dinner. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“Please don’t apologize, Noe. I hope Jack is okay.”
Jack’s surgery was scheduled for that night. “Best to get it done,” Finn said, with a look at Noemi, who nodded.
“Right.”
Noemi and Leonora sat in the Relative’s Room. For a while they didn’t talk, then Noe looked at her sister. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Go for it.”
“When I was in the accident, you never told me that Rafael Genova sat with me until you all arrived at the hospital.”
Leonora’s face closed up. “Yes, he did. When we got here, I sent him back to his sick fiancée.”
Noemi almost smiled. Here was the judgment she had warned Rafa about. “He was just being a good person, Leo.”
“I thought it was inappropriate.”
“You’d rather I had been alone?”
“Lazlo was here, Dieter—”
“Yes, because what I’d really want at such a time would be my ex-boyfriend.” Noemi couldn’t help the resentment that crept into her voice. “Rafa is a good person, a good man.”
“You seem to think so. Got a crush?”
Nomi was sure her cheeks were flaming red, but she shook her head. “I’m just saying it was good of him.”
“Hmm.”
Noemi sighed. She wasn’t going to argue the point with her sister—not now. It didn’t matter; all that mattered now was that Jack pulled through. She knew from experience that these things came out of the blue, that life was always a risk. She believed in Finn, in his abilities.
Their parents arrived at the hospital to wait with them. Marian and Frank, who had always supported their single-mother daughter and adored their grandson, showed concern on their faces, but like Noemi, used distraction to ease Leonora’s nerves.
Hours passed, and an antsy Noemi, with her face covered by a surgical mask, sneaked into the operating theatre. She was soon spotted. Finn sighed. “Noemi, please, I am trying to concentrate here.”
“Just tell me how it’s going.”
“Noe…”
There was something in his voice that made her pulse quicken. “What’s wrong?”
“Noemi Castor, do you want me to have security remove you?”
“Finn…”
“Ally, would you please take Dr. Castor outside and physically restrain her if she tries to get back in?”
Noemi sighed. “I’m going. Bully,” she added with a chuckle, but when Finn didn’t laugh, she knew he was serious. Oh God…
Ally came with her anyway, her dark eyes full of concern. “Noe, go and wait with your family. We’re doing everything we can.”
Noemi felt breathless and knew if she went back to the Relative’s Room now, her panicked expression would unsettle her family. Instead, she took the elevator to the roof and stepped out onto it, breathing in the night air. She pulled her phone from her pocket and called Rafa again.
“Hey, baby.” Rafa’s warm voice was the balm she needed.
“Hey. I just needed to hear your voice. Jack’s surgery is taking longer than expected.”
“It’s never pleasant to have to wait like that. Sure you don’t want me to come?”
Noemi smiled. “No, my family is here, and besides, Leo is the one who needs propping up. Rafa… I made the mistake of going to the theater. Finn threw me out, but I got the impression that… Oh, God, what if…?”
“Sweetheart, listen. Jack is in the best hands—you yourself told me that. Trust Finn to do everything he can.”
“You’re right. How’s Bepi?”
Rafa chuckled. “Spoiled by his grandmother—who also gave him way too much sugar. Currently, he’s chasing Mouse around the garden.”
Noemi giggled. Rafa, who worked mainly from home, had volunteered to take care of Mouse when she was at work, and she was grateful for it. She knew how much Mouse liked being around people, and the dog completely adored Bepi. It took the worry of having to find a sitter for her from Noemi’s shoulders—especially now.
“I’d better go back in. I’ll call you when I know something.”
“Take care, baby.”
“You too.”
Rafael ended the call, still smiling. Even after such a short time together, he and Noemi were already a partnership, friends as well as lovers—the other person’s rock.
He went to find Bepi in the garden. “Come on, kid. Time for bed.”
His heart started to beat fast when he saw a tall figure talking to his son. He darted towards them, heart thumping. Where the fuck was his security? “Hey!”
“Hey yourself, brother.”
Rafa slowed down, and he squinted into the dim light. “Zani?”
Zani swung Bepi into his arms and walked towards Rafa, who was astonished at his brother’s slender appearance. “Zani… what the hell are you doing here?”
Zani smiled. “You mean how did I get through the seven layers of security you have here? This.” He pointed to his face, once so like Rafa’s, now quite gaunt and older. “I don’t look so different, hey?”
Yes. Yes, you do. Rafa took his son from his brother’s arms. “Come inside, Zani. I have to put Bepi to bed.”
Zani followed them in, admiring Mouse. “Nice dog.”
“It’s Nommy’s dog.” Bepi told him. “She lets me play with him when she’s at work.”
“Nommy, huh?” Zani’s eyes sparkled wickedly as he looked at his brother. “New girlfriend?”
Rafa didn’t answer. “Go to the kitchen, Zani. Help yourself to coffee, food, whatever. I’ll be down as soon as I can.”
“Always the gracious host.” Zani mussed Bepi’s hair. “’Night, kid. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow, yeah?”
Bepi grinned at him, oblivious to his father’s tense stance. “Cool.”
Rafa bathed Bepi and put him to bed, spending time to read to him, putting off having to go back downstairs to face his brother. What the hell was Zani doing here? And why hadn’t he called before showing up like this?
Rafa thought he knew the answer, but it wasn’t until he rejoined Zani that he knew for sure. “So, what brings you back to Seattle?”
Zani smiled. “A job, hopefully. A position back in the family business.”
Aha. He’d been right. Zani had finally blown through his fortune, and by the looks of him, most of it spent on booze—or worse. Zani was almost skeletally thin; he looked a decade older than his forty-five, and his once-handsome face seemed now watchful and spiteful.
Rafa made a pot of coffee while Zani studied the contents of the refrigerator. “You got anything in here that isn’t kale?”
Rafa tried not to grimace. “Plenty, if you look,” he said mildly. “Sit down, I’ll make you an omelet. You look like you haven’t eaten properly in years.”
“I like to stay slim.” Zani looked at his brother critically. “Still the pretty boy, I see.”
Rafa ignored the jibe. “Do Mom and Dad know you’re in town?”
Zani shrugged. “I haven’t seen them yet. Not sure of the reception I’d get. I thought maybe you could smooth the transition before I ask Dad for a job.”
“Dad’s not in charge of hiring and firing,” Rafa said, his tone even. “For that, you’d have to come to me.”
Zani smirked. “In that case…”
Rafa flipped a perfectly cooked omelet onto a plate and slid it to his brother. “Eat. Drink your coffee. Then you can tell me why you’re really back.”
Rafa went to bed about two a.m. Zani’s answers to his questions had been evasive and even aggressive, and Rafa had eventually lost the will to listen. He offered Zani a guest room, which his brother accepted. “We will talk more tomorrow,” Rafa warned him. Zani just smiled that infuriating smile of his and slunk off to bed.
Rafa asked himself why he felt so unsettled. He certainly knew it was because he didn’t trust Zani’s intentions. A job? Zani had never worked a day in his life, and Rafa would bet that he wasn’t about to start now. Zani wanted money, position. Rafa wondered what had happened in Europe.
He was just falling asleep when he heard someone knocking at his bedroom door. “Come in.”
His security guard stuck his head in, an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but I think you’d better come to the front door. Dr. Castor is here… and I don’t think she’s okay.”
Rafa was up in a flash, and as they both hurried back to the front of the house, he saw her. She was almost bent double with grief as he put his arms around her and carried her in.
For a moment, Noemi just stared at him. Rafa stroked her face and waited. Then, when she spoke, her voice was low, cracked, and full of disbelief. “He died, Rafa. Jack. He actually died.”