9

Pace spent his mornings writing about his parents. During this time, Siempre Desalmado hit the streets of Philadelphia looking for work. She usually returned by two or three o’clock in the afternoon, and then she and Pace would have lunch and afterwards make love and take a nap together in their room at the Hotel Espíritu. In the evening they’d go to a movie or, if the weather wasn’t too bad, take long walks together.

This routine went on for several days until one afternoon Siempre did not return. Pace remained in the hotel room all that day and night. When she had not come back by eight o’clock the next morning, Pace went out to look for her. He walked all over the center of the city, even in the alleys, thinking Siempre might have been mugged or worse, and left for dead, but he could not find her. He returned to the hotel twelve hours later, hungry and tired. Pace was about to collapse on the bed when he realized that Siempre’s belongings were gone. He was puzzled and looked around for a note, but there was none. She had left, that was all. The next morning, so did he.