Chapter 189 - My Situation — Mddos
Roland
I liked what my wife said. I don't mind that Lupe is one of my children's godmothers.
"Don't worry, as soon as my two hours are up, someone will take over."
"Mr. Gustavo requested an appointment with me," the doctor approached me.
"He's our financial manager," I said.
"We've scheduled it for eight."
"Can we use our cell phones?"
Simón asked, and the nurses nodded. Verónica burped Victoria, and after a while, a nurse took Dante from me.
"They spend most of the day sleeping. They need feeding times that don't exceed two hours each. I'll bring your princess while the mother feeds this handsome boy. Your children are beautiful, truly cover-worthy babies."
"Thank you."
I said, not sure what had happened to that dark Roland. Look at me now. Dr. Jones requested a vitamin supplement for Verónica and asked for a bed to be set up so she could be more comfortable. They would place it next to the room, as it was better for her to stay semi-reclined due to her wound rather than sitting.
"In two hours, Gustavo and Miguel will come, then Arnold and Guadalupe. By noon, Inés and Father Gabriel, who also offered to help with the body heat, will come. After them, Mrs. Consuelo and Mr. Fausto, then we'll start the cycle again until nine, which is when visiting hours end."
"Thank you."
Verónica said, holding Dante while I now held my princess. They had changed her diaper. I wished I could have all four of them together.
"Verónica, Santiago, Luz Marina, and Raúl will arrive tomorrow, and in two days, these babies will have plenty of attention."
"Schedule the hours and share the timetable with everyone so they know the times. This is until they reach the weight."
"Don't worry."
They had already set up the bed for Verónica. We were apart, but my wife and I constantly looked at each other, "I love you," I mouthed. From my cell phone, I started looking up everything related to the kangaroo plan and reading about Down syndrome.
"Doctor," I called her before she left.
"Yes, I have an appointment with Mr. Gustavo Vargas."
"Is there any way to determine the degree of Liam's syndrome?"
"He's very young, Roland. For now, we need to help them gain weight. Later, the pediatrician will come to examine them, determine the next steps, and tell us how your children are doing. They are only a day old. Let's take it one step at a time."
……
Gustavo
I was waiting for Dr. Jones. Yesterday, Roland asked me to investigate the clinic. As the financial manager, it was my duty. His intention was to invest in it. I gathered the information and contacted her, needing the financial and legal documents. This new phase was truly crazy. Over two years ago, we were different people.
I had to thank Negro, my cousin, who brought me into the Patron's world thirteen years ago. Although it was three years of trial, I've been fully involved in the organization for ten years now. Now... we were becoming what old Josefina always wanted. My mother knew us all, including Roland.
That time we all went to her surprise party for her sixtieth birthday. I remember she talked a lot with the boss alone. After that, she asked us to enjoy the party. My sisters had organized it. It wasn't one of those parties the Patron was used to, but he enjoyed it the most that time.
The trifásico stew at noon, the roasted lamb in the afternoon in the backyard, sitting on a stool in the palm kiosk, which had been there for many years, watching people dance the porro and fandango. He didn't dance, never did, until Miss Verónica appeared. But I swear that from watching so much, he knew the steps.
Then the vallenato band for my mom, she loved that music. In fact, since I told her we had reformed and I was now the general manager of several legal companies, she started treating me like she hadn't in years. Somehow, she had banished me from her affections for turning my life into garbage, though she never denied me entry to the house.
But I was the cause of thousands of tears. She became addicted to the rosary, according to Pato, my younger sister. I was the eldest of four and the only boy. All of them were now professionals. I paid for the careers they wanted, each had a house and an apartment in Montería. I sent money to my older sister for my mother because she wouldn't accept it from me.
I helped him find a good job at a financial institution when he was eighteen, and through that job, under false pretenses, my mother had the life I always swore to give her. She didn't want to leave the house where she raised us, so my sister bought everything to keep her comfortable. Whenever she wants, the house of her dreams awaits her in Montería.
That house that, one afternoon while preparing tamales to sell, she said she wanted to have. That house is waiting for her. My sister wants to confess everything to her, my reasons and my desire to have them all well taken care of. That was my duty as the eldest brother and man of the house, after Mr. Vargas abandoned us. Now my older sister was married with one child and another on the way.
The second sister lives in Argentina, doing a medical specialization, and my Pato, Patricia, my little sister, was finishing high school this year. I had her studying at one of the best schools in the city. They all insisted on telling old Josefina the truth, but I feared my mom's reaction.
At the time, she didn't allow me to fix up the palm house in the Rasca culo village where I come from and where my nickname originated. She always said she raised me with the little she had, but she didn't owe anything to life and feared God greatly. She loved me but didn't accept the sins committed. The only thing she could do for me was pray for my soul.
And when Patricia, my sister, confessed to me the times my mother knelt; in the morning, at noon, at three in the afternoon, and at night, I could only cry like a baby knowing that, even though she didn't call me, she prayed and asked for the salvation of my soul. Every year I visited her, she would say sarcastic phrases like: "I didn't know where my intelligence had gone" and regretted deeply having asked for help from her nephew, the Black.
According to her, it was he who corrupted my soul and turned me into a killer. And that's what I became. My hand didn't tremble when taking down anyone under the orders of Rata or the Boss. Now we have evolved miraculously, we committed to leaving the weapons and that shitty world for this new family we are forming.
However, I would pull the trigger again if necessary to have what we have now, a brotherhood. And something told me that at some point we will do it again. I looked at the clock. Gladis should be arriving at the office. Since we were informed about creating a consortium, she was in charge. I had to join those preparations next week. I smiled.
If I could get her to enter my heart and confirm how much I love her, I know she would let me be by her side as I want, as her husband. I took out my phone to call her. This woman had me on my knees. She had been tough, but even though she was distrustful, you couldn't deny how beautiful and delicate she was, with her slender body and delicious breasts.
I loved the feeling every time I hugged her. I was an ordinary man, raised in the countryside. My hands were calloused from planting and working the land. That contrast of my rough skin when it caressed her porcelain skin enchanted me. It's a shame she's so picky. At this moment, I don't know what to do to fully earn her trust.
This on-again, off-again thing was wearing me out. I wasn't a kid anymore for that friends-with-benefits crap. Since I met her, I've shown how much I care about her and no one else. What happened in her life marked her, filled her with fears and insecurities. Despite all my demonstrations through actions, she kept pushing me aside. For months, I've been carrying the engagement ring.
Deep down, I always wanted to get married and become a businessman. I've already achieved the latter; the former is still uncertain. In my last conversation with Gladis, I made it clear we should make our relationship official. I was patient, but her not believing in me was pissing me off. She answered on the second ring.
"Good morning, how's everything, especially Verónica?"
"Woman, why can't you ask how I woke up?"
At that moment, the doctor came in with two folders and approached me to shake my hand.
"Can I call you Gustavo and drop the formalities?"