SAVING MY WOMAN

Alfredo.

The frustration is building up in me, threatening to surface in a storm of rage. Not knowing where Charlene is or even if she’s safe. I don’t dare think of the other possibility. It will set me off, and I must keep calm to think straight. Impulsive action will lead to something I may not want to face.

But I continue to Ricardo room and enter. The guard seated inside stands when I enter.

“Anything?”

The guard shakes his head. “No, all he does is sleep, and the nurse says he is comfortable. It’s all we can expect.”

I nod, pleased with his attentiveness, and walk toward Ricardo bedside. The old man has color in his cheeks, but the rest of him looks ghastly pale. His eyelids are parted as his mouth opens, sucking in precious air. He claims he wants to die but hangs onto life dearly. His eyes flutter open and then focus on me … his son-in-law.

I frown at him, not concealing that I despise him and what he has done, not only to my father but to his own family. He may have shown Char