“They’re my sister’s.”
Laura frowned.
“Your sister?”
Carlos nodded.
“She died last year.”
There was a long silence.
“A bus accident.”
Laura didn’t know what to say.
Carlos looked down at the baby in his arms.
“I couldn’t leave my nephews alone.”
He swallowed.
“They had already lost their mother. I couldn’t let them lose their home too.”
Laura slowly counted the children in the room.
One.
Two.
Three.
And the baby.
Four children.
A sick wife.
One man carrying everything.
“So…” Laura whispered.
“You support six people.”
Carlos nodded.
“I work nights cleaning offices.”
He adjusted the baby against his shoulder.
“During the day, I take care of the children.”
Then he looked toward Elena.
“And whenever I can, I take her to the hospital.”
Laura stared at him.
For the first time, she noticed details she had never paid attention to.
His cracked hands.
