“What do you know about medicine?” asked Nathaniel, staring at the man’s hands with their long, polished nails.
Once more came the friendly laugh and the golden smile, with fresh reassuring gestures and a couple of stilted phrases explaining that he had a lot of experience and that it would take less than fifteen minutes, no problem. Anesthetic? No, mano, we don’t have any of that here, but this helps, he said, handing Alma a bottle of tequila. When she hesitated, glancing mistrustfully at the bottle, Ramón took a lengthy swig, wiped the neck on his sleeve, and offered it to her again. Seeing the look of panic on Alma’s face, Nathaniel instantly made the most important decision in his life.
“We’ve changed our minds, Ramón. We’re going to get married and have the baby. You can keep the money.”
* * *