It was almost midday when Allyce returned to the sanatorium.
He had told Severo when he had left in the morning that he would be back to cook and join them for lunch, so he was on time, only the morning had passed and he had nothing to show for it.
A little frustrated, she sat for a while in the sanatorium park before getting up and walking to Severo’s room.
…
When Allyce walked in, all she saw was Alonzo sitting alone on the carpeted floor playing with blocks.
Hearing Allyce’s entrance, Alonzo immediately looked up and, seeing that it was Allyce, he rolled over and sat up: “Mom!
He called out to Allyce as he ran towards her.
Allyce picked him up and asked, “Where’s Dad?
Severo would not leave Alonzo alone in the room.
Alonzo said “yes” and pointed in the other direction of the room, which was the kitchen.
Allyce put it down and Severo pulled her by the finger into the kitchen.
As he entered, he heard the sound of frying.
He couldn’t even think about Alonzo and headed for the kitchen.
Severo was standing at the cooker with his back to her, sautéing, and from the smell of it, Allyce could guess that it was spicy meat, but how could Severo cook with his back to her!
“Severo!”
She called him.
“Severo put out the fire and spoke as he served the food.
His voice was soft and calm, and it took the anger out of Allyce’s heart.
“What brings you here to cook? Dr. Griego said …”
“Go wash your hands and you’ll be ready to eat soon.” Severo finally turned around and looked at her with smiling eyes.
Victorino had said that Severo’s condition was getting worse every day, and after just one night his face had aged a little more than yesterday, but in Allyce’s eyes there was no difference between Severo and Severo before.
Allyce shook her head, “Go and sit down, I’ll do it”.
Severo’s eyes narrowed slightly and his tone was calm: “I want to do something I’m happy with and you won’t let me”.
Allyce felt she had become very vulnerable lately, and just saying it made her want to cry again.
He only pulled away from Severo before he could shed a tear.
With a quick “I’ll wait outside then”, he left.
In no time, Severo had food on the table.
The three of us sat at the table and ate as if we were at home.
Severo cooked several of the children’s favourite dishes, as well as Allyce’s favourites, but he didn’t move his chopsticks much, just slurping the soup and eating from time to time.
Allyce’s throat felt blocked by something and it took a while for the food to settle.
It took a while to calm down, but Severo didn’t seem to notice, coaxing Alonzo to eat.
Severo gave Alonzo a piece of the sandwich, and Alonzo took a small bite and his eyes lit up: “Sweet?
“Well, if you like it, I’ll make it for you tomorrow.” Severo looked at him with a smile on his kind face, a loving look that made him look like any other father.
Allyce stopped looking at them and just ducked her head and ate her food.
It was Severo’s wish, he liked to cook for her and Alonzo, and she had to eat more.
After lunch, both Alonzo and Severo had to take a nap.
Alonzo because of his napping habits, and Severo because his energy was running low and he was always sleepy and tired easily.
She was showing signs of old age and Allyce tried to keep a calm face, but her heart was breaking.
Allyce sat on the edge of the bed, watching the little one and the big one curl up on the bed, and waited for them both to fall asleep before getting up and pulling out her phone.
His phone was on silent and the screen had lit up several times, so a call must have come in.
He carefully left the room and took out his phone to check that it was a call from Xabat.
He was about to return the call when he heard Xabat’s panting voice from across the corridor: “Madam!
“I was just about to call you, and here you are. Only when Xabat approached did Allyce speak.
“Since you didn’t answer the phone, I assumed you were here at the sanatorium, so I came straight here. Obviously, Xabat had come running from the car, or he wouldn’t have been so tired.
Everyone was running for Severo’s sake, not to mention Xabat.
Xabat was a westerner, with already deep features and deep eye sockets, and he had recently lost a lot of weight from running, so his eye sockets were even deeper and he looked haggard.
Allyce asked, “Have you eaten yet?”
Xabat shook his head: “Not yet, I’m going to see my boss and have lunch when I get back to Kimdis.
Allyce looked at the time, it was now one o’clock in the afternoon.
Thinking about it, he spoke, “We’ve just eaten and there’s plenty of food left, if you don’t mind, I’ll heat it up and you can have some here, just so you can tell me straight away if you need anything, Severo and Alonzo have gone to bed.”
Xabat was probably a bit hungry too, so he didn’t refuse: “Yes, with pleasure.
…
Once they were both inside, Xabat went to check on Severo while Allyce went to the kitchen to heat up their food.
By the time Allyce had the food warmed up, Xabat had already entered.
“I just finished heating up the food, you …” Allyce’s spoke as she placed the food on the table, only accidentally seeing Xabat’s slightly red eyes, a lump in her throat and a pause before she said, “Eat it while it’s hot.”
“Thank you. Xabat thanked him before starting to eat.
He ate quickly, finishing it in a couple of sittings.
Allyce opened her mouth, but said nothing. Xabat’s feelings for Severo were different from hers, but they were as deep as she understood.
“Nothing else really, I just came to see how the boss was doing about everything, and I heard that someone was investigating Grizzi”. Xabat said this with a frustrated look on his face.
Allyce froze slightly, and then said without thinking: “Marco?
“How do you know?” Xabat looked at Allyce with a surprised look on his face.
“He’s already been to Severo, and it was Neto who took him there.” Allyce frowned slightly at the thought of the time she’d seen Marco in Sky City before.
“He couldn’t find out anything.
It was at that moment that Severo’s voice suddenly came from behind him.
How had he woken up so quickly?
Allyce was about to get up when Severo came over and sat down next to her: “You can’t find out anything at home. The banned drugs that Grizzi manufactured are sold in China, but he hasn’t officially gotten involved yet. “