Blind

[ULTRASOUND.jpg in the first comment]

"And it's boy or girl?" Asked Santiago.

"We don't know yet," said Esteban.

"Not yet? Who checked your wife?"

"Martínez Ortiz."

"You'd have gone with López Peralta, he's a friend of mine. He even does 4D ultrasound and shit. It's a little expensive, but I can tell him to make you some discount, if you need it."

"But we're just on the third week. Isn't too soon to know the sex?"

"No, López Peralta is that good. He was the one in charge of Santi's birth. He's way better than that Martínez Ortiz guy."

"Sure."

"And how's work?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"I can speak with Congressman Torres Lambda if you like, he's my pal. Maybe he has something for you.

"He's with the other party."

"So? Man you're so naive. At your age I already shad started two businesses —which bankrupted within a year—, but you know? You do you. I mean, if you wanna keep doing everyone's job at the congress, well, knock yourself out.

"Yeah, whatever, how about you?"

"How else? You know I have to do everything around here. Wish I was like this mofo," Santiago knocked Esteban's ultrasound with his finger, "just chillin' in his mom's belly. Who fucks with him there? What should he worry about?"

"Well, if you're so busy, just ask for help. My dad can help you, you know."

"Don't take me wrong, man, but your dad is useless. But if he wants to help me, tell him to tell me. He always asks me for money but he'll never earn it. And speaking of which.

Esteban I reached Santiago.

Esteban II greeted his dad and left.

"Hey, it's the same thing: I need more money."

"If you're telling me the same thing, I'm gonna answer you the same way. I'm giving you enough money."

"You're expanding Vanessa's house, you're paying her all her bills, and she's getting way more money than me."

"Says you."

"Just ask the accountant. Or check the family's accounting. Everything's there. Just compare my income and hers. Or check any sibling's income and mine. I'm not getting even half of what you're getting."

"Look, bro: I don't really have the time for this; you know I'm the one one doing something around here, and if I don't do it, then who's gonna take over the family's accounting, real state; the repair over this house and Vanessa's, and my own business?"

"But one forth of everything's mine. You said you were gonna distribute it equally."

"You're already getting enough, and you're surely spending it all."

"No, I'm not."

Esteban show Santiago all his month's outcomes. They included various receipts; his car's insurance, and water, phone, internet and electricity bills.

His outcomes were way bigger than his incomes.

But Santiago looked away and left.

"You have your savings," he said. "Use them."

Santiago took out his phone. He had 34 new messages.

1 message from Carlos Rivas Accountant.

1 message from Santi Son.

1 message from Christian Benitez Lawyer.

2 messages from Ricardo Peralta Cardiologist.

2 messages from Jorge Estrada Architect.

3 messages from Claudia Nurse.

4 messages from Mauricio Store.

8 messages from Vanessa.

12 messages from My fucking EX.

He ignored them and looked at the time.

4:15 pm.

He put his phone in his pocket and went out of his mother's house. There was a bunch of workers building a surrounding wall.

"How's my home going?" He asked one of the workers.

"We just need a few more days, boss, and after that we'll start with the garage and the garden."

"Cool, cool, when you finish the wall tell me to start installing all the home security stuff."

"Yes, boss, we're keeping in touch."

"All right."

Santiago reached his car and turned to his mother's house.

It was looking pretty good so far. Exactly as he wanted it.

He opened his car and sat in the driver's seat. He took his phone and opened Carlos Rivas Accountant's message. It said: "do you have esteban's bills from 2016 and i also need vanessas from two years from now, she gave me some but i need all of them."

Before Santiago took over everything related to his family, Don José, Santiago's dad, had manage the accounting with Alberto Pereira, who scammed him for over the last 10 years by keeping the money that Don José gave him year after year to pay the whole family's taxes.

When he found out about this, Santiago sued Alberto Pereira and hired Carlos Rivas. The problem was he had to create the tax files for each family member from scratch, and after a whole year, he wasn't done yet. Also, the lawsuit against Alberto Pereira was still in process, but was apparently nearing completion.

Santiago left his phone in one of the car's cup holders and left. He sped up and immediately started passing cars.

But there was the stoplight.

He stopped, took his phone and checked Santi Son message. It said: "where r u? U gonna pick me up or do i call mom?"

And it was sent at 2:40 pm.

Santiago checked Christian Benitez Lawyer's message. It said: "see at 4"

Santiago left his phone on the cup holder and sped up.

"Where the fuck is Pereira?"

Santiago, Christian Benitez Abogado and a bunch of police officers were outside Alberto Pereira's accounting offices.

They came to seize him.

But the offices were empty.

And Pereira wasn't answering his phone.

He had surely ran away.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" yelled Santiago. "WHY DIDN'T YOU PREVENT THIS, YOU FUCK?!"

"I told you he was selling all his properties," Christian Benitez Lawer answered, "but you told me to wait."

"YOU'RE LYING! I DON'T REMEMBER THAT!"

"But you did, you told me you had a shit ton of work to do and you couldn't handle the seizing too, and also we had him against the ropes.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU HANDLE IT THEN? I'M PAYING YOU, YOU KNOW!"

"I did. I've been doing it for over 6 months."

"YOU TOOK LONG ENOUGH; THAT MOTHERFUCKER'S GONE!"

"I would have finished sooner if you hadn't told me to wait."

"I DIDN'T TELL YOU THAT, CAN'T YOU HEAR!"

"Fine, fine, whatever."

"And now what the fuck we do?" Asked Santiago.

"We can only wait the police find him."

Santiago got back to his car and locked himself in.

"FUCK!" he yelled. "THAT MOTHERFUCKIN' SON OF THE FUCKING BITCH! BUT I'LL FIND YOU MOTHERFUCKER, AND I'M GONNA BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA YOU, 'CAUSE YOU'LL NOT MAKE FUN OF ME, YOU BASTARD! I'M REALLY GONNA FUCK YOU UP, THAT'S A PROMISE! ¡AND FUCKING CHRISTIAN; YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, YOU FUCK! YOU'RE SO USELESS! YOU'RE FIRED, ASSHOLE! FOR FUCK'S SAKE, WHY DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE WHILE THOSE ASSHOLES DON'T?! FUCKING FREELOADERS! YOU'RE OVER 50, COME ON, DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR FUCKING LIVES!" And he only stopped yelling because his throat was already soar.

He had also pounded the steering wheel and the dashboard until his fists burned.

Then he took his hand to his face and he breathed slowly to calm himself down.

He took his phone and checked his messages.

He ignored the ones from Ricardo Peralta Cardiologist.

He checked the ones from Jorge Estrada Architect. The first one said: "Whatup santi, hey we found out your houses have mold and im not gonna lie to you but fixing them will cost you a lot but its not like were leaving the houses like that"

And the second one: "its gonna cost you 3k per house."

Jorge Estrada was in charge of the repair and upgrade of some of the family's real state. Some months ago he had told Santiago the city's weather was so dry he would never have any mold problems. Besides, his dad, who had handle the family's real state for over 30 years, never had this problem.

But who knows? Maybe there was mold because of the new A/C system.

Santiago answered: "so do it then."

Then he checked Claudia Nurse's messages. The first one said: "miss Esther doesn't want to eat"

The second one: "she says shes waiting for you"

And the third one: "do i tell her youll be here son?"

Santiago answered: "you already know she should not wait for me feed her" and he checked the time.

5:48 pm.

Santiago started his car and left.

"So, it's gonna cost you $3,400 for repairs," said Angelica, the landlord.

"But you should pay that; they're your pipes."

"It is stipulated in the contract that all repairs are done by me, but they are at your own expense."

"But that should be illegal; you're gonna charge me whatever you feel like."

"It's in your contract. Didn't you read it?"

"It wasn't my fault, and besides, my whole business was flooded. All my comics and stamps are ruined."

"Why didn't you insured your business?"

"There's the deposit: use it."

"The deposit's when the contract ends, and I told you, these repairs are at your own expense."

Santiago left Angelica's office, he locked himself in his car and he yelled and threw punches again until his throat and fists burned respectively.

Then he took his hand to his face and he breathed slowly to calm himself down.

When he calmed himself down a little, he took his phone and searched: "business insurances".

He checked Mauricio Warehouse's messages. Santiago's business consisted of two stores and a warehouse.

The first message said: "i think some products are missing"

The second one: "were gonna take inventory once again"

The third one: "yes some products are missing"

The fourth one: "Javier took them, fire him"

Jorge Quezada was one of Santiago's college friends, and Javier was Jorge Quezada's son, so we has not gonna fire him.

Besides, product got lost way before Santiago hired Javier, and he only had Manuel at that time, but Manuel was an old friend of his.

And Manuel had always hated Jorge Quezada.

Anyway, Santiago checked Vanessa's messages. The first one said: "Hi hey, now that you're building me an extra room why don't you build me another one for Paty's plushies"

The second one said: "Hey, now that you're builing Paty's room, you can also expand our closets; we need more space "

And he ignored the rest.

He also ignored all My fucking EX's messages.

He deleted them, in fact.

Santiago looked at the time.

6:33 pm.

Santiago started his car and left.

"But I can't pay you," said Don Bernardo. "I'm not getting enough from my pension."

"You already owe me 6 months, and we had already agreed that you were going to pay me half your debt at the end of the month or I was gonna seize you."

"My kids don't deposit me anymore, and you wouldn't kick an old man out his house."

"Sorry," Santiago turned around and let the policemen enter Don Esteban's house to seize him.

But there wasn't anything worth anything.

Santiago only managed to visit 4 other tenants and 3 others in different parts of the city. He did not seize any of them, but he did give them a first notice.

It was 11:29 pm. Santiago came back to his mother's house. He had lived there his entire life, and it was the only place where he felt truly comfortable. He entered the house.

"Hi, son," Esther reached hem. She was dressed with a loose robe, and she slightly wobbled at each step.

She was getting thinner and thinner.

"Hi, mother. Why are you still awake?"

"I was just waiting for you."

"But I told you not to."

"When?"

"Every day."

"I don't remember."

"Well, and you had dinner, right?"

Esther stared at Santiago.

"You don't remember, right, mother?

"No."

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

"So you already dined. Let's go to sleep."

"My house's looking pretty."

"Right, mother? But it's costing me a lot.��

"But you're doing a big favor to Regina, because I want her to have the house when I'm gone.

Santiago frowned and locked himself in his room.

His mother always said the same.

Regina, Regina, Regina.

And Regina was just his granddaughter; she didn't deserve that house. He had always taken care of his mother, he had always cared for her, and they were both very close, unlike their siblings; they only visited her to ask for money or to complain about matters from more than 20 years ago. He was the only son who truly loved her, who had the confidence to share various aspects of his life with her, who had always supported her when she had a problem, and that is why the house was going to be his.

Anyway, he went to the bathroom.

He was paler and thinner every day.

His eye bags were more and more notorious.

His hair was scarcer and scarcer.

"I'm fine," he said and washed his face.

He left the bathroom and went to his desk. There were comics, movies, stamps, contracts, tickets, bills, ashtrays full of cigarette butts, USB sticks, half-eaten (and half-rotting) dishes, some bugs passing by and a lot of medicines. He turned on his computer and began to review lease contracts, Excel documents with all the accounting of each family member, emails from his suppliers, the follow-up of each of his shipments, price quotes for the remodeling of various buildings (including his mother's house, Vanessa's and those of the subdivision that he rented), payment tokens of only half of his tenants, the calendar and the grades of his children, everything related to his ex-wife's sue, sales of some collectibles that he could buy for his business, price quotes for security systems, phone and internet plans, ratings and reviews of different insurance companies, the status of all the bank accounts he handled, bills he had to pay, wages he already owed, the status of her orders, the weekly menu from the budget kitchen where she shopped, websites with tips for reducing stress and anxiety, and various pornographic videos.

Santiago looked at the time.

2:27 am.

He shut down his computer and took the pills the cardiologist gave him:

· 1 of Amlodipine/Valsartan/Hidroclorotiazide;

· 1 of Ezetimibe/Simvastatin, y

· 1 of Esomeprazole.

And a Difenhidramine pill to sleep.

He checked his phone's alarm. It was scheduled for 6 am.

Santiago left his phone on his night table, he lied in his bed and covered himself with the covers.

He thought about his mother's house, and how he would kick his siblings outta there. As soon as he distributed the inheritance, he would keep the house (and a quarter of everything), close its doors and let everyone deal with themselves.

He would spend the rest of his life chillin' inside his mother's house.

Santiago hugged the covers and he settled on his side with his legs drawn up.

He couldn't be more comfortable.