"He is very weak," Rosalba said. "He needs to be fed properly and kept warm."
"My mother is not interested in him. She just lies with her face to the wall."
"Then you must care for him. You must make sure your mother eats well. Give her milk and cheese and meat." At his horrified expression, she went on. "I will give you some chicken from time to time. And maybe José will give us the some of the next kid. And you must put him to your mother's breast every couple of hours until the milk is flowing. Can you do that?"
Guillermo nodded fiercely and left the shop with the baby in the crook of one arm and a bag of food in the other.
"I will repay you, Rosalba," he said, "when times get better."
Rosalba sighed. She neither thought that he would repay her, nor that times would get better, but she did think the child might survive. It had a determined look.