Page 15 of A Dish Best Served Hot

“What?” Saint was shocked. Not only was this not the type of job they usually did, but it went against everything they stood for. For years Tío Luís had been turning down jobs and meetings with developers because he refused to contribute to the gentrification happening in Humboldt Park. In fact, after helping Kamilah revamp El Coquí, he, Saint, Gabi, and Alex began taking on some pro bono work to help neighborhood businesses update using leftover materials from other jobs. They wanted to lift up their neighbors, not tear them down.

“See that’s why I can’t tell my girls,” Tío Luís said with a shake of his head. “I couldn’t stand it if they looked at me like you are right now.”

“I’m not giving you a look.”

“You are. You’re looking at me like I’m a sellout and I don’t blame you because I am.”

“I don’t think you’re a sellout. I’m just confused. You’ve never accepted this kind of job before, so why now? Is the company struggling?” Saint doubted it. Sometimes they had more jobs than they had hours in the day.

“Saint, before we go on I need you to promise me that everything we’ve talked about here today will stay between us.”

Saint didn’t like that. Not one bit. He wasn’t the most talkative guy and he enjoyed his privacy so he was very much of the “but that’s not my business” mindset. However, people tended to tell him things. He hated it because usually when they did it was something bad. Saint had enough of his own demons. He didn’t want to add other people’s too. But Saint would do anything in his power to keep his loved ones safe even if that meant being their unwilling confidant. “I won’t say anything,” he promised, although it felt like he was making a huge mistake.

“I have rheumatoid arthritis,” his Tío confessed. “I thought I was just getting older, you know. I’m fifty-five and I’ve been doing this kind of work since I was fifteen, so it made sense for my joints to hurt. But the doctors suspected it was more and it is. I don’t really know much, most of what they said went over my head, but I know I’m at stage two which is when the swelling starts causing damage to the cartilage. I need to start treatment right away to help slow everything down or I will start losing mobility.”

Saint quickly started trying to remember anything and everything he knew about rheumatoid arthritis. “It’s an autoimmune disease, right?”

Tío Luís nodded. “It makes my immune system attack the healthy tissues.”

“So how do they treat it? With pills? Physical therapy?”

“My doctor wants to do a mix of things: a pill, injections, and physical therapy. He said the earlier we start, the better chances of a remission of symptoms.”

That all sounded expensive and with his Tío being a small business owner it wasn’t like he had the best health insurance. Knowing his uncle the way he did, Saint and the workers probably had better plans than his tío. “That’s why you accepted this job. It will help pay for treatment.”

He nodded sadly, “The injections alone are almost six thousand dollars per dose until I can get some sort of assistance. I’ve tried a few different ones, but have been rejected because my insurance wants me to try other brands first.”

“I’m guessing these brands are cheaper?”

“A tiny bit, but the doctor says they don’t work as good.”

Saint shook his head. “Bullshit.”

“I know, but now you see why I have to do this. The job isn’t complicated and it’s paying almost triple our other jobs combined because the developers want it done quickly. I couldn’t turn them down. As much as it hurt me, I just couldn’t.”

“I get it,” Saint told him and he did. As a soldier, Saint knew better than anyone that sometimes we had to do things even when we knew they were wrong. Even when it meant we sold pieces of our souls until we weren’t sure there was even any left. “I’ll do it. I’ll lead this project and I won’t tell anyone anything.”

Tío Luís sagged in relief. “Thank you, mijo. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

“Don’t mention it,” Saint said. “Besides, I owe you for everything you’ve done for me.”

Tío scoffed. “You owe me nothing. You know that. This is what family does. We help each other when we need it. Now go. It’s getting late and I know you have to pick up Rosie. We’ll discuss more details tomorrow.”

Saint nodded and left the office. He quickly made his way to his truck, praying he wouldn’t bump into nosey Alex, and hopped in. On his way to El Coquí, he contemplated everything he’d just agreed to do, completing a huge project while keeping a secret from everyone he knew. Exactly what his sister had done a few months ago. Something that had blown up in her face spectacularly and almost got her ostracized from the family. The red flags were piling up, and like a bull he was charging right at them instead of away.

He pulled around to the back of the building that housed the family restaurant along with the apartment he’d grown up in and backed his truck into a tiny space between the building and the dumpster enclosure. He used to be able to find parking on the street or in the small lot on the side, but not anymore. El Coquí was now constantly packed and so was Kane Distillery, the business that shared the building. Now if Saint wanted to park on the street he’d have to go a few blocks away. He didn’t complain about that though. It actually made him happy. His sister was killing this restaurant owner game and her fiancé was the most sought-after craft whiskey distiller in Chicago.

Saint pulled the door to El Coquí open, releasing a wave of salsa music, and slid inside. Even over the noise he heard Rosie shout, “Papi!” His reason for living jumped off a barstool, nearly falling on her face, before running past the tables full of customers to take a flying leap at him.

Saint caught her midflight, scooped her up, and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Mi amor, I missed you today.”

She wrapped her little arms around his neck and squeezed. It was the best feeling in the world. “I missed you too.”

“How was school?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

She leaned back and shrugged. It was her way of saying,The same as yesterday and the day before and every day since the first day.

In short, not good.

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