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avoid worrying her.”
    Pablo called his sister to tell her that he had arrived and decided to rest beside their grandmother and that there would be time to talk the following day.
    There was a buzz in the Civil Hospital of Guadalajara the next day. The hospital was located in the downtown area. It was dedicated to providing medical services at low cost, and in some cases, free. It had great quality doctors and state-of-the-art medical technology. It was subsidized by the state government and several recent college graduates volunteered there. It allows patients from within or outside the state, even outside the country, to receive medical care.
    Pablo woke up a little sore from the uncomfortable night on the chair, along with several nights of insufficient sleep. A few minutes later, his sister Maria arrived. She would routinely visit her grandmother before going to school, just a few blocks away from the hospital.
    “How was your night?” asked Maria. “It was needless to ask because that chair couldn’t possibly let anyone have a comfortable sleep. Those awful dark circles beneath your eyes said a thousand words.”
    “Well, it was hard,” Pablo said letting out a big yawn. “And you, my little sister? How is everything up to now? As for me here, I keep waiting for the doctor to show up since he told me that he was waiting for the latest results. So far, only the nurse had stopped by twice, but only to check the machines and the medicines. The nurse told me that the doctor would arrive around ten o’clock.”
    “Look, Pablo,” Maria said, “according to her doctor, Grandma’s health is deteriorating day by day. He said that she suffers from heart failure and from now on, we must have an oxygen tank at home to help her breathe.”
    “The doctor also said she had let herself be taken by her illness as if not interested in recovering. I think what affected her most was the fact that you guys are so far away. She asks for you and Luis every day, and I found her several times alone crying for you both. She said she is very afraid of not seeing you again, and although Uncle Antonio would occasionally visit, she would say that her concern is you two. To add to that, Luis has not called for almost a month! I really don’t know what to do. I’m desperate! I’ve already missed many classes at school and I don’t even know if I’ll pass this semester. My grades are very low and they have already called it to my attention several times.”
    “You don’t know how much I regret this whole situation. One can be lost in time not realizing how much harm we have caused until it is too late. I feel a great sense of guilt to see our grandmother this way, and I think I should have convinced her to go with us to the United States but I never did enough to make her budge and now the damage is done. For now I’ll stay for a couple of weeks, or until she recovers and see if she agrees to go with us,” Pablo said and told her about Luis and everything that had happened with his case.
    In the days that followed, Grandma Andrea somewhat recovered with Pablo’s presence and care, as he was engaged tending to her day and night. However the doctor confirmed, with the results of her recent tests, that she had heart problems and she ought to exercise extreme care since the next relapse could be fatal. The doctor also added that they ought to avoid strong emotional situations such as giving her bad news. Although she still needed oxygen and was still weak she could finally be discharged; per the approval of Pablo and Maria.
    Back in Los Angeles, the struggle had just begun. Zina, along with her mother, had developed a plan to talk to her father since they were one hundred percent sure that he would react extremely upset. They had the hope that after a few days, he would change his mind and decide to help in the case. And so they decided to wait for the weekend to talk to him as he would be on his day off and thus be more relaxed. They