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went to the trolley and poured two glasses of champagne. He handed one to me. “Celebration,” he said.
    “What are we celebrating?”
    “I got a daughter.”
    I stared at him. “Who was that on the phone?”
    “Esme's sister, Rae. I asked her to call me here if there was any news.”
    “This is a joke, right?”
    “Why would I joke about this?”
    I put down the champagne, went into the bathroom and locked the door. Angel spent the next half hour shouting at me to open up, asking me what was wrong. He finally tried to force it open. I sat on the edge of the bath staring at myself in the mirror, trying to make some sort of sense out of what he’d just told me.
    Finally he gave up shouting at me and punched the door a few times. I heard him walk out. I guessed I would have to get a taxi home.
    I unlocked the door.
    There was a piece of paper lying next to the bed--it had Doctor Freedman’s name on it and his telephone number. I slipped it in my purse. As I tucked it into the little pocket at the back, a newspaper cutting slipped out and fell on the carpet. I picked it up and unfolded it. It was a photograph some society photographer had taken at the Left Bank, just as Reyes and I were leaving the dance floor. It was turning yellow with age.
    I went back into the bathroom and stood under the shower for maybe half an hour, but I still didn’t feel clean. Finally I got dressed and went home.
     
     
     
     

Chapter 10 

     
     
    Freedman stared at the X-rays on the wall behind him, then he sat down, picked up a file and flicked through the notes. He flipped it back onto the desk and looked up at me.
    “Your father needs a new heart valve.”
    “Hey, it’s my heart and my valve,” Papi said. “Talk to me.”
    Freedman looked irritated at being corrected. “Mister Fuentes, I would like to help you.” He glanced at me, and there was a wealth of meaning in the look. “But I don’t think I can.”
    “I’m not a medical man, Doctor,” Papi said, “but I already figured that.”
    “You have had two major infarctions, you have lost a lot of heart muscle and this has impacted on your quality of life. Can I be frank with you?”
    “I thought you already were.”
    “The heart has valves to stop blood flowing back into it. One of your atrial valves is not functioning as it should, it needs to be replaced.”
    “Can you do that?”
    “I do it all the time, but I can’t do it for you. Another major operation right now would kill you.”
    I looked at Papi. He was nodding along, as if they were discussing baseball averages. “So what are my options?”
    Freedman shrugged, eloquently, and said nothing.
    “Does this mean I have to give up my second mistress?”
    Freedman did not have a sense of humour. “I’m sorry I could not have been more help to you, Mister Fuentes.”
    “Hell, that’s okay, as long as I can still drink and smoke.”
    I wheeled Papi outside and he waved cheerfully to the nurse behind the desk and asked her if she was still all right for their date that night. But once we were in the elevator he didn’t say anything. There was nothing left to say.
     

     
    Angel insisted on taking me out for my birthday.
    I could feel Papi watching me as I put on my lipstick. I had told him I was meeting girlfriends from work at a club on Collins Street, but I knew he didn’t believe me.
    “That dress looks expensive,” he said. I was wearing the Cardin suit that Angel had bought for me at Burdine's.
    “It is, but I can afford expensive dresses now.”
    “It’s good. You look beautiful, cariña.”
    I turned away from the mirror and tried to avoid his eyes.
    “I’m holding you back, cariña. It’s time I moved on.”
    “Don’t say that!”
    “It’s true. You can’t spend every night at home looking after me. My life’s over, but you got all of yours ahead of you. Just don’t waste it on some guy who doesn’t deserve you.”
    “You can decide that yourself. You’re going to be at my