Camila rushed into the hospital after dropping Boscha and Luz off at their uncle's. She didn't need them seeing their father like this. As she met with the receptionist and hurried to the hospital room she was told to go to, her vision started to blur and her body felt numb, as if she were dreaming. She definitely hoped she was. Unfortunately the reality of the situation struck hard when Camila reached the ER, seeing her husband hooked up to an electrocardiograph. He looked her way and gave a weak smile.

"Oye, Querida. Sorry for worrying you."

"It's not me that's worried, Luz and Boscha are damn near terrified." Camila said, before giving a weak smile, "Boscha... knocked someone on their ass."

Manny chuckled.

"That's my girl." He said.

Camila shook her head.

"I didn't even tell you why she did."

"Standing up for Luz?"

"Tch! Lucky guess."

She gently took her husband's hand.

"Now what happened?"

Manny looked off to the side before answering.

"I... guess I overexerted myself. I was too excited to get a new, smaller basketball for Boscha to practice with. I ran to the sporting goods section, and I felt... winded, and needed to sit down. Guess I gotta face facts, I'm not as young as I used to be."

A nurse came in, and she had a look that said everything. She was afraid to say what the clipboard said.

"Mr. Noceda... we... we've run some test and... it would seem you have... stage Three Heart Cancer." The nurse said, "The doctors don't know if this can be removed and... I'm sorry."

Manny was understandably devastated at the news. his eyes darted around the room as he tried his best to process this news. Camila, on the other hand was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"S-stahhh... stage three... how...? In all the times we've been here... that he's been in here... how has this never been detected before now?!"

"I... I wish I could tell you, Mrs. Noceda." The nurse lamented. "At the moment, the best we can provide is chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Hopefully, his heart won't be further damaged by that treatment."

""Wish?" "Hope?!"" Camila's anger came to a boil. "You cabrónas can't even do your jobs right, and because of that, I have to lose my husband?! My two girls have to lose their father?! One of them already lost her parents before and now she has to lose another one? That is just not fair! And all you can tell me is SORRY?!"

Manny grabbed her arm.

"Milly, por favor..."

Camila looked at her husband and the tears poured from her eyes as she finally broke down in his arms. The biggest problem was something neither Camila nor Manny knew how/Wanted to do… tell Luz and Boscha.

"Camila, give me a phone, I'll call my brother and-"

"No, you just rest, it's late, the girls are probably sleeping right now." Camila said, trying to hold back the tears, "Please, let me handle this."

"I ordered them both something when I was out, before I… ended up here." Manny said, "Promise me, if I-"

"You'll make it, I swear to God above, you'll make it." Camila said.

"Camila, Mi Amor, please, let me finish." Manny said, "If I don't make it, give them their gifts, and if I do make it, let me handle them."

"Okay... okay, I promise." Camila assured him. "Ay, Dios mio, what do we tell the girls?"

Manny seemed deep in thought.

"Let's... not tell them."

"What?!"

"Not specifically what it is, anyway. We can just tell them that I have... I need medicine toooo... to alleviate my back pain!"

Camila became nervous. "I don't know. Can we really lie to them like that?"

"What good would it do them to know all the details?" Manny took his wife's hand. "Milly, nothing's set in stone right now. The chemo and radiation might work, I could go into remission, or we could find a better surgeon."

"Yeah... yeah, that's a good attitude to have."

"Whatever happens, however long I have, I just want to see my girls happy." Manny started to choke up. "I don't want the time we have left together spent in misery... I want to remember their smiling faces... to burn them into my memory."

Camila held her husband as the grim reality of the situation broke him down. "Okay... it's okay. We won't worry them, then."

"Rest up, Mi Amor." Camila said, kissing Manny's head, "I'll be back in the morning."

The drive to her brother-in-law's place was the longest of Camila's life, topped off by the half-hour she spent in her parked car, as well as the five-minute slog to the front door. After a knock on the door, the man of the house answered.

"Milly?"

"Hey, Gabe."

"C'mon in." Gabriel insisted. "The kids are asleep on the couch. We were watching Bob's Burgers."

Would that Camila had the energy or the inclination to scold him for letting a couple of four-year-olds watch more mature TV shows, but she had some bad news to break.

"Gabe, let the girls sleep for now. I have something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Gabriel asked.

"It's… Manny is… oh Dios Mio I don't know how to say it." Camila said.

Gave grabbed Camila by the shoulders.

"Just breath, okay? Take all the time you need." He said.

"Time… that's something Manny may not have much more of."

Gabriel's face went pale, but he powered through.

"Let's sit at the table. I can brew some tea."

Camila shook her head. "Beer, please."

And so, they sat, and Camila recounted the events of the evening to the best of her abilities. By her fourth beer, she managed to muster the courage to disclose Manny's diagnosis. Gabriel took the news no better than she did.

"I can't believe it." He lamented. "He was looking more sluggish and tired the last few times we played each other, but I just thought adding Boscha to the family... that the extra responsibility wore him down. I... I should have noticed something was up. If I did-"

"I know, Gabe." Camila put her hand over his. "I feel the same way, but the doctors couldn't even find the damn disease until today. I doubt it would've made much of a difference if we had noticed anything sooner."

A thought occurred to Gabriel.

"Oh, God, what do we tell Luz and Boscha?!"

"Nothing yet. Manny wants the girls to enjoy what little time they can spend together."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Gabriel sulked further. "Why'd it have to be Manny?"

"I don't know." Camila said, "I wish I did, but I don't."

They heard a sound and looked at the doorframe to the kitchen, seeing a small triclops.

"Mami... why are you crying?" Boscha asked.

"Boschita!" Camila greeted her daughter. "We didn't wake you two, did we?"

"Hmmm, no." Boscha lazily staggered up to her mother. "Luz's still 'sleep. So, wha's wrong?"

Camila picked her up and put her on her lap. "Oh, mija, it's... kind of a long story. We should wait fo-"

"Waauugh!" Boscha immediately recoiled from her mom's beer-laced breath. "Mami, your breath went bad! Izzat why you were crying?"

Camila couldn't help but laugh, despite the grim situation.

"Lo siento, bebe. And no, it wasn't."

"So, where's Papi?"

"He's... a bit ill right now." Camila said, "He's staying at the hospital for a little bit, but don't worry, he'll be back home soon. How about I read you a story to help you back to sleep?"

"Oh... I didn't hit him too hard with the bee-ball, did I?" Boscha began to worry.

"She what?!" Gabriel was caught off guard by what her niece had revealed. Camila looked at him and shook her head, strongly implying that there'd be time to explain later.

"It wasn't you, Boschita." She assured her child. "It's a... problem with his back. He just needs to take it easy from now on."

Boscha seemed to be relieved with that explanation.

"Can we read Goosebumps?"

"You and those scary books." Camila gave her daughter a hug. "How you don't get nightmares from them is beyond me."

"Because I like them!" Boscha said.

Camila picked Boscha up and carried her back to the couch and laid her down. She looked to her right and saw Luz, still sleeping peacefully.

Gabriel had no shortage of toys and books for the kids in his home, tucked away in a chest in the corner of the living room. He'd often grouse about having nothing to do while visiting relatives when he was a kid, and when Luz was born, he made it his mission to stock up on games, toys and other fun stuff, so she needn't suffer as he did. Camila dug up some of the books from the chest and made her way back to the kids. Loathe as she was to read these gross books about haunted masks and monster blood, she could definitely use the distraction.

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