The Founders' Plot

ULIO SAW CARMELLA’S wrinkled brow when she returned from visiting Marisol. “Ernesto is having headaches and has a sore, stiff neck,” she said. “He can’t concentrate on his homework, and his temperature is 103 degrees.”

“When did that start?”

“He said it was bothering him all day,” she said. “Marisol is going to take him to the doctor. I’ll watch the baby and the other boys. Drive her to the doctor and stay with her. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“All right,” he said, then went downstairs to Marisol. She was sitting next to Ernesto, who was lying in bed with a cold compress on his forehead.

“How are you feeling?” he asked the boy.

“Not so good,” Ernesto answered.

Marisol ran her fingers through her son’s hair. “You’ll be all right soon. We’re going to take you to the doctor. He’ll take care of you. Ready to go?”

The boy nodded and got up.

As the doctor examined Ernesto, Julio saw Marisol clasping her hands together so tightly that her knuckles were white. The doctor stepped back and put his hands on his hips. He told the boy to sit in the waiting room. “I’m afraid it’s serious,” he said when Ernesto left.

“No!” Marisol gasped, bringing her hands over her mouth. “How serious?”

The doctor sat next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s meningitis.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Oh, querido Dios. Por favor. Help him, God. Make him well. Please.”

“How serious is it?” Julio asked as he took Marisol’s hands and squeezed them. “Could he die?”

“Probably not. But we’ve got to get him to the hospital. They’ll run tests to see if it’s a bacterial or viral infection. Both can be treated with medications. Ernesto is young and otherwise healthy, and that’s a plus.”

Less than an hour later, the boy was in an isolation ward, Marisol and Julio, wearing protective clothing, sat with him. Julio stayed until 10 p.m., but Marisol chose to stay for the night.

Driving home, Julio was fraught with fear and sadness. He thought of the Castellano boys as his nephews. He was “uncle” Julio and Carmella was “aunt” Carmella. If anything happened to Ernesto, he’d be heartbroken. He trembled, wondering how Carmella would react. And the boy’s illness was another complication if they had to leave quickly. Marisol would never go if her son were in the hospital.