Part 2 — “Because You Needed It”
The next morning, Alejandro made me a cup of tea before I was completely awake.
That alone made me suspicious.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“The wheelchair is ready at the hospital.”
I looked over the rim of my cup.
“And?”
“Can we pick it up?”
He hesitated.
“And maybe take it to Elena’s house?”
“You haven’t told her?”
He shook his head.
“It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
I put down my tea.
“What about her parents? Have you considered that they might be uncomfortable with you doing this?”
Alejandro’s expression became serious.
“I don’t think they can be mad. They couldn’t help her right now, so I did.”
Then he added quickly, “I’m not blaming them. It’s just that… she needed it.”
Ten minutes later, I was putting on my shoes.
When we arrived at Elena’s house, she opened the door in her old wheelchair.
It squeaked when she moved.
One front wheel seemed slightly crooked.
The moment she saw Alejandro, she smiled.
Then she noticed the large box I was carrying.
Her expression changed.
“What’s that?”
Alejandro suddenly seemed to forget every word in the English language.
“It’s… uh…”
He looked at me.
I raised my eyebrows.
This was his moment.
He swallowed.
“It’s a new wheelchair for you.”
Elena’s mouth opened.
“What?”
Her mother, Jillian, appeared behind her, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“Elena, who’s—”
She stopped when she saw the box.
Alejandro quickly set it down.
“Your old one was bad,” he said, his ears turning bright red. “I mean, not bad bad. It just wasn’t working right. And I found this one, and I thought maybe…”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“You bought me a wheelchair?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
He froze.
So I answered for him.
“He sold his guitar, sweetie.”
Jillian covered her mouth.
Elena stared at Alejandro.
“Your guitar?”
He shrugged.
It was his favorite move whenever he’d done something enormous and wanted everyone to pretend it was ordinary.
“Why would you do that?” Elena whispered. “You love playing guitar.”
Alejandro looked at her old chair.
Then back at her.
“Because you needed it, Elena.”
For a few seconds, nobody said anything.
Then Elena reached for him.
Alejandro awkwardly bent down, and she wrapped both arms around his shoulders.
I looked at Jillian.
She was crying.
So was I.
At the time, I thought that was the end of the story.
I was wrong.
