“Do you have a secret admirer, Ale? A cute lady you met in jail?” He grins.
Ale snorts. “There were none of those in Litchfield. Just hairy and grumpy guards. Not a pretty sight, trust me, little brother.” He squirms the kids off him and steps over to Laia.
She hands him the card and Ale opens it. As his eyes fly from left to right, his chin sinks lower and lower with each movement. Laia, just as curious as Espie, or maybe even worse, has already raised herself on her tiptoes and is bending over my brother’s shoulder to pry.
“So, who is it from?” Abuelita asks. She eyes the large, expensive bouquet with furrowed brows. After realizing that they weren’t for me, her buoyant mood about the flowers has turned into worry.
My throat also prickles a bit. Who could send Alejandro such a welcome home treat? Did he get involved in something we aren’t aware of?
Ale claps the white card together. His face is distorted in the same surprised grimace I saw on him once, when he drew the highest prize during a bingo game in a church party.
Laia’s mouth is open, but she gathers her wit sooner than Ale and says, “Okay, my mistake. It is from Nathan.”
“What?” I jump up and the book stumbles from my lap to the floor with a thud. I don’t bother lifting it, but instead I stride over to my brother and snatch the card from his hand. “Why would Nathan think he can send Ale anything at all? They have only met once. How would he even know he’s at home already?” I mumble, as I open the paper.
I half expect to see some computer-typed message along the lines of, “Good luck with your freedom,” and Nathan’s signature, and I almost choke on my saliva when I see dense lines full of his handwriting.
“Dear Alejandro!
I’m happy to announce to you that you’ve been chosen for the Fresh Start Trainee program at our company. It’s a program specifically designed for young, bright minds like yourself who might not be given the chance they deserve elsewhere…”
What? What trainee program? Nathan has spoken to me about his company but never mentioned anything similar. I force myself to read more.
“… Fresh Start would introduce you to our company’s various departments and provide you with a hands-on training to acquire specific skills required to perform various jobs. After an initial assessment period, you would be assigned to the best matching department to work there part-time. Part-time, so that you can attend any college courses that might be needed to consolidate your knowledge (all financially covered by the company’s trainee budget, of course).
I hope you’ll consider participating. The program starts in three weeks. If you have any questions, you can reach me at my direct line. Your sister should have it, but in case she deleted it, here it is again.
Welcome home from your fellow Avenger’s fan,
Nathan”
Below his name is Nathan’s personal cell phone number.
When I glance up, Abuelita is standing beside me. Judging by her arched brows and enlarged nostrils, I can see she’s just as bewildered as I am. “What a chance, Ale, what a chance!” she exclaims, beaming happily at my brother.
Okay, bewildered but not for the same reason as I am.
Ale bobs his head, grinning. “Yes, isn’t this awesome? Oh, boy, I don’t even know what to say. Nathan is so generous.” He stops and blinks at me. “Wait… didn’t you say in the car that you and Nathan…you know that you two aren’t…”
“Yes, we are not,” I say.
“Okay, so then why would—” my brother asks, but I cut him off.
“It’s obvious. It must be Nathan’s way to rid himself of culpability. It’s a consolation prize.” Of course, that must be it. “He feels guilty because he used me as a stepping stone to become CEO. So he invented this.” I point at Nathan’s left-leaning letters and let all my disdain transpire in my voice. “He thinks he can buy our goodwill. Maybe he is afraid I could go to the press about his bet or something.”
Laia shakes her head. “To the press? You mean San Sebastian’s local newspaper?”
“No, I mean some other magazine. AMEA is a huge deal, and learning that its CEO earned his place by playing with a poor girl’s heart would be bad for their reputation, right?”
“Eva, you aren’t seriously considering…?” My cousin grabs my hand.
“What? No! Are you nuts?” I snap back. “I would never go to the tabloids. That’s why it’s even more infuriating that Nathan feels he has to bribe me to keep quiet.”
Ale chews his lip. “So it means I’m not part of the Fresh Start program?”
My heart sinks as I hear the mix of disappointment and frustration in his voice. My brother spent his last week in the prison sending out application letters but most employers didn’t even bother answering him. “I don’t think so, Ale,” I mumble.
I expect him to get upset with me for crushing his first glimmer of hope at a better future, but instead he sighs. “Okay, it sounded too good to be true anyway.” He blinks at Juan and Espie. “Shall we continue making the strawberry shake we started?”
The three of them trudge to the kitchen.
His resignation hurts me almost more than if he had gotten angry. It’s a sign that Ale is starting to accept that his life can’t turn around. That bad luck will always follow him.
Abuelita stares at me with disapproval.
“What?” I snap. “Nathan is offering him some fake job. That isn’t going to help my brother.” The last thing Ale needs is false hope or bogus traineeships that won’t deliver on promises.
“You don’t know this for sure, Eva. You can’t just dismiss Nathan’s offer without knowing more details. I haven’t found any employment for Alejandro yet. Neither have you. This would be a golden opportunity for him. And for you. You could meet with him again and—”
“Stop, Abuelita. Just stop.”
Even if…Abuelita could be right.
