broke."
"It's all right. I suppose you had to get it out of your system. We won't mention this again. There are other things, more important things, I need to tell you. I have to take Lisa to a hospital in Texas, where she's going to undergo a long and complicated treatment. It's the only place it can be done."
"And will that make her well?" Alex asked anxiously.
"I hope so, Alexander. I will go with her, of course. We'll have to close this house for a while."
"What will happen to the girls and me?"
"Andrea and Nicole will go live with their grandmother Carla. You are going to go to my mother," his father explained.
"Kate? I don't want to go to her, Dad! Why can't I go with my sisters? At least grandmother Carla knows how to cook."
"Three children would be too much for her."
"I'm fifteen, Dad, and that's plenty old for you to at least ask my opinion. It isn't fair for you to ship me off to Kate as if I were some package or something. That's always how it is. You make the decisions and I have to follow them. I'm not a baby anymore!" Alex protested. He was furious.
"Well, sometimes you act like one." John smiled and pointed to the injured hand.
"It was an accident, it could have happened to anyone. I'll behave at Carla's, I promise."
"I know your intentions are good, son, but sometimes you act without thinking."
"I told you, I'll pay for everything I broke," yelled Alex, banging a fist on the table.
"You see how you can't control your temper? In any case, Alex, this has nothing to do with what you did to your room. Things were already arranged with Lisa's mother and mine. The three of you will have to go stay with your grandmothers; there's no other solution. You'll be leaving for New York in a couple of days," his father said.
"Alone?"
"Alone. I'm afraid that from here on you will have to do a lot of things alone. Take your passport, because I think you're going on an adventure with my mother."
"Where?"
"To the Amazon."
"The Amazon!" Alex exclaimed, horrified. "I saw a documentary about the Amazon. That place is crawling with mosquitoes and caimans and bandits. There are a zillion diseases there—even leprosy!"
"I expect that my mother knows what she's doing; she wouldn't take you anywhere you'd be in danger, Alexander."
"Kate is quite capable of pushing me into a river filled with piranhas," Alex blurted out. "With a grandmother like mine, I don't need enemies."
"I'm sorry, but you will have to go, son."
"And what about school? It's exam time. And besides, I can't just walk out on the orchestra—"
"You're going to have to be flexible, Alexander. Our family is going through a real crisis. In the Chinese language, do you know what the characters for 'crisis' are? 'Danger' plus 'opportunity.' Maybe your mother's illness will offer you an extraordinary opportunity. You'd better go pack your things."
"What's to pack? I don't
have
anything much," Alex muttered.
"Then take what you have. Now go give your mother a kiss. She's very shaken by all she's going through. It's much more difficult for Lisa than for any of us, Alexander. We have to be strong, the way she is," John said sadly.
Up until a couple of months ago, Alex had been happy. He had never felt any great curiosity to explore beyond the safe boundaries of his own existence; he believed that if he didn't do anything silly, everything would work out fine. He had simple plans for the future. He planned to be a famous musician, like his grandfather Joseph Cold, marry Cecilia Burns, if she would accept him, have two children, and live near the mountains. He was satisfied with his young life. He was a good student and, if not outstanding, he was good at sports; he was friendly, and he never got into serious trouble. He thought of himself as a pretty normal person, at least in comparison with the freaks you find in this world, like those kids who went into that school in Colorado and machine-gunned their classmates. He wouldn't have to look too far in his
"It's all right. I suppose you had to get it out of your system. We won't mention this again. There are other things, more important things, I need to tell you. I have to take Lisa to a hospital in Texas, where she's going to undergo a long and complicated treatment. It's the only place it can be done."
"And will that make her well?" Alex asked anxiously.
"I hope so, Alexander. I will go with her, of course. We'll have to close this house for a while."
"What will happen to the girls and me?"
"Andrea and Nicole will go live with their grandmother Carla. You are going to go to my mother," his father explained.
"Kate? I don't want to go to her, Dad! Why can't I go with my sisters? At least grandmother Carla knows how to cook."
"Three children would be too much for her."
"I'm fifteen, Dad, and that's plenty old for you to at least ask my opinion. It isn't fair for you to ship me off to Kate as if I were some package or something. That's always how it is. You make the decisions and I have to follow them. I'm not a baby anymore!" Alex protested. He was furious.
"Well, sometimes you act like one." John smiled and pointed to the injured hand.
"It was an accident, it could have happened to anyone. I'll behave at Carla's, I promise."
"I know your intentions are good, son, but sometimes you act without thinking."
"I told you, I'll pay for everything I broke," yelled Alex, banging a fist on the table.
"You see how you can't control your temper? In any case, Alex, this has nothing to do with what you did to your room. Things were already arranged with Lisa's mother and mine. The three of you will have to go stay with your grandmothers; there's no other solution. You'll be leaving for New York in a couple of days," his father said.
"Alone?"
"Alone. I'm afraid that from here on you will have to do a lot of things alone. Take your passport, because I think you're going on an adventure with my mother."
"Where?"
"To the Amazon."
"The Amazon!" Alex exclaimed, horrified. "I saw a documentary about the Amazon. That place is crawling with mosquitoes and caimans and bandits. There are a zillion diseases there—even leprosy!"
"I expect that my mother knows what she's doing; she wouldn't take you anywhere you'd be in danger, Alexander."
"Kate is quite capable of pushing me into a river filled with piranhas," Alex blurted out. "With a grandmother like mine, I don't need enemies."
"I'm sorry, but you will have to go, son."
"And what about school? It's exam time. And besides, I can't just walk out on the orchestra—"
"You're going to have to be flexible, Alexander. Our family is going through a real crisis. In the Chinese language, do you know what the characters for 'crisis' are? 'Danger' plus 'opportunity.' Maybe your mother's illness will offer you an extraordinary opportunity. You'd better go pack your things."
"What's to pack? I don't
have
anything much," Alex muttered.
"Then take what you have. Now go give your mother a kiss. She's very shaken by all she's going through. It's much more difficult for Lisa than for any of us, Alexander. We have to be strong, the way she is," John said sadly.
Up until a couple of months ago, Alex had been happy. He had never felt any great curiosity to explore beyond the safe boundaries of his own existence; he believed that if he didn't do anything silly, everything would work out fine. He had simple plans for the future. He planned to be a famous musician, like his grandfather Joseph Cold, marry Cecilia Burns, if she would accept him, have two children, and live near the mountains. He was satisfied with his young life. He was a good student and, if not outstanding, he was good at sports; he was friendly, and he never got into serious trouble. He thought of himself as a pretty normal person, at least in comparison with the freaks you find in this world, like those kids who went into that school in Colorado and machine-gunned their classmates. He wouldn't have to look too far in his
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