Appendicitis. A weird and difficult word. What it meant was that the reason why Ricardo's mother had been in such pain the past few days, the reason why she had walked bent over double, wincing with pain as she went about her business, the reason why she had collapsed at work and had to be taken to the hospital in a hurry, the reason why she had to have an operation immediately; was because the human body had a stupid part that did nothing whatsoever except cause pain and trouble if it got inflamed.
Mum had to stay in the hospital overnight, and perhaps a day or two, so the doctor could make sure that everything had gone well. Ricardo and Javier had both been there to see her after the operation. Poor mum, she had looked so frail and vulnerable in that oversized hospital gown. She was tired and had to eat pain killers. It had made Ricardo's heart ache, and he wiped a few tears away quickly before anyone could see it. It was embarrassing; he was already 18, and here he was crying like a little kid just because mum was in the hospital. She was in good hands, everything was gonna be OK, so why was he acting like a sissy?
"Ricardo, you go and stay with Javier while I'm in here, you hear?"
"Mum, I don't need..."
"You do as I say! I won't have you taking advantage of having the place to yourself and have some wild parties."
"I wasn't gonna..."
"Javier, you take care of your brother until I get out of here."
Javier, Ricardo's 7 year older brother, gave their mother a reassuring smile and kissed her on the forehead.
"Don't worry, mum. You can count on me."
If he had done anything like that, it would have looked childish Ricardo pondered. Javier was much more mature, he could do childish things or say completely dorky things, and make them seem mature and considerate. Their mum gave them a tired smile, obviously calmed down by Javier's words.
"Now get out of here, you two. I'm tired and I wanna sleep."
***
Javier had moved out when he was only 19, gotten himself a small but fresh apartment on top of a bakery. The smell of fresh bread made Ricardo feel peckish, even if he could have sworn that he wasn't hungry. He tossed his bag of clothes on the sofa.
"Want something to eat?"
"Nah."
Javier frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Look, I know you don't feel like eating right now, but you need to keep your strength, you know? Mum's OK, you don't have to worry about her. She'll be home in a day or two."
"I'm not worried." Ricardo shrugged his shoulders and clenched his teeth to hold back the tears.
"I was worried as hell," said Javier. "When the doctor came and told us that the operation had gone well, I was so fucking relieved that I nearly started crying right there."
Ricardo stared at his shoes. What, tough, cool Javier, close to tears? He wanted to cry, wanted to have a comforting hug, but his pride wouldn't let him.
"Anyway, like I said, you need to eat so that you'll not get all weak and stuff," said Javier, pretending as if the emotional moment had never happened. "Mum's gonna be tired when she comes home, and she mustn't do any hard work or the wound might go up. You're gonna have to force her to take it easy while you do all the stuff around the house, you know? So, you can't go starving yourself, or you won't be able to keep up with it."
He grabbed his wallet.
"I'll go and buy something for us to eat. Wait here, I'll be right back."
Once Javier had gone, Ricardo lied down on the sofa and felt the tears run down the side of his face and into his ears. It wasn't that he was being a sissy, he told himself. It was the relief. Mum was gonna be OK, and Javier was right, Ricardo was gonna have to man up and take care of stuff when she came home.
There was the sound of a key in the door, and Ricardo hastily wiped his tears and sat up, didn't want Javier to see him cry.
