“It’s available now,” Férnan says. “I’ve just been telling Rufus it isn’t because he keeps acting out. But why does Rufus getting that bike matter to you?”
Orion seems confused too and then catches on.
“My parents weren’t great. It’d be nice to know that a father who loves his son is actually showing his son that he loves him.”
Férnan looks up at the bike, like he’s imagining the memories he’ll create with Rufus. “You got yourself a deal.”
We work out the price. He tries to undersell me; I try to oversell. It’s the most backward haggling I’ve ever experienced. We land on a middle ground that makes us feel as good as we’re going to be and we shake on it. Férnan has a firm grip, and I feel like he’s telling me to be strong without using any words.
I look at the bike, imagining Rufus on it with Férnan cheering him on. It’s a really nice thought.
“Have a good day,” I say on the way out.
“You too,” Férnan says, and cringes. His eyes find my shirt. “Actually, yes. Have a happy End Day, Valentino.”
“Thanks, Férnan.”
We leave the shop.
I power on the camera. It doesn’t have a full battery, but it should be enough to get through the End Day. I hand it to Orion. “Would you mind? I think the first picture should be taken outside the store where I got the camera.”
“Happily,” Orion says.
I get in position and tuck my hands into my pockets. It feels strange smiling in front of a looted pawnshop, but this is how we closed out this chapter in my End Day and that’s how it should be remembered.
Orion snaps the picture.
The first of many hopefully.
Férnan Emeterio
9:09 a.m.
Death-Cast did not call Férnan Emeterio because he is not dying today, though he’s struck by the generosity of a young man who will be.
Of all the stores Valentino could have walked into this morning, he chose Férnan’s, hours after it had been looted by those fearing the end of the world. Férnan didn’t ask why Itchy Palms of all places, but he knows his mother—may she rest in peace—would have said that luck brought them together. She was a very superstitious woman, up until her passing a few years ago. There wasn’t a stray eyelash she didn’t blow on, or a purse she wouldn’t leave on the floor at the risk of her money running away, or a single New Year’s midnight minute that wasn’t spent eating twelve grapes, a true Cuban tradition. Férnan believes that Valentino was nudged his way, possibly by his mother in the heavens.
The timing couldn’t have been better.
Lately, Férnan and Rufus have been at odds. He has his difficulties too with his eldest, Olivia, but she likes her space and will often listen to classical music in her bedroom and not bother anyone. But Rufus, at ten, is trying to become the alpha of the house, just like he is at school or at the park with his friends. He seems to have more respect for his mother, but Férnan believes that’s because they don’t spend as much time together since Victoria is a cardiac surgeon who works eighty hours a week and mostly evenings; she even got stuck at the hospital for an extra few hours trying to get the board’s attention for a special transplant. This summer break is what’s sending Rufus over the edge. He’s away from his posse and stuck hanging with the parent he doesn’t respect and the sister who wants nothing to do with him. Férnan looks to the bike, thinking that might release a lot of Rufus’s pent-up energy.
A father-son talk could get them on the same page. Which it sounds like wasn’t the case for Valentino and his parents. Férnan would rather fight with his son every day than turn his back on him. Do Valentino’s parents even know that he’s dying? Or that he’s resorted to hanging out with a boy he met ten hours ago? One’s final hours should be spent with their family. He can’t even imagine Rufus spending his End Day with a stranger. Férnan will make sure he never puts his son in that heartbreaking situation.