“No.” She shoved her hair behind her ears. “Ana and I got some bad news. One of the donors who made a six-figure pledge for the gala months ago backed out. Something about wanting to support larger-scale initiatives. Which is bullshit, but whatever. The bottom line is we have to find that money somewhere else, and time is ticking. We’d been making a dent in the three hundred thousand we needed, but now we’re back at square one. Worse than that even, now we need to raise three hundred and thirty thousand. And with less than seven weeks left.”
“What about your friend Graham? Doesn’t that help? And your old business partners?”
“Graham can give personally, but the corporate gift needs to go through red tape at TremMark. That will take a minimum of a few months. Jason and Brad both agreed to attend the gala, and I’m sure they’ll be generous, but neither of them is in a position to cover a gap that large. I have more people to call, so it’s not like I’m giving up. The job just got a lot harder, though. I’d really wanted to go into the event knowing for sure that we’d secured all the money, but I think we’re going to be doing a little bit of finger crossing and a lot of praying that night.”
“I’m sorry, Cori. I wish there was more I could do.”
“The stuff you’re doing with the repairs is massive. I know how hard you’ve been working to be here when you can and stillkeep up with J&D. And I feel guilty myself. Part of me thinks I should just float the Center this money, but I really can’t, not right now when I’m going to be paying out of pocket for Johnny’s treatment. Not to mention his meds. Plus, I’m not working, and I don’t know when I will be. I made a lot of money selling to TremMark, but it’s not infinite. I can’t just burn through it all. My brain doesn’t work that way.”
I pulled her close and tucked her head under my chin, taking satisfaction in the relieved breath she released. “You don’t have to save the world all by yourself, baby. You’ve got me now.”
She peered up, pouting her lips a little. “I don’t suppose you have a spare four hundred thousand in that toolbox.”
“Nope.” I chuckled. “I might have a stick of gum and a few quarters, though.” Carding my fingers through her hair, I spread the red-gold strands over her shoulder. She was soethereal. “How about you let me take you home and rub your feet while we eat that pizza and watchThe Wedding Singer?It’s a classic, right?”
“It’s an ancient relic, but yes, I love it.”
“I remember. We’ll watch, and then you’ll let me take you to bed, okay? We won’t worry about Johnny or the gala or anything. We’re taking a few hours off from all that to just be Deck and Cori.”
She tipped her head down to rest her forehead against my chest. “Maybe we can go extra stealthy and be Arturo and Corona, just for tonight,” she mumbled.
A laugh escaped my throat. “I forgot you were named after your dad’s favorite beer.”
“Yep. People still always assume it’s Corinne or something, and I never correct them. Just like Johnny’s named after Dad’s favorite liquor. Our names are basically the one thing we got from that guy before he dipped. Only an elite group of people know that.”
“I feel lucky.”
“You should,” she teased, chuckling in the muted way that brought me back to playful conversations atMamá’skitchen table, when I’d barely let myself dream about touching her.
“No, Cori.” I tipped her chin up with my finger so she could see the seriousness of my expression. “I feel very lucky.Te amo.”
I kissed her softly.
On Saturday, Cori met Britta and Marcusat the hospital to visit Johnny. They’d moved him from the ICU to a different wing, and he’d be leaving soon for the rehab Dr. Alvarez suggested. I offered to tag along, but Cori told me to take the night off. I’d been spending a lot of time at the hospital because she’d been on Zoom calls with Ana and Quincy basically nonstop ever since that donor had pulled out of the gala.
After she left, I texted Juan to see if he wanted to meet up at Tubby’s for wings, and he said he’d see me at six.
On the way, I stopped off at the corner market to check in with Amos about Jayden.
“How’d his first day go?”
“Pretty good,” Amos said. “He was quiet. I think he thought some of Greg’s old crew might turn up.”
“Shit. I didn’t even think about that.”
“No te preocupes, hermano,”Amos reassured me. “When I took the gun back, I made sure they knew Jayden was out and needed to stay out. And also that it was a good idea for them to stay away from the store for a stretch.”
“How’d you manage that?”
Amos’s demeanor changed in an instant. He gave me a hard stare.
I raised my palms. “Sorry, sorry. I don’t need the details.”Dios, I’d gotten stupid.
He nodded firmly before saying, “Kid’s a hard worker. I had him stocking shelves, and he surprised me by not fucking around with it. Just put his head down and got it done.”
“That’s good to hear. Let me or Cori know if anything changes, and I’ll tell you if he gets into any trouble at the Center.”
Amos huffed a laugh as he began counting out his register. “Yeah. He has beef with some kid named Tycho.”
