Two hours passed in this state of connection, nurses put their heads around the door and had their own interpretation of what they saw; Lomita and Ever cared not for the world and its opinions, they existed only for each other.

And would for all time.

‘I want you to know this Ever, you are the only person who I have ever wanted inside me. Physically and in my heart.’

*

There was a knock followed by a doctor.

Dr Jose Serrano, according to his introduction; Lomita thought he was familiar but Ever had not seen him before. He took the chart from the end of her bed and studied it in preparation for asking some questions.

Lomita suggested that Ever should leave the room.

‘I am happy to stay.’

‘No, my sweet, please leave, just for a few minutes.’

The door closed.

‘¿Ingles o Español?’

She obviously hadn’t seen him before.

‘I don’t mind.’

Replied Lomita.

‘How long have you been taking the antiretroviral medication for your condition at this dose?’

The doctor had made his own decision.

‘About three years. When my CD4 cells fell below the accepted level of stability and I got repeated bouts of pneumonia. I have my cell count checked on a regular basis but it has proved difficult for me to get the cell count back up.’

He was studying the clipboarded chart.

‘It is below the level now and the X-rays reveal the presence of pulminory infiltrates. You have a very low arterial oxygen level that leads to the diagnosis of pneumocystis pneumonia, PCP.’

Lomita was hearing and that was about all.

‘We will need to put you on a course of steroids and a combination of trimetrexate and primaquine.’

‘Please slow down, even in my first language. Slower.’

‘Or, and I will be consulting the specialist on his arrival, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole.’

‘I don’t really care.’

‘These are extremely powerful drugs and the question of using the second combination is based on whether your body can take them.’

Dr Jose Serrano revelled in the verbiage of his job.

‘That it has the strength to deal with the side effects. So—’

He was not giving up although his audience had.

‘We need to boost your immune system. You are on—’

More consulting of the clipboard.

‘Additional intravenous vitamin pushes and, yes, we are regulating immunoglobulin intake. I must explain.’

Lomita hadn’t asked.

‘There is a controversial aspect to the intensification of the treatment, as sometimes reduction is what can enable a boost to the system. But it can take about four days for that increase to appear. And—’

She didn’t want to, or care to, acknowledge his fading and.

‘You speak very good English.’

‘It’s my first language. Born in New Mexico. Moved to San Lucas after graduation.’