“I don’t want you to come back to this house again, not even for the Ceremonial,” said Juan.

“You don’t get to give me orders, okay?”

“It’s a request, not an order. A favor. Every year, when I see that you and Stephen haven’t gone into the Darkness, I can breathe again. I can’t ask Stephen to stop coming because this is his family and his world. I can ask you though.”

Juan hugged her again, felt her body; he let her put a hand into his pants to caress him.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I don’t feel like it now.”

They looked at each other in the heat, under the sun, both of them excited and a little crazed and sad. They could hear the swollen river, a nervous bird. The house, distant and silent, seemed dead. When would the guests leave? The parking area was still full. Juan considered telling Tali about Mercedes, but it wasn’t the right time. He hadn’t told Stephen yet either. He would do it on the plane.

“Where’s your car? I have things to give you, but I don’t want them to see us.”

Tali led him by the hand to her Renault 6, which was completely coated in a layer of red dust. She unlocked the door and Juan settled into the backseat. He took from his bag the Hand of Glory that had been stored among Marcelina’s clutter. It was perfectly preserved. Tali admired it, took it carefully.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“Your sister wanted it to be yours. They don’t know we have a Hand of Glory, they don’t even know it exists. Rosario always kept it well hidden. We both hid it.”

“You’re crazy! My sister would never have given that to me.”

“Well, I’m giving it to you. You know how to use it? It will help you keep Gaspar blocked. The Hand isn’t enough on its own, but it will help a lot.”

“I know how to use it. Rosario didn’t lend it out, but she was always good at explaining. She was generous that way, wasn’t she?”

Juan smiled at her. She was halfway generous, yes. He motioned for Tali to put the hand away, and she stowed it in her wicker bag. A car horn interrupted them. Stephen already had Gaspar and the bags in the car. “We have tickets!” he shouted. “We need to be at the airport in an hour.”

“So why don’t you use it yourself?” she asked him.

“I can’t, it reminds me of what I did, I can’t stand it. Don’t fail my son, Tali,” said Juan. “They’re never going to stop watching him.”