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.Only when his breathing has settled, and she is sure he's almost drifted off again, does she slide a little closer and hug herself into him.River doesn't hug her back, but he's happy that this time he's not woken up alone.Chapter 13Misty morning light creeps in through a gap in the curtains, spilling pools of brightness across the otherwise darkened bed, shimmering like reflections on the top of a swimming pool, as the fabric dances in the cool morning breeze.Claudia stirs, turns over to hug her husband, and finds the bed empty next to her.As she walks through the corridor, which is full of children's toys and dirty clothes in piles that need to be washed, she realises the children aren't even up yet, and wonders where Javier has gone.It's unusual for him to be up so early, even if it's a work day.She takes a brief moment to check on her children, Miguel six, Connor four, and Elouise eighteen months, all still asleep, and all crowded into the same room that also somehow manages to find space for Miguel's wheelchair and the machine that keeps him alive, before heading to the place she expects to find her husband.Javier is a loving father and a man that would do anything for his family.He has been screwed over by the United States government from the moment he stepped into the country and despite repeated attempts to 'make it' the only way he knows how, he has for a long time considered himself a failure.His eldest son, a sickly child from birth - something he blames on the lack of immediate treatment they received during complications in Claudia's pregnancy - has been a constant reminder to him of his inability to provide.Working for Madeleine Parker has never provided him with enough money to afford the care Miguel needs, especially with Claudia still out of full time work.The three children should not be in the small bedroom that they are in and Miguel needs urgent medical attention and care if he is going to survive into adulthood.It is for those reasons that Javier has justified what he's doing.He doesn't care about the money, he only cares about giving his family the life that they deserve.'Javi', Claudia whispers softly, pronouncing the word in her husband's native tongue, when she doesn't find him where she usually does, hunched over the kitchen table with a large mug of coffee, sometimes with sugar, never with alcohol, pouring through the latest bills that have come in that month, deciding whether they can afford to pay the electricity and water, or buy better drugs for Miguel.Instead, she finds him in the small utility room that doubles as the office space, an area in which Javier set up his computer and files all those years ago, when he was passionate about going self employed, in the days before Claudia's first miscarriage, when the future was bright and their lives seemed impossible to spoil.That room has since taken on a new purpose, as the family have expanded, but Javier's computer and files still remain, looking out of place, amongst tools, hanging clothes and a washer drier, another reminder of what could have been.'Javi, what are you doing?' Claudia says.He hasn't noticed her arrive, and jumps a little at the sound of her voice.Immediately he clicks open a different window on the computer, hiding the one he was working on, unsure what she has already seen.'You scared me honey', Javier says.Claudia wraps her arms around his chest and kisses him on the top of the head.Bent over like this, you can see a new bump forming, where several others have already come and gone.'Come back to bed sweetie', she says.'I will baby, I promise', Javier says, turning around to her.'I just need to do something for work, that's all.''Can't it wait for when you're actually in work baby?' Claudia says.'I wish it could honey', Javier says.'It's a pitch for a new account, and if we get it, it could mean a huge bonus and a salary hike.It could make a big difference to our lives.A massive difference.'Claudia looks at the cursor blinking on an empty word document.She's known her husband for long enough to know when he's hiding something, but trusts him to be doing whatever it is he can't tell her about, for the benefit of the whole family.He's never let them down before, and she knows he would never do anything to hurt them.What she saw of the document he was working on before trying to hide it however, didn't look to her like any kind of project pitch she has ever seen.If anything, it looked like something she's only ever seen on TV or in crime films, but decides, to give her husband the benefit of the doubt, to keep that observation to herself.If there was anyone more creative than Javier, she was yet to meet them, so it was perfectly possible, that what she saw was destined to form part of a role playing exercise, designed to stand out enough against the competition to secure them the job.That version of events, no matter how unlikely, is what she chooses to believe.She kisses Javier on the top of the head again, and squeezes him tightly.A little more tightly than usual.'I love you Javi', she says.She's been in love with this man from the moment she set eyes on him, a bright eyed, olive skinned eighteen year old, with a heart of gold, and not a single bad bone in his body, who had the confidence to approach her with a rose and tell her that all he wanted was to see her smile, and if she gave him the opportunity to do so, he would try his best not to fail.That rose she kept and dried, and it now sits in a vase on a shelf in their bedroom, sixteen years after he bought it with the only money he had to his name, to give to the prettiest girl he had ever seen.'I love you too baby', Javier says, and smoothes the slight bump just under his wife's belly button.'You know, I think it's going to be a girl
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