I gave 100 euros to a young woman who was asking for milk for her baby; a month later I found out who she really was.

—No. Explain it to me.

He did not respond.

We finished shopping in silence.

We argued that night.

Not for the hundred euros.

Because of the cruelty.

“You could have said no,” I told him. “No one was forcing you to help her. But why humiliate her?”

—Because someone has to tell them things as they are.

—And do you know what they’re like?

—A young woman with a  baby asking for money in a supermarket. You don’t need to investigate too much.

—Exactly.

Alberto is laughing.

—You always want to save everyone.

That phrase hurt me because years before he had admired me precisely for that.

When our children were small, I helped out at a neighborhood association. Alberto cooked with me on weekends.