The Charity Chip Read Online Free PDF

simply a slave to his own addiction, and he was the only semi-capable adult left in Julio’s life.
    Julio took care of his morning business and washed his face and hands. On his way back up the stairwell, he popped his head in Doctor Barilla’s back door and peeked into the kitchen. “ Buenos días ,” said Julio.
    Doctor Barilla was sitting at the small table with a pot of coffee. “ Buenos días ,” mumbled the doctor in return.
    Julio slipped in through the kitchen door. The countertops were covered in dirty dishes, and a greasy film of discolored food particles decorated the backsplash behind the two-burner stove. A fountain of garbage overflowed from the small plastic trash can and cast a stench over the room.
    Doctor Barilla sat with his feet propped up on the kitchen table, nursing a chipped coffee cup and a hangover, looking as neglected as the kitchen. Puffy dark bags of skin hung under his bloodshot eyes, and his salt-and-pepper hair was disheveled and greasy. Several days of stubble covered his double chin, and his breath reeked as it passed over his yellowing teeth.
    “Have you ever heard of Caritas?” asked Julio.
    Doctor Barilla took a sip from his cup and set it on the table. “Caritas?” He lowered his head and rubbed his temples. “That sounds like a Latin name. What is it?”
    “It’s some sort of aid organization, I guess,” said Julio with a shrug. “They fed me last night.”
    Doctor Barilla took a long drink from his mug. “Free food is good.”
    “But you’ve never heard of them before?”
    “No. Should I have?”
    Julio hesitated and bit his lip. “Can you keep a secret, especially from Raúl?”
    Doctor Barilla gave him a funny look and then made an exaggerated motion of sealing his lips and crossing his heart.
    “I met someone last night,” began Julio.
    “A girl?” said the doctor with a wink.
    “No, nothing like that.”
    “What a pity. You could use a girlfriend to lighten you up a bit.” He took another sip of his coffee.
    Julio looked at his feet. “I got caught stealing.”
    Doctor Barilla removed his feet from the table and sat up. “Oh! Why didn’t they throw you in jail or send you to one of those government barrios?”
    Julio took a seat. “That’s what I figured they would do, but before the policeman hauled me off, this foreigner showed up and paid him off.”
    Doctor Barilla made a spitting sound. “Foreigners! Ever since the currency collapse, they have poured into the country with more money than God. Those parasites come here with their euros and dollars and think they can buy whatever they want, including the right to terrorize our streets.” Doctor Barilla took another sip from his dirty coffee cup and leaned forward. “Did he hurt you?”
    “No, I’m fine,” said Julio. “He just bought me dinner at Roky’s.”
    “That’s how those sinvergüenzas start.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Did he take you to one of the shiny new expat barrios? What did he want after dinner?”
    Julio was glad to see that someone cared enough for him to get angry about how he was treated. He had never seen Doctor Barilla this agitated while he was sober. “Nothing. He gave me his card and told me to come visit him at his office on Monday and he would see if he could get me into some sort of aid program.”
    The doctor topped off his coffee and stood up. “ Vamos . Let’s go downstairs to my office and see if we can find out about this Caritas.” He took a sip from the cup and started for the stairwell door.
    “I’ll get the card,” said Julio, and he took the stairs two at a time up to his shelter while Doctor Barilla meandered down the stairs to his office trying not to spill his coffee. Raúl was sitting on his sleeping mat eating the bread when Julio burst through the tarp door.
    “Where are you going in such a hurry?” asked Raúl.
    “Save a couple of pieces for me,” said Julio as he rummaged through his backpack and dug out Isak’s card. He