Cathleen saved him the trip. A state trooper was investigating a report of a gunshot and discovered Isidro’s body. After he identified the body, he went to start finding out what happened to him. This led him to the Mirage and to Cathleen.

Upon hearing the news, she was devastated. Cathleen cried for a long while. The trooper didn’t know what to do. But when Cathleen calmed down, she requested that she be taken to Enrique’s. The trooper was recently promoted and hadn’t learned the complexities of investigating a murder. When he complied with Cathleen demands, he did so to relieve his soul of the torment that her tears were bringing him.

Cathleen was still distraught and shaken when she arrived at Enrique’s. The maid received her. Instead of having her wait downstairs she rushed Cathleen up to Enrique’s room. When she got to the door, he was greeted by the vision of the woman he was beginning to desire more than life. Even in her distraught demeanor, Cathleen looked very attractive.

The trooper had found Cathleen ready for bed. The same light blue silk pajama pants and white cotton tank top that she laid down to sleep are the same clothes Enrique finds her in, crying and sobbing. And even with her tears in her beautiful eyes, Enrique finds himself admiring Cathleen’s neck, her beautiful eyes, and her long slender shapely body. To other men lust would be the motive for desiring a damsel in distress. But Enrique
quickly finds love at end of his desire.

Regaining enough composure, he leads his friend inside the room. Inside he places her in the chair in front of his bed. Cathleen needed help getting in it. Enrique was very close to her. He could see her red eyes and sore nose. The vision made him sad. He had an idea about the reason for Cathleen pain. Trying not to confess, he sits on the bed in front of her.

There he waits for Cathleen to speak. He knows that it won’t help any one to become controlling and try to fix everything on his own. Cathleen on the other hand has no conscious awareness. She feels frightened and wants to be helped: even if the help only comes from an embrace.

But she can’t ask for it. She sits leaning forward, resting her arms on her legs, and holding her hands, trying not to cry anymore.

While she resettles with her torment, Enrique looks on to her, hoping she will look up so he can comfort her with a sympathetic smile. Cathleen, however, is consumed by her crisis and isn’t aware of the nuances of Enrique’s facial gestures.

Enrique is left with reaching out to touch her hands. When Cathleen feels his touch, she flies into Enrique’s arms. She grips him tightly around the shoulders, crying

All Enrique can do is hold her there, even though she is close to pulling both of them unto the floor. The chair she was in is two feet away from the bed. When she lunged forward, she fell in between Enrique’s legs at the foot of the bed.

Enrique had to lean forward to catch her. He caught her arms. Cathleen goes for the embrace at the neckline. For the first minute Cathleen stretches up to reach Enrique’s comfort. Then the anxieties subside and she rest her arms on Enrique’s thigh and her head on her arms.

Through all of this Enrique had not closed the embrace. He finds himself with his arms still open as if Cathleen was still falling into them. And now with her on his legs, he still doesn’t reach out to touch her. He doesn’t rest a comforting hand on her head, her shoulders, or even her back.

The reason that no display of affection comes from Enrique is that he finds the whole scene strange. Here he is in his bedroom, the bed is unmade, the room is in disarray, his bathrobe is undone, and he is showing his bare chest to Cathleen. Cathleen isn’t aware of his bare chest, much more his disrobed soul. Enrique, however, recognizes that he is holding the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with in intimate surroundings and he can’t even say, “ I love you”. That wouldn’t be appropriate. No one would declare their love for another person under these circumstances.

And as much as he tries, he can’t get Cathleen to move towards the road to recovery. With this idea in mind he keeps repeating to himself, “ Wait for her “, “ Let her tell you were she is at “, and “ She will come around and start to talk soon”, while he waits for Cathleen to re collect.

But no answer comes to his prayers. Cathleen is content on resting at his side forever. The shock of having someone close to her die is still consuming her.

Through Cathleen’s consumptions Enrique looses patience with himself and allows his professional side to take over. This is due to the fact that he is a result-orientated person. Everything has its solution. And even though Enrique doesn’t want to take over and control Cathleen, he abandons the supportive friend approach and takes on the shock resolution approach.

This approach leads him to kiss Cathleen on top of the head, squeeze her at the lower shoulders, and lead her back into the chair. Cathleen moves easy with his direction. Once she is in the chair, with Enrique leaning over her, they look lovingly into each other’s eyes. Finally, Enrique gets to give her his sympathetic smile.

Cathleen, however, can’t return the sentiment. To her everything is bad and she is fast falling into a world of nothingness brought about from the pain, despair, and hopelessness.

And that is what Enrique tells her, “ Cathleen I don’t know what happened, but you are obviously suffering from severe mental shock brought about from trauma. I care about you and I’m here to help you in any way that I can”. Cathleen just looks at him, trying to remember who Enrique is.

Enrique can see this lost sense in her eyes. So he speaks again, this time louder. “ You are Cathleen Brinks. We met three weeks ago at the Mirage, where your dad has some investments. The last time I saw you was last night around ten”.

Now, Enrique stops speaking. He wants to see if his attempt to get Cathleen to recollect is having any affect. She appears to be attempting to concentrate. “ Cathleen “, Enrique says forcefully, trying to catch her in that attempt. The intense sound of his voice works. Cathleen shakes. Enrique continues to speak. With a toning down of his voice level, he asks Cathleen,
“ Who am I?” Cathleen is confused by the question. She wonders why Enrique doesn’t know who he is, especially after having just told her no more than two minutes ago. Enrique can see this confusion and responds to it.
“ I mean who am I to you?” Cathleen sits in silence and then responds, “ I sense a closeness… You are a friend”. This brings a smile to his face. Cathleen fakes a grin. Enrique goes to her and finally gives her the hug he has been holding back since she got there.

There is a moment of tender silence. Then Enrique says, “ I want to help you. What can I do? “ Cathleen tenses from his words. Then she takes in a shallow breath and holding back a bellow she says, “ He is dead “. Silence surrounds them. Enrique is now watching Cathleen shake nervously in his arms. Not feeling comforted, Cathleen clears her throat, moves to wipes her eyes, and finishes her statement. “ Isidro is dead “. Silence over takes them again. Cathleen notices the warmth leaving Enrique’s body. She turns to hold him and retain their embraced until one of them can find what to say next.