[Perspective: Aryan Spencer]
I pulled out another 10 ten bills from the stack. I handed it to him as well.
"Použij to k nákupu fotoaparátu a nauč se trochu fotografovat, abys mohl fotit turisty a vydělávat peníze tímto způsobem," (Use this to buy a camera and learn some photography so you can take pictures of tourists and earn the money from there,) I instructed. "Je to lepší způsob, jak si vydělat, že?" (It's a better way to earn, right?)
"Ne, nemůžu si vzít tolik peněz," (No, I can't take that much money,) the boy protested weakly, trying to push the bills back toward me.
"To je v pořádku, ať se tvůj táta nejdřív vyléčí," (It's OK, let your dad get treatment first, OK?) I insisted, closing my hands over his.
"Ale já ty peníze nemůžu vrátit. Nemám žádné peníze," (But I can't return the money. I don't have any money,) he argued, tears welling up in his eyes.
I reached into my wallet, pulling out a business card.
"Tady je moje číslo a email," (Here is my number and email,) I said, handing it to him along with the cash. "Když v budoucnu vyděláš dost peněz, můžeš mi zavolat." (If you earn enough money in the future, you can call me by then.)
"Když ty peníze nedokážu vydělat, nepřijdou tvoje peníze vniveč?" (If I wasn't able to earn that money, won't your money go to waste?) the boy asked, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Ne, já už vydělal dost," (No, I have earned enough,) I smiled gently.
"Opravdu mi to všechno dáváš?" (Are you seriously giving all of this to me?) the boy asked, looking from the money to my face.
"Ano, schovej si ty peníze do kapsy. Jinak to lidé uvidí a někdo by tě mohl sledovat," (Yes, keep all that money in your pocket. Otherwise people will see and someone might follow you,) I warned, glancing around the bridge to ensure no one was paying too close attention to our transaction.
The boy looked around frantically, realizing the danger of holding that much cash in public.
He quickly shoved the thick stacks of bills deep into the pockets of his jeans.
"Tak jo, běž se postarat o tátu," (OK, you go take care of your father,) I said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Můžu se zeptat na vaše jméno, protože neumím anglicky na této vizitce přečíst," (Can I ask for your name cause I can't read English on this card,) the boy asked, looking at the black card.
"Jmenuji se Aryan Spencer," (My name is Aryan Spencer,) I replied.
The boy turned and began to run down the bridge toward the Old Town. After a few yards, he stopped, turning back to look at me.
"Děkuji. Budu si to pamatovat," (Thank you. I will remember this,) he yelled over the crowd.
"Dávej na sebe taky pozor!" (Take care of yourself too!) I shouted back, waving a hand.
I turned back to Wanda.
She was holding the massive bouquet of roses, staring at me with an expression of complete bewilderment.
"What were you talking about?" Wanda asked, her brow furrowed. "And why did you give him so much money?"
"The more advanced our society becomes, the more worthless it becomes," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "And I definitely hate this health insurance scam."
"Scam?" Wanda repeated, looking confused.
"Do you know health insurance is the biggest scam of the century?" I asked, offering her my arm again. We began walking down the bridge.
"How come, isn't it just cheap?" she asked, leaning into my side.
"It's cheap for the monthly payment only, but it makes everything expensive," I explained, the familiar frustration of my career bleeding into my voice.
"Just look at the hospital bill. Just for an injection, they are charging thousands of dollars, which was not the case before health insurance was introduced on a massive scale. Medicine was actually very cheap. But after health insurance was introduced, everything became expensive because the government and the private companies and mostly the hospitals planned this."
Wanda looked up at me.
"They make normal treatments very expensive so that we have no choice but to buy a damn insurance policy," I continued, gesturing broadly. "And they will show you how expensive your bills are, but behind the scenes, the same insurance company is paying almost one third of that payment to the hospital for settlement."
"Then why don't people protest?" Wanda asked, her brow knitting together in indignation.
"Because when most of the people are paying monthly for health insurance, they think the insurance will pay for everything," I said, shaking my head. "But there are always terms and conditions applied to that insurance. And even though it says they will cover in full, at the end of the day they will send bills to the patient for the payment, even though their 'full coverage' is active. Because most of the population rarely gets sick, they don't really care about these small details until they are the ones trapped in the hospital."
"Yeah, that's very sad," Wanda murmured, looking down at the cobblestones.
"Yes," I agreed heavily. "After every patient would discharge from our hospital during my time as a resident, the hospital administration always instructed us to add more cost to their treatment. And we had no choice but to do that, because the hospital is the one who pays our salary, and if you go against it, no hospital will hire you again."
Wanda stopped walking, her grip tightening on my arm. Her eyes flashed with a sudden intensity.
"These people deserve punishment," she stated.
I stopped beside her, startled by the sheer venom in her tone.
I reached out, gently touching her cheek, rubbing my thumb across her skin to soothe the sudden spike of anger.
"The world is always cruel, Wanda," I said softly, looking into her eyes. "But most of the time... you know, never mind. Let's go nearby. There is another bridge I would like to introduce you to."
She took a deep breath, the sudden intensity fading from her eyes, replaced by the warm green.
"Okay," she nodded, letting me guide her forward.
We walked for a few minutes in comfortable silence.
"What was your conversation with that boy?" Wanda asked, looking at the bouquet of red roses in her arms.
"His mother abandoned him and his dad," I explained quietly. "His dad had appendicitis. They couldn't afford the surgery because they had no insurance and the mother stole their savings. He was selling roses just to try and make a dent in the medical debt."
Wanda gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh, that poor boy. That is so nice of you to help him, Aryan."
"Of course," I said.
Wanda looked at me, a playful glint returning to her eyes.
"By the way," she noted, tilting her head. "Where do you hide that money? I did not see you pulling it from your wallet. You pulled it directly from your jacket pocket."
"Ah," I grinned, tapping the breast of my blazer. "There is a secret pocket in all of my blazers. It's hidden from all the corners. A tailor in New York makes them for me."
"Whom are you hiding from?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, not from you," I laughed. "I am hiding it in case anyone tries to snatch money from my pocket on the street. If a pickpocket grabs me, they will find the standard pockets completely empty."
"You are so bad," she teased, shaking her head in amusement.
"This is called strategy, my Queen," I corrected, pulling her close and kissing her cheek. "I am a tactician."
We both laughed.
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