Aurelio, who had spent his whole life solving problems by throwing money at them, had to learn something too: to stop.

One morning Santiago found a bank card left on his desk, and carried it back to his grandfather and set it down between them.

“Grandpa,” he said.

“I don’t want you to make it up to me with money.” Aurelio looked at his hands.

“Then tell me what you want.” “Time,” Santiago said.

“I want to know you.

I want to know what my dad was actually like — not the man in the photographs.

The real one.”