Accustomed to being used, a jack-of-all-odd-jobs is torn between desire and duty in a short story about loneliness and wounded love by Cristina Henríquez, the author of The Book of Unknown Americans.

Alberto has been alone for the majority of his life, making his way as a restaurant worker and at the beck and call of wealthy and entitled Don Antonio. This time for hire, Alberto arrives at Antonio’s summer house prepared to attend to its regular maintenance. Instead he finds only Antonio’s heartbroken wife, Lola, and a task that could alter his loyalty to his employer forever.

Cristina Henríquez’s The Summer House is part of Currency, a compounding collection of stories about wealth, class, competition, and collapse. If time is money, deposit here with interest. Read or listen in a single sitting.