"How much?" David asked suddenly.
"How much what?"
"How much do you need for your mother's treatments?"
Elena's heart started racing. "Why are you asking that?"
"Just tell me."
"I... I don't know exactly. Maybe $200,000 for everything she needs." Elena felt embarrassed saying such a huge number out loud.
David nodded like she'd just told him the price of a cup of coffee. "And if money wasn't an issue, what would you want to do with your life?"
Elena stared at him. This conversation was getting stranger by the minute. "I'd want to finish music school. Maybe teach piano to kids who can't afford lessons. Maybe perform sometimes." She paused. "But that's just a dream now."
"What if it wasn't?"
Before Elena could ask what he meant, David pulled out his phone and started making a call. "Jennifer, it's David. I need you to look into something for me." He covered the phone and whispered to Elena, "What's your mother's name, and which hospital?"
Elena told him, feeling like she was in a dream. David relayed the information to whoever Jennifer was, then hung up.