Page 119 of Yours, Finally

"So obvious," Lina said. "You'll see everyone's response."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my purse. "Anyway, thank you very much. Is Jake in his condo? I'll go talk to him—"

"Didn't you know?" Gabe frowned. "Jake went to talk to Mom and Dad."

A bucket of cold water washed over me. It dripped down my hair, taking the remains of my thoughts with it to the ground.

"He wasliteral?!" I exclaimed. "He's doing it alone?"

I double checked my phone for a text. Nothing there yet. I would need to have a talk with Jake about his texting, but that was fine. I had a different priority at the moment.

"I'm going to fight him later," I said. "For now, I have to go stand by him."

Chapter 35

Jake

Over the years, TíoRaúl and Tía Sonia had treated me just like they did their blood children. That included an informal rule that I should never feel like I had to ring the doorbell, but I should come in directly through the kitchen door.

My motivation to visit them that night had me with a queasy stomach, and stopped me with a hand on the handle. At the last second, I knocked on the door instead.

I gulped. Tía Sonia opened the door with a puzzled expression.

Her eyes traveled all the way up from my chest to my face. "Oh! Jake? Everything okay?"

"I hope so." I cleared my throat. "Can I come in?"

"Of course!"

She closed the door behind me and we walked through the kitchen. Tío Raúl drank his after-dinner coffee at the breakfast nook, and he smiled when he saw me.

"Jake! What a nice surprise. Why did you knock?"

"You confused us!" Tía Sonia added.

She sat next to her husband on the bench, and they looked at me expectantly. The window framed them, the patio and backyard greenery a halo around them.

"I'll get some water," I said. "Then I would like to talk to you both."

They shared a worried look, but let me get a glass and sit on one of the chairs, my back to the rest of the room.

"What's going on, son?" Tío Raúl asked. "I can see the tension in your shoulders."

I took a sip of water, hoping it would soothe my dry mouth. The two people I considered my parental figures gazed at me with deep wrinkles in their brows, sitting shoulder to shoulder.

For a second, I could see them like the first time I met them. Back then, there was no gray in their hair, and they sported no wrinkles. Back then, they smiled at me and were so warm that I was suspicious of them. Except that with incredible patience and consistency, they had proven to be every bit the amazing couple they appeared to be.

Flash forward over two decades later, and they welcomed me to a much different home, but with the same kindness in their eyes.

My stomach rolled with anxiety. I counted breaths, and hoped for the best.

One, two, three…

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. My mind had gone blank in the precipice of the conversation ahead of me.

Four, five, six…

I released a frustrated sigh. "I thought about what I wanted to say all the way here. Now I'm in front of you, and I forgot everything."