Mariana smiled.
“I kept everything.”
Miguel sat beside her.
“I meant it.”
“I know.”
“No, Mom. I really mean it. One day, I’m buying you a house with a garden and a porch. You’re going to drink coffee and boss everyone around.”
She laughed. “I already boss everyone around.”
“Not enough.”
Then his face grew serious.
“I used to think success meant getting out.”
Mariana looked at him carefully.
“And now?”
“Now I think it means bringing you with me.”
Her eyes filled.
“Mijo, you don’t owe me your life.”
“I know. But I want you in it.”
That was the difference.
Obligation drains love.
Choice restores it.
Damian tried to see Miguel before college move-in.
Miguel agreed to coffee in a public place.
Mariana did not attend. She wanted to, but she knew this conversation belonged to her son. Miguel returned two hours later, quiet.
“How did it go?” she asked.
He set his keys on the counter.
“He apologized.”
Mariana waited.
Miguel leaned against the sink.
