âIt may not be sunshine and rainbows, but at least he has you both, right? And you do your best to support him. Thatâs what matters. I didnât really have that while Mami was sick. My grandparents⌠Theyâve hardly been supportive of me a day in my life. Theyâre always criticizing everything, always did the same to Mami, especially after she came home pregnant at such a young age, and the reason she never tried accepting his help is because of them. Because theyâd convinced her he was a bad influence on her, but they were kids, yâknow? You do stupid shit when youâre a kid, but thatâs when you should be allowed to make mistakes, when your parents are there to help you through it.â Realistically, she knew she didnât need to have Max in her life to be who she was; she didnât need him to work her hardest and be the second in her graduating class, she didnât need to have him in her life to have gone to a really good school with scholarships that would have covered the majority of the costs, either. But she could have used him when she had to put all of those dreams on hold to take care of the woman who had taken care of her her whole life, could have used the extra support so she didnât feel like her whole world was falling apart and she didnât have a firm foundation to stand on as she carried the weight of it all at 16 years old. âIâve been living in an almost constant state of stress trying to make sure we would be okay and maybe having Max in our lives wouldnât have fixed everything, but at least I wouldnât have had to do it alone. And I know she thought it was best, but⌠she doesnât know everything â what I did to help. I canât fault her for that because I know itâd break her heart if she knew. But it still hurts. A lot. I donât know if that hurtâs going to go away anytime soon or if things can go back to the way they were before without me having to tell her why Iâm as upset as I am about all of it⌠But I donât want her to see me differently.â She wiped her hand across her cheek to catch the few tears that slipped out of the corner of her eyes, looking away to blink back the tears. âI donât want to lose her, but knowing how my grandparents have poisoned her mind already, Iâm scared she wouldnât accept me if I told her.â
Hector nodded along as he listened to her, knowing better than anything how complicated family could be, especially when it came to mothers. His relationship with Fatima was complicated but built on mutual respect and love. He thought the world of his mother but he didnât always agree with her decisions or the way she chose to move forward. But she was his mother, the woman who had given him life, nurtured him, allowed him to grow up with a life despite the family business. He had tried to let go of his resentment and realize that just because this was his life it didnât mean he had to be miserable and release all control. He still had a say. As her tears started to fall, he moved his seat so that he could be right next to her and slid his arm around her shoulders, giving them a slight squeeze. âItâs okay to cry, mama, donât be ashamed of tears in front of me. You ask Anna iâm a fucking cry baby,â he told her with a soft laugh. âEven I can tell that no one is more ride and die for you than your moms, alright? So getting to know her daughter for who she is, all that she is, Iâm willing to put my money on her still loving you and accepting you for all of it. If you canât be real with her than who can you be real with? Because you gotta accept her for who she is too. A woman who made a mistake. But a woman who loves you with all her heart. You get to be angry, you get to be sad. You get to be upset with her and tell her sheâs wrong. But you canât turn your back on her because we both know she wonât do that to you, despite all those fucking fears you got. So you dance on a pole, so what? You fucking kill it up there, like JLO Hustlers status and I mean who didnât love Hustlers, you know? Itâs not something to be ashamed of, we all do shit to survive, itâs part of the game.â He reached into his jacket and pulled out his handkerchief, holding it up for her to wipe her face. âAnd like it or not, youâre part of our family now, and we look out for ours, so no matter what, you got familia, okay? You hear me? Your big brother Hector is here for you always, so donât worry, mamita. We got you. You and your mom, and not just cause I think sheâs sexy,â he added with his own laugh, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her temple. âYouâre gonna be alright, Mik. I promise you.â
