joaquin-vasquez:
Joaquin gave her a small smile and took her hands in his. “I think my mother would like that. She always loved Mateo…gave her a second chance at taking care of a child and she loved to spoil him,” he said with a light laugh. He closed his mouth, waiting, making sure Mateo didn’t hear and crawl out of bed to find out what that noise was. His mother always resented allowing his father to have so much of an influence on him and his siblings. It pulled them apart and by the time their mother noticed, it was too late. “I’m sure you do. I’m so sorry this has happened, but I’m glad you’re adjusting well. Hopefully making friends…both you and Mateo.” Joaquin let go of one of Sofia’s hands and ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re right. It hasn’t been easy. But to protect you, I’d do anything.” He paused for a beat. “You get used to being alone a lot faster than you think and I thought I’d be alone for much longer. It was such a surprise to see that you moved here.” He smiled again, trying to focus on something happier. “Did you get the spyglass and stained glass piece I sent?”
Sofia glanced down at their hands as he took hers in his. “I’ll give her a call, then. I’m sure Mateo would love to hear from her too,” she nodded with a smile. “Mateo’s definitely been able to make friends. After the first day of school, he already had a friend he wanted to bring home with us,” Sofia chuckled. His joy was contagious and kept her strong, even in the darkest of moments. When Joaquin mentioned it was a surprise to see that she’d moved here, she couldn’t help but that. “Trust me, it was a surprise to everybody. I mean, our life in LA was great. I loved my job, my friends and family were all there. But, I needed a fresh start. And hey, maybe this was all fate. To bring us back together,” she joked. “Oh, yes. Mateo loves the spyglass. He spends every waking hour with it. And the stained glass piece is gorgeous. Thank you, you really didn’t have to. That was so sweet of you.” With a bright smile, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Something she’d thought she’d never be able to do again. “Although, I didn’t quite know what to tell Mateo about who’d given it.” She wanted, so badly, to be able to tell Mateo it was a gift from his father. To remind him of how much his father loved him. But she knew she couldn’t. Not without risking both Joaquin and Mateo’s lives. “I just said it was from a friend.”















