“Is Diego coming back for Christmas?” Jonah asked, back on the sofa with his Switch.
“I don’t know.” Brody headed toward the kitchen and cast a wary glance at his nephews. Now that the boys had seen them together, he was curious about their thoughts. “Do you think I should ask him to come visit us again?”
Jonah nudged Jace, who nodded. “We say yes.”
A weight lifted off Brody’s shoulders, one that he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying. “You sure?”
“He’s nice and he can cook,” Jonah said
“I like his guitar,” Jace added.
If only everything could be that easy. “Well, that settles it. I’ll ask if he wants to come spend Christmas with us. He might have plans already, but—” Brody shrugged as he took dishes out of the dishwasher and finished cleaning the kitchen. The house was already emptier without Diego’s warm presence. “We’ll see what he says.”
But in his head—in his heart—he pictured Diego with them on Christmas morning, everyone sitting by the holiday tree, opening their gifts. Brody had a few special family memories as a child, particularly Christmas mornings in this house with his parents and sister. It hadn’t been all bad, Brody decided, but he wanted better for Jace and Jonah.
They could start their own traditions together, as a family… and in Brody’s heart, that family included Diego.
Chapter Twenty
Thealarmwentoffon Diego’s phone, the special bell sound that meant he had an appointment, or it was a special day.
December 16th. Mamá’s birthday.
Of course. He’d known it was coming up and meant to send a card or ask Di if she wanted to go in on sending her flowers.
Diego had forgotten… or maybe pushed away the idea, the way he did anytime he thought about his parents. That tight knot of despair and guilt lodged itself deep in his stomach.
But now the day was here, and he’d made his phone call as he did each year. It was after eight, so no doubt she was up and working at their bakery. As he pressed the keys to call their business phone, Diego hated himself for hoping that she was too busy to answer.
“Hola. ¿Puedo ayudarle?” Her soft voice cut him with that familiarity, and immediately he regretted not talking to her more often.
“Hola Mamá. Feliz cumpleaños,” Diego said with a genuine smile. He missed her.
“Diego! Muchas gracias, mi corazón.” Then she immediately turned to English. “How are you doing?”
He sighed. His Spanish was passable, but his mother always spoke to him in English. “I’m good, Mama. Work is good, and the band has been busy.”
She snickered quietly. “Diana said you’re moving to Nashville.”
Diego closed his eyes. Of course she did. “We’re talking about it, Mamá, but it’s a possibility. The band thinks we might be good enough to work professionally as musicians.”
He heard the long sigh on the other end of the phone. “And what do you think, Diego? Is this what you want to do?”
Diego wanted to say, “None of this is what I want,” but he kept his mouth shut. He was responsible for all the bad that had befallen his family. It was because of his selfish desires had everyone ended up in this awful situation.
How could he tell her that he’d fallen in love with the boy—now a man—who’d helped him tear apart their family? Would that break her heart all over again? His voice dropped. “I don't know if it's what I want, but it could help the others. Everyone thinks it’s a good idea.”
“Diana doesn’t.”
“She can come with us if she’s worried about being her by herself. Besides, we still haven’t decided. We might not go.” Even as he spoke, he knew that was probably an untruth. The band would be going.
The question was—would Diego be going? And where did Brody fit in these plans?
They spoke for a few more minutes. Diego’s mother talked about his little sister’s first semester in college and his father’s latest obsession—golf. “I know you’re busy,Mijo, so I’ll let you go.”
Something about that phrase cut him to the core. That’s what they’d done all those years ago—they let each other go so Diego and Diana could stay here in this country.
Had it been worth it?
