“Oh no! Poor thing. I remember her as a little girl dancing up and down the street in front of your house. Miguel and I would have to dodge her sometimes to get inside.”
Gabe smiled. “Yup, that was her. Always dancing. Now, I guess she might not be able to.”
“Dear Lord. What a disaster. Is she okay? She must be devastated.”
Gabe frowned. “Yeah, I would’ve thought so. But I just went to her house, and she was having a party. Some of her friends thought I was a stripper and practically tried to tear my clothes off.”
Sandra giggled and slapped her hand over her mouth. She glanced up at him and giggled some more. Eventually, tears leaked out the sides of her eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. Hilarious.”
“I’m sorry, Gabe. It’s just that, knowing you…”
She wasn’t going to finish that thought, apparently, but he couldn’t help being curious. “What?”
“Well, you know…”
“No, I don’t. What aren’t you telling me?”
She let out a long sigh. “Gabe, you’re almost as serious as Miguel. And that’s not a bad thing. Not at all. It means you care. You’ll take a minute to think things through and keep your comments to yourself, if you don’t think they’re helpful. That’s a good thing.”
He stared at her. He’d never thought he had much in common with Miguel. Miguel was so quiet, nobody really knew what he was thinking. Everyone was too busy joking and laughing and trying to one-up each other.
She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “But still waters run deep. If I were facing something difficult, I’d much rather have you or Miguel by my side than anyone else in your family.”
Gabe realized his mother had said something similar to him. But she had used the wordsensitive. That’s probably why he’d dismissed it. He didn’t mind taking a minute to think things through, and yes, he cared. Sometimes he cared too much.
“Maybe you can help me figure this out. I want to be there for Misty, but I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.”
Sandra looked at the stars and let out a snort. “You guys.” She shook her head. “What do you think will happen if you give a girl a hug when she needs one? Do you think she’ll plan the wedding? Honestly, I don’t know what you’re so afraid of.”
“You mean, she won’t?” He was only half joking. “I know. I know. It doesn’t make sense. But neither does her having a party right now.”
Sandra sighed. “She probably needs to blow off steam and have some fun. Are you hurt that you weren’t invited?”
“Ha. Not at all. I don’t think I would have fit in. It was all girls, and they were pretty giddy. I was just glad to get out of there in one piece.”
“So, why were you there in the first place?”
“I was just going to check on her. She had a couple of appointments during the week, and I wanted to know how they went.”
“You didn’t call her?”
Gabe shrugged. “I’m not very good on the phone.”
Sandra stopped and folded her arms. She gazed at him for a few moments before speaking. “Gabriel Fierro, I think you’re lying to yourself. Not that you aren’t good on the phone—I believe that. Miguel isn’t either. But you could have just asked ‘how did it go?’ That’s what most people would do.”
He shrugged.
“You know, I work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. I’m in OB-GYN, but if she ever needs support and you’re…being you, tell her to call me there.”
“Hey! I’m not that heartless.”
She let her hands drop to her sides and smiled softly. “I know. I’ve known you since you were thirteen. Misty was about ten. She’d say, ‘Hey, Gabe. Look!’ and cartwheel down the sidewalk. She didn’t call to Parker, or Miguel, or even me. And you didn’t ignore her. You watched and gave her a thumbs-up.
“I think you want to give her that hug. Maybe you need a hug yourself. Gabe, you love the girl. You may not want to admit it, but that’s what I see when you look at her or talk about her. And I don’t blame you. She’s a kind, sweet, beautiful girl. And she needs you. If you let her down, you’ll hate yourself.”
How could his sister-in-law know all that? He didn’t even know it himself. But it rang true. Everything she said.
