Chapter 6: The weekend that changed everything

Saturday morning arrived with bright sunshine and unusually cool weather.

Pedro had been awake since six.

Not because he had classes.

Not because he had work.

Because his twelve-year-old sister, Sofia, was coming to visit for the first time.

He vacuumed the apartment.

Twice.

He rearranged the couch cushions.

Three times.

He even wiped down the kitchen counters that were already spotless.

Liyanna walked into the living room carrying two mugs of coffee and burst out laughing.

“Pedro.”

“What?”

“You’ve cleaned the same table four times.”

“I have not.”

“You absolutely have.”

“I’m making sure everything is nice.”

“For your sister?”

He nodded.

Liyanna smiled.

“She must mean a lot to you.”

Pedro looked down at the family photo sitting on the bookshelf.

It showed him, Sofia, and their father standing in front of an old pickup truck. Pedro couldn’t remember who had taken the picture, but he remembered that day clearly.

It had been the last birthday they celebrated together.

“She’s all I’ve got,” he said quietly.

Liyanna walked over and looked at the photo.

“You’ve done a good job looking after her.”

“I wish I could do more.”

“You already are.”

He smiled faintly.

“You always know what to say.”

“I don’t.”

“You do.”

At exactly ten o’clock, the doorbell rang.

Pedro was already halfway to the door before the second chime.

When he opened it, a girl with curly dark hair threw herself into his arms.

“Pedro!”

He laughed as he hugged her tightly.

“Hey, munchkin.”

“I’m not a munchkin anymore.”

“You’ll always be one to me.”

Sofia rolled her eyes dramatically.

“I’ve grown three inches since Christmas.”

Pedro stepped back and pretended to inspect her.

“Hmm…”

“What?”

“You still look tiny.”

She gasped.

“I’m telling Aunt Rosa you said that.”

Liyanna laughed from the hallway.

Sofia looked toward the sound.

Her eyes widened.

“You must be Liyanna.”

Liyanna smiled warmly.

“And you must be Sofia.”

Without warning, Sofia hugged her too.

“So you’re my sister now.”

For a split second, Pedro held his breath.

Liyanna hesitated only long enough to return the hug.

“I guess I am.”

Within an hour, the apartment felt completely different.

Sofia filled every room with chatter.

She asked Pedro endless questions about college.

She asked Liyanna about journalism.

She insisted on seeing every corner of the apartment.

“You have separate bedrooms?” she asked innocently.

Pedro and Liyanna exchanged a quick glance.

Liyanna recovered first.

“I snore.”

Pedro stared at her.

“You do?”

She smiled sweetly.

“Terribly.”

Sofia nodded as if that explained everything.

“Makes sense.”

The moment she disappeared into the kitchen, Pedro whispered,

“You snore?”

“I panicked.”

“You don’t even snore.”

“I know.”

He laughed under his breath.

“We’re getting better at this.”

After lunch, the three of them walked through Forsyth Park.

The fountains sparkled beneath the afternoon sun, and children chased pigeons across the grass while musicians played near the walking paths.

Sofia ran ahead.

“Last one to the fountain buys ice cream!”

She sprinted away before either adult could protest.

Pedro sighed.

“She’s competitive.”

“You noticed?”

He smiled.

“I created that monster.”

Liyanna laughed.

“I like her.”

Pedro looked toward his sister.

“So does she.”

“What makes you say that?”

“She doesn’t hug people.”

Liyanna blinked.

“Really?”

“Not unless she trusts them.”

Liyanna watched Sofia skipping along the path.

“She’s a good kid.”

“The best.”

Later, while Pedro waited in line at an ice cream stand, Sofia tugged gently on Liyanna’s sleeve.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

Sofia looked unusually serious.

“Are you going to leave?”

Liyanna frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“My mom left.”

She quickly corrected herself.

“I mean…”

She looked down.

“After Dad died, everyone kept saying things would stay the same.”

Her voice became smaller.

“But everything changed.”

Liyanna’s heart ached.

“So…”

Sofia continued quietly.

“You’re not going to disappear too, are you?”

Liyanna knelt until they were eye level.

She chose her words carefully.

“I can’t promise what the future looks like.”

Sofia nodded.

“But I can promise you this.”

She smiled gently.

“As long as I’m here, you’ll always have someone cheering for you.”

Sofia’s eyes filled with tears.

She wrapped her arms around Liyanna again.

“Okay.”

Neither of them noticed Pedro watching from the ice cream stand.

He had heard every word.

Something tightened in his chest.

Not pain.

Something warmer.

Something he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

That evening they decided to cook dinner together.

Or at least…

That was the plan.

Within twenty minutes the kitchen looked like a battlefield.

Flour covered the countertops.

Cheese was somehow stuck to the refrigerator door.

Pedro found tomato slices on the floor.

“How did that even happen?” he asked.

Sofia pointed at Liyanna.

“She dropped them.”

“I did not!”

“You absolutely did.”

“It was one tomato.”

“It exploded.”

Liyanna laughed so hard she nearly dropped the mixing bowl.

Pedro looked around the kitchen and shook his head.

“I leave you two alone for five minutes…”

“You should’ve supervised us,” Sofia said.

“I’ve learned my lesson.”

By the time dinner was ready, the meal wasn’t perfect.

The pizza crust was a little uneven.

The vegetables were cut in different sizes.

One corner was slightly burnt.

But it was the most fun Pedro had had in years.

After dinner, Sofia insisted on watching a movie.

Halfway through, she fell asleep on the couch with her head resting against Liyanna’s shoulder.

Pedro walked into the living room carrying two blankets.

He stopped.

Liyanna hadn’t noticed Sofia was asleep.

She was absentmindedly brushing a curl away from the girl’s face, smiling softly at the television.

Pedro had never seen anyone look at his sister with so much tenderness.

He quietly placed a blanket over both of them.

Liyanna looked up.

“You okay?” she whispered.

He nodded.

“Yeah.”

His voice was almost inaudible.

“Better than okay.”

The next morning, Aunt Rosa arrived to take Sofia back to Atlanta.

Sofia hugged Pedro tightly.

“I’ll call you tonight.”

“You’d better.”

Then she turned toward Liyanna.

“I made you something.”

From her backpack, she pulled out a folded piece of paper.

It was a drawing.

Three stick figures stood in front of Apartment 3B.

Above them, written in colorful letters, were the words:

My Favorite Family

Liyanna blinked rapidly.

“It’s beautiful.”

Sofia smiled proudly.

“You can put it on the fridge.”

“I will.”

“I mean it.”

“I know.”

When the car finally drove away, the apartment suddenly felt much quieter.

Too quiet.

Pedro closed the door and leaned against it.

“I don’t know how to thank you.”

Liyanna looked down at Sofia’s drawing.

“You don’t have to.”

“You made her feel safe.”

“I think…”

She smiled.

“We made her feel safe.”

Pedro walked closer.

There was only a small space between them now.

“You know,” he said softly, “she’s never drawn anyone besides family before.”

Liyanna looked up.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying…”

He hesitated.

“I’m glad she met you.”

For a long moment, neither of them moved.

The apartment was silent except for the hum of the refrigerator.

Liyanna could hear her own heartbeat.

Pedro looked into her eyes.

She looked back into his.

Slowly…

Almost without thinking…

They leaned closer.

A knock at the front door shattered the moment.

Both stepped back immediately.

Pedro cleared his throat.

“I’ll get it.”

Liyanna pressed a hand against her racing heart.

Outside the apartment stood Emily.

She wasn’t smiling.

“I need to talk to you,” she said.

“It’s important.”

Pedro frowned.

“What happened?”

Emily looked past him at Liyanna.

Then back at Pedro.

“I know something about your marriage.”

The color drained from Pedro’s face.