The house is unusuallyquiet when I get home. Ileana tiptoes barefoot out of Isael’s room.
“He asleep?” I whisper, and she nods.
Thank the heavens. I plop myself down on the couch, lying down and resting my feet on the armrest. I don’t remember ever being so exhausted. The house really was a mess.
“Long day?” Ileana asks.
I peer up at her, smiling at seeing her in her signature maxi dress. Her dark caramel waves fall full around her shoulders. “You have no idea,” I say. “Made good money, though.”
Ileana grins wide. “Good.” She stands to go to the kitchen and comes back with a glass of her famousagua de jamaica, setting it on the coffee table in front of me.
Though she’s not that much older than me, Ileana is wise beyond her years, more like family than friend. Since she and Sofia adopted me as a little sister, they’ve always had my back.
I don’t think I could have survived the last year if it weren’t for my roommate. She’s known profound loss too, and without her advice, I would be in a much darker place now. It took me much too long to learn the most important lesson she taught me this past year: You take one breath, and then another. Day by day, you live one breath at a time. One day, there will be a happy moment that will make all the pain worth it, and that’s what you stick it out for.
I’m still waiting for my happy moments. But thanks to Ileana, I stick it out, waiting for it to happen. I’m not sure why, but spending the evening with Karl has me thinking about all this.
My phone rings with “1979” byThe Smashing Pumpkins, and I smile. So does Ileana when I look up at her. “Sorry,” I say. “I have to take this.”
I take the drink she poured for me and head into my room. “Hey, baby,” I say as I close the door behind me.
“Hi, Lo.”
“I’ve missed you,” I say sweetly, but with my heart aching—missing him.
“Uh—yeah. How’ve you been?” he asks.
My eyes narrow. He sounds . . . off. And he didn’t say he missed me back. Maybe he’s distracted. “Good. I had a long workday today, but I’m closer to my goal now.” Ethan knows all about my savings plan to move to Mexico.
“That’s great!” he says, much too happily. He shouldn’t be. It means we’ll be even farther apart.Stop it, Lola!I scold myself.He can be proud of you for reaching your goals without it meaning anything.
“I’m excited to see you soon,” I say, refocusing the conversation on his upcoming fall break.
“Yeah, about that, Lo . . . that’s actually why I called you. I’m so sorry, but something came up. I won’t be able to come home after all.”
My face falls. “Oh,” I say.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to be an assistant for one of my professor’s projects. A recommendation from him for grad school is just too good to pass up.”
I clear my throat. I want to be supportive and try to sound happy when I say, “That’s great, Ethan. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” he says.
“But . . .”
“But what?” he asks.
“I’m leaving in a few weeks. If you’re not coming home for fall break, we won’t get to see each other before I leave—”
“I’m so sorry,” he says. “We knew this would be hard, right?”
There has to be a way around this. I think of my bonus from work today. It’s money I wasn’t counting on. I should show Ethan I’m invested in long-distance too, especially if we want to make a go of it once I’m in Mexico.
“How about I visit you, then?” I ask, more hopeful.
He breathes out a long breath. “Lo . . .”
“It’s perfect; I’ll come up for a week, then come back and pack up to leave. Once I’m settled, you can visit me in Acapulco. Maybe during winter break? Can you just see us? Romantic walks on the beach.” I smile at the thought of sand between our toes, Tecate beers in our hands. I keep going, painting the picture for him. “Eating seafood for dinner every evening, dancing all night? I hear Acapulco is so much fun, Ethan. We’ll have a blast.” I smile again as the montage plays before me. It would be such a perfect time together.