She nodded, but I could tell she was trying to get a read on my dismissal of Miguel, and we were not going there. “Okay, papí, bendición. Be careful. Love you.”
My mother always told me to be careful, even when I was thousands of miles away and she literally had no control over what I did, but she had to get that in there.
“Bendición, Mamí, I love you too.”
That blessing, or bendición, was also a must in every conversation with my mom. Despite the fact that neither of us had gone to a church for anything other than a funeral or a wedding ever since I could remember, I could not get off the phone without asking for a blessing. Who was granting said blessing was yet to be determined, but it had been our sign off my whole life.
This morning, with so much on my mind and knowing all the ways in which I was being reckless, her request to be careful felt like advice I should heed. Instead, I ignored all trepidation and checked my phone to see if Elias had sent a message.
When my stomach did a back flip from reading the message from Elias telling me he wished he could give me a good-morning kiss, I knew my common sense had no chance of winning this war with my dumbass heart.
Chapter 13
A few hours later I was standing outside of the guesthouse waiting for Saba. I smiled like a loon when I saw her drive into the compound. As soon as she stopped the car, I hurried up to the driver’s side and opened the door to pull her into a hug.
She looked like royalty in a flowy emerald caftan and leather sandals, her braids in an intricate design, and her fingers and wrists full of silver jewelry. She was such a stunning woman. Whenever she visited us in New York, that first moment I spotted her in the crowd, I always paused to take her in. Even now in her sixties, she had the kind of elegance and poise that made people literally stop in their tracks.
I squeezed her tight, closing my eyes. “Saba, it’s so damn good to see you.”
She pulled back to give me the kind of thorough once-over only a tía could give. “Look at you. You’re the perfect mix of your parents. So handsome. I’m so happy to have you here in your first home. Give me another hug, it’s been too long.” She brought me in for another squeeze. “Now that you’re a grown-up and I can’t lure you to New York City for weekend adventures, I never see you!”
I gave her a sheepish look, but didn’t say anything about the possibility of me being in New York sooner than she thought.
She beamed at me again and started asking questions before I could get a word in. “Tell me about this new job. Fatima said you’ll be running one of the units at the Aid USA headquarters. She’s so proud of you. I’m proud of you too,” she said, gently putting a hand on my face. “You’ve grown up so fine. Your dad would have been so pleased with what you’ve done.”
There it was, the knife to the gut.
I smiled and nodded as I swallowed through the lump in my throat, as I always did whenever someone told me how I was carrying on my father’s legacy. I let that weight sit right between my shoulder blades, looking for a way to give some kind enthusiastic answer.
But Saba was a wily woman.
After a moment, she gave me an assessing look, put her arm around my shoulder, and went right where I didn’t want her to. “But what I should have asked was how you felt about it. Who cares about what two old women and the memory of a very-good-but-quite-dead man think? You’re the one who has to live with it!”
Leave it Saba to lighten the mood with her dark-as-night humor.
I laughed and got in the car. “All right, old lady, buy me a beer at this fancy joint you’re taking me to and I’ll catch you up on my life.”
She winked at me as she put the car in drive and headed out of the guesthouse. “I want all the gory details.”
“Well, first there was the breakup with Miguel.” I trailed off, knowing there would be a reaction.
Saba did not disappoint in her scorn for my ex. Her mouth twisted to the side at the mention of his name. “Fatima told me about that. He’s the one who lost here. You don’t need a man who can’t see your worth.”
I knew she meant it. Saba was not one to say things to be nice. If she said it, she believed it.
“Thanks.” I realized after I’d said it that I didn’t feel like talking about Miguel, so I veered elsewhere. “The job in DC is exciting, though,” I said, forcing myself to sound enthusiastic. If I was an expert at anything, it was at telling my loved ones what they wanted to hear. Saba looked at me like she suspected there was more there, but she didn’t push.
We sat in silence, and after a few minutes, drove into what I assumed was the Hotel Marquis. I turned in my seat to get a good look at the majestic entrance of the hotel. “Wow. Someone did way too much,” I said, awed by the enormous grounds and gorgeous gardens.
Saba chuckled as I took everything in. From the gate to the buildings, everything looked like something straight out of Vegas or Dubai. The entrance was a twenty-foot gilded metal gate, manually operated by white-gloved bellhops wearing red velvet jackets with gold embroidery. And that was only to get into the parking lot.
It only got swankier once we were inside. I stood in the lobby and turned
