Lucas’ mom, the rock of their three parents, was the first to lose it. “You mean both of my kids are moving out?”
“Mom, we’re both over 21.”
“I know, but . . .” She shot up from her chair, raced around the table and hugged Tessa. “My little girl is leaving me!”
“Don’t you dare start blubbering,” Papi warned. “Or I’ll hang my head and be forced to . . . to . . . cry into my damn rice pudding.”
“It’s arroz con leche,” Tessa managed to say from inside the headlock her mom had her trapped in.
Papi let out a small, teary laugh and tapped his index finger on the table. “I want all of you here every Sunday for a feast just like this one. You, too, Sindy.”
“We will,” Lucas answered for the three of them. That made his mom trap him in one of her skull-crushing hugs. “It’s OK, Mom. We’ll go tomorrow and you’ll see how close we are.” She was the strong one out of his three parents. Papi was the emotional one. And his dad was the sensitive one, who still hadn’t reacted to Tessa’s announcement. “Is Dad OK?”
After a kiss on his cheek, his mom abandoned him to check on his dad. “Are you OK, Tommy?”
Lucas’ dad had a dazed look on his face, but snapped out of it when his mom touched his shoulder. He took her hand and kissed it. “Our kids are all grown up.”
She smiled affectionately and nodded.
Lucas’ dad turned to Tessa. “I’m glad you’ll be so close to your brother. It’ll make me worry less, although I’ll still worry.”
“I’ll be fine, Daddy.”
“Are you sure you two can afford this? Those condos look very pricey.”
“I filled out paperwork for a mortgage today,” Lucas answered. “I guess Tessa will have to do the same thing.”
“A mortgage?” His dad shook his head adamantly. “Oh no. I won’t hear of it.”
“Dad. It’s not a big deal. Rates are low. The payment will be high, but we have steady money coming in from the single now, and we’re going to be releasing the album soon. We can pay down the mortgage from the royalties.”
“You’re not paying thousands of dollars to a bank. That’s out of the question.”
Tessa looked at Lucas with pleading eyes. Finances were one thing not even her pouting lower lip could cause their dad to change his mind about.
“Dad, we’ll be OK. I promise. I wouldn’t—”
“You’ll be OK because you’re not taking out a mortgage.” His dad folded his arms across his chest. “You’re both old enough and smart enough to know that I’m right. If it’s OK with your mom and with Papi, I want to give you the money for the apartments from your trust funds.”
