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“Hola, Papi.” My chin trembles. “Ha pasado un tiempo desde la última vez que hablamos.”
Birds chirp in the distance as a gust of wind hits me. Izip my jacket all the way to the top before taking a seat on the ground. “I wish you were here more than ever.”
Ha pasado un tiempo desde la última vez que hablamos:Some time has passed since the last time we spoke
I pluck a blade of grass and wrap it around my finger. “Although maybe it’s for the best that you’re not around. I would’ve hated for you to overreact about the broken engagement and get thrown into jail for assault charges because of Oliver.” My laugh comes out all wrong thanks to the tightness in my throat.
A few leaves in the distance get picked up by another breeze.
“I made a big mistake.” My voice cracks. “I was so stupid,Papi.” Tears flood my eyes, although I fight to make sure they don’t fall. “I knew it too, but I still kept trying to make things workporque un Muñoz nunca se rinde.”
My father raised us to follow his motto ofser fiel a ti mismo—stay true to yourself—and I tried my hardest to stick to his values.
Yet you failed anyway.
“But the problem was that while trying to keep my relationship intact, I forgot myself. I gave up all the things that made me special because I thought it was the right thing to do to make the person who supposedly loved me happy.” The tightness in my chest becomes unbearable.
“I realize now that the only person I was letting down was myself. I stopped trusting myself and the gut instinct that told me I deserved better.” My head hangs.
Porque un Muñoz nunca se rinde:A Muñoz never quits.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around much in the last few years. Between us, I was kind of lost.” I tear the blade of glass to shreds before ripping another off the ground. “I’m going to find myself, though. Because Muñozes never quit—not even on ourselves.”
And by the time I leave Lake Wisteria after the holidays, I hope my soul will be fully healed.
CHAPTER TEN
Dahlia
Itry my best to ignore my phone pinging, but after the eighth time, I give up. The Lopez-Muñoz family group chat continues to go off before I have a chance to read the first message.
I scroll to the start of the new messages.
JOSEFINA
Why am I finding out from someone who isn’t my son that he and Dahlia are renovating a house together?
MAMI
What? OUR Julian and Dahlia?
Not difficult to conclude, seeing as we’re the only two people in town with those names—for now at least. Lake Wisteria’s census last year reported record-breaking numbers, given our lakeside beach, massive sand dunes, and the risingdemand for Julian’s services and his frequent media exposure.
No wonder he wants to maximize opportunities and rezone properties to account for more houses, seeing as he turned our town into his own Monopoly game.
JOSEFINA
Yes. Everyone in town is talking about how they’re buying a house together.
I send a mental thumbs-up emoji.
RAFA
Was Julian held at gunpoint?
LILY
Or was it blackmail?
