When Sofia argued with Beto, she was always eerily calm, as though she was waiting for him to figure out that she’d already won. Once, after a huge blowout, Nathan discovered Beto grumbling to himself as he picked up pieces of a broken vase.
“That woman. Sometimes she makes it hard to… breathe.”
Now he understood what Beto meant. Nathan went upstairs and found Sofia gliding around his apartment, straightening pillows, and making decorating suggestions as if the fight outside had never happened. Even Joe looked uneasy.
“We came over to deliver the good news in person,” Joe said, eyes still on Sofia. “About Abuelita, right, Mom?”
Sofia moved a stack of coasters to the coffee table. “You have multiple offers from private collectors. Large offers, particularly for your grandmother’s portrait and…” Her jaw tightened. “Rachel. The nude is very popular.”
“It belongs to Rachel,” Nathan said. “And it’s not for sale.”
“Well, you may want to ask her first,” Sofia said. “With her current financial situation, she might disagree.”
Joe’s eyes flew wide. “Mom! Can you give it a rest? Let Nate celebrate his success without you—” Joe stopped when Nathan shot him a let me handle this look. “You know what,” he said. “This is between you two. I’m going to grab something from that taqueria I saw on the way over.”
“They use manteca, Joseph,” Sofia sighed. “Even in the beans.”
“I’m sure I can get some shredded lettuce or something. I’ll be right back.”
They watched Joe rush out in silence. Nathan folded his arms and looked down at his mother, who was perched on the edge of his couch. “You’re looming,” she said. “Sit.”
“You’ve got to stop ordering people around.”
“No, I don’t. I’m still your mother, Nathaniel.”
“You are. But I’m not a little kid anymore. You can stop pretending I’m not the one who caused all this in the first place.”
Sofia stiffened. “She lied to me.”
“No, she didn’t.”
“It was humiliating,” Sofia snapped. “Our foundation auctioned a naked portrait of my son’s cougar lover. And I was the one who chose her as host!”
Nathan sat next to her. “How much money did she make for the foundation that night? I could have a career because of her.”
Sofia pursed her lips, like she’d tasted something sour. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Do you see how everyone’s treating her? Like some predator who lured me into her art studio.” He could hear the irritation in his voice and tried to pull it back. His mother was grieving, and hurt people spread their pain around so they wouldn’t suffer alone. But he couldn’t let her cause more damage.
Sofia averted her eyes. “She’s an adult. She knew the risks.”
“So am I,” he said. “I knew the risks too, and I fell in love with her anyway.”
She cut her eyes and huffed. “Love?”
“Yes, love,” he said. “For a while now.”
She flicked a dismissive hand. “But how long have you known each other?”
“How long did you know Beto?”
They hadn’t said his name since he died. Sofia would leave the room when anyone talked about him outside of planning the funeral arrangements. But here, in Nathan’s apartment, there was nowhere for her to go. She glared at him. “That was different,” she said with a finality that tried to end the conversation.
“Not the way he told it,” Nathan said. He wasn’t going to let her escape this time. Too many years had gone by with all of them tiptoeing around their own stories. He’d wasted his chance to connect with Beto. He refused to do the same with his mother. “He said you two met on set and things were so intense you could barely look at him.”
Her voice softened. “Well, he just kept staring at me.” She touched her face, sliding back into the moment. “It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was… something.”
“You were always so quick to forgive him. For everything.”
“Because I loved him. And he needed it. He never would have survived without his family. And I needed to forgive him too. Hating someone you love only makes you smaller. Those feelings take up so much room.” She was silent for a few seconds and then looked up at him with a tired smile. “Is this my lesson? To not give Rachel Abbott my precious space?”