Little by little, Mateo and Alma began to get attached to their uncle. Stephen taught Matthew to change the tire of a little toy stroller, and Alma showed Alma how to plant tomatoes in a pot behind the kitchen. Every afternoon, when I was coming back, the two of them ran to the entrance to receive him as if they were waiting for someone who had been away for years.
Only Sofia was still keeping a distance.
He no longer said it openly, but his coldness never disappeared. He didn’t like Esteban sitting at the table too long with us, he didn’t like him to hit the wheel of the family SUV, let alone that the kids would want him more and more.
And then came the hardest blow, just when I least expected it
It all started with a call one Monday morning, while I was going through some papers in the office. One of my main customers, an avocado distributor in Zapopan, had decided to cancel the biggest contract that supported my company. According to him, he had found a “cheaper and safer” option. It didn't give me time or react. Two hours later, another client asked to defer payments. That same week, one of my vans suffered a breakdown on the road to Michoacán, and the merchandise was late. I lost money. I lost credibility. I lost my sleep.
In less than two months, what had taken me years to build began to collapse like an old wall in the rain.
Debts were stacked on the desk. The numbers were no longer square. Employees started asking me, afraid in the look, if there would be work for the following week. I smiled at them and said yes, even though I felt like I was lying inside.
At home, the atmosphere became heavy.
Sofia started cutting expenses without telling me anything. He stopped buying certain things, turned off lights, checked the bills quietly at night. I saw her sitting at the table with a notebook and a calculator, moving her lips while holding bills that never ended well.
One night, when the children were already sleeping, he sat down in front of me and said quietly:
“Diego... if this goes on like this, we’re going to lose everything, right?
I had no courage to lie to him.
I looked down.
I don’t know.
His eyes filled with tears, but he didn’t cry. He just nodded, as if deep down he already knew the answer.
In those days, I hardly spoke. I was leaving early, coming back late, and yet everything seemed to get worse. I called Thomas to ask for a temporary loan. He told me that he couldn’t risk money “in a business that was sinking.” Lucia offered me advice that she had not asked for. Mariela didn't even answer my messages.
No one reached out.
No one except the man everyone had wanted to erase from the family.
