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“What are you doing here?”
Andrea arches an eyebrow. It’s not so much the question but the tone she doesn’t care for. Like she’s interrupting. Like she’s unwelcome on her own son’s front porch.
“Really, Carlitos? That’s how you greet our mother?”
“And your sisters?”
Carlos blinks as he realizes Andrea is not alone. “What…” He shakes his head. “Did I miss something?” A lot has happened this morning, but surely he didn’t forget a family event important enough for both of his sisters to fly into Austin.
“No,” Ana replies. “You didn’t forget something.”
“Except maybe your manners.”
Carlos glances at his mother. He never wants to be on her bad side, but that’s especially true right now. “Sí. Lo siento, Mamá.”
Andrea softens just a bit. She never claimed she was immune to her son’s soulful, big brown eyes. “Your sisters wanted to surprise you.”
“I’m definitely surprised,” Carlos tells them, hoping his smile looks genuine and not panicked as he narrows the gap in the door. “Um…what brings you by?”
Andrea exchanges a look with her daughters. When Carlos called earlier to abruptly bow out of lunch at the ranch, claiming he didn’t feel well, she was disappointed their surprise would be ruined. They had spent weeks planning their visit and intended to stay the whole weekend, enjoying time with their parents and little brother.
But their shared disappointment was quickly replaced with concern, and although Gabriel had reminded them Carlos was a big boy and could take care of himself, Andrea and her girls had started making different plans – plans to check in on their youngest and nurse him back to health. With any luck, Carlos would be back on his feet within a day, and their weekend together could still be salvaged.
And yet…
“You don’t look sick.”
“Or sound sick.”
“But that person does,” Luisa says as a chest rattling cough echoes from somewhere in the house. She tilts her head, trying to see over Carlos’s shoulder. “I thought you lived alone.”
“He does,” Andrea confirms, adjusting her purse strap as she crosses her arms and waits for an explanation.
“Mom’s right,” Carlos replies. “I’m usually here by myself.”
“Usually?”
Carlos should’ve known that clarifier would not escape notice. Luisa is smiling while Andrea and Ana appear undecided. Should they be happy for Carlos or annoyed that he’s keeping secrets?
Again.
He sighs, not in the mood for this. His family doesn’t get to ignore his identity, to pretend he never told them he was gay, then get pissed when he doesn’t share certain parts of his life with them.
“Listen. I’m sorry I lied about today, but – ”
When the cough comes again, sounding even deeper than before, Carlos reacts on instinct. He turns, completely abandoning his post as he jogs up the stairs.
Ana peers through the crack in the door, tracking his movements. “Whoever it is, is in his bedroom.”
“And his bed,” Luisa adds, genuinely enjoying this.
Andrea nods. She’s well aware of the layout of her son’s one bedroom-one bathroom townhouse. She and Gabriel helped him move in.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Is it serious?”
Andrea shrugs. This is all news to her.
“I wonder what his name is.”
“I bet he’s cute,” Luisa says, laughing when Ana gives her a shove that’s half playful, half irritated. “What? You know Carlitos has good taste.”
“Mijas…”
Luisa smiles wider when Ana glares at her. As the middle child, it’s her job to get the oldest in trouble as often as possible. But her smile fades when the cough happens a third time. “That sounds painful.”
“It sounds like bronchitis,” Andrea replies, pushing the door open to better hear Carlos murmuring to his mystery guest upstairs. Whoever responds is hoarse and congested, and she’s done with lingering on the porch like a guest herself. Although her son isn’t sick – and thank God for that – someone here is, and she plans to do what she came to do. “Ana, bring the groceries inside. Luisa, bring my kit.”
Luisa grins, excited to see where this leads, while Ana just sighs.
As the sisters return to the car, Andrea enters the house, noticing unfamiliar shoes kicked off just inside the entryway instead of neatly lined up with the others. There’s also an unfamiliar jacket slung over the back of the chair, a pair of jeans on the floor with a belt still in the loops, and a t-shirt tossed on the coffee table.
The scene speaks for itself; the shared urgency to get this guy naked as quickly as possible on their way up the stairs.
“You go, Carlos!”
Andrea cuts her eyes at Luisa as Ana shakes her head.
“He’s not going to like this,” she predicts. “You know how he is about privacy.”
“We’ll deal with that later,” Andrea dismisses, shooing her oldest toward the kitchen. “Get started on the soup. Luisa…” She motions for her kit, then sets the bag on one of the bar stools as she starts unpacking. “Thermometer. Humidifier. Heating pad. Nose strips. Vicks. Tea box. Honey. Cough drops. Cough suppressant. Throat spray. Decongestant. Pain reliever. Fever reducer…” She pauses, staring at the items lined up on the dining room table. “Something’s missing. Where’s the – ”
“What are you doing?”
Luisa glances over her shoulder, smiling at Carlos frozen halfway down the stairs. “What does it look like, hermanito?”
Carlos scowls as he joins them, noting his mother’s legendary “kit” – basically a traveling pharmacy – and his oldest sister chopping ingredients for their abuela’s equally legendary sopa de pollo.
“I can take care of my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” Luisa claps her hands, overjoyed by the confirmation. “Oh, Carlitos! Can we meet him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s sick, Luisa!” Carlos doesn’t mean to snap, but dammit…he’s stressed enough without his family in his face about this. He takes a breath, trying to sound more reasonable. “No one wants strangers around when they’re sick.”
“And whose fault is it that we’re strangers to each other?”
“Mom…”
Andrea lifts her hands. She’s just saying.
“I’m not getting into this right now,” Carlos announces, crossing to the fridge to gather supplies. A fresh bottle of water. A bottle of juice. Maybe a popsicle to help soothe a sore throat. “I appreciate you coming over when you thought I was sick. But I’m fine. And I’ve got this.”
Ana watches her brother, wishing they could go back in time. As the oldest, she should’ve done better by him. She should’ve been a mediator between Carlos and their parents, helping the 17-year-old kid fully express himself while helping Andrea and Gabriel articulate that their silence reflected uncertainty, not rejection.
But instead, she and Luisa followed their parents’ lead, and Carlos retreated further into himself, convinced that he was the only person he could depend on. Since then, he’s handled so much of life on his own, and she knows it’s difficult for him to accept their help. It’s difficult for Carlos to believe they even want to help, especially in this situation.
And if Ana were in his shoes, she would also be defensive and protective, refusing to let what she perceived as bigoted people anywhere near someone she cared about.
“Carlitos.” She waits for him to look at her. “We’ll leave if you want us to. But not before I tell you that we love you. Just as you are. And I’m sorry if we ever made you doubt that.”
“She’s right,” Andrea says, crossing to the kitchen with Luisa beside her. She didn’t plan to have such a heavy conversation today, but…life is like that. “The way we reacted to your coming out will always be my biggest regret. But you…” She smiles at her son. “You are one of my greatest joys, and it will be an honor to one day meet the boy you deem worthy of your heart. And if that day isn’t today, well…”
“Babe.”
All eyes turn toward the stairs.
“TK.” Carlos literally drops everything on the counter in his rush to meet him. “What are you doing up?”
“I…” TK coughs as Carlos holds him steady. “I heard you talking to somebody.”
Carlos didn’t tell TK they had company earlier, but now there’s no way around it since three strangers are staring at him. “TK. This is my mother, Andrea. And my sisters, Ana and Luisa.”
“Hi,” TK says, ending the word with another cough. “Nice to – ”
Ana cringes as more coughs follow. “He sounds horrible,” she whispers, resuming her chopping since this kid needed their abuela’s soup, like, yesterday.
“I was right, though,” Luisa whispers back, smiling as she picks up a knife to assist with prepping. “He’s cute.”
“Carlitos…”
Carlos glances at his mother as TK’s coughs continue. “Easy,” he urges, rubbing between TK’s shoulders as he tips forward, dizzy and weak with fatigue.
“Bring him here.”
Carlos would rather take TK back to bed, but they’re closer to the couch. And honestly, he just wants his boyfriend off his feet before he collapses. “Come on,” he says, pressing a kiss to TK’s temple. “One step at a time. Lean on me.”
TK hums at the instructions, clinging to Carlos as they clear the stairs and shuffle the short distance to the living room.
“Oh my God.” Luisa feels like squealing when she gets a better look at TK. “He’s wearing Carlos’s hoodie.” The one she gave her brother for Christmas last year. She bites her lip. “That is so sweet and adorable. I think I’m already in love with him.”
“You’re not the only one,” Ana agrees, smiling as she watches Carlos with TK.
“How long has he been like this?”
“We thought it was just allergies last night,” Carlos replies, easing TK down to the sofa, hating how shaky and breathless he is, how pale he looks. “But this morning…”
Andrea nods, putting two and two together. Her son thought he could leave his boyfriend for a few hours to join them for lunch, but when TK woke up feeling worse, Carlos chose him over them.
And strangely…that makes her happy.
A mother is always happy for her son when he finds love, and though Carlos may not realize it yet, he loves this boy.
She can feel it.
She can see it.
Carlos is looking at TK like he’s the only thing that matters, and it warms her heart…even if she’s also concerned about TK’s condition.
“When did you last take his temperature?”
“Right before I called you.” TK had insisted Carlos still go to the ranch as planned, but that wasn’t happening. Carlos wasn’t leaving TK with a fever.
“Have you – ”
“Yes,” Carlos answers. “I’ve done everything you would do. Fever reducer. Cold compress. Fluids…”
“Cuddles?”
Carlos makes a face at Luisa’s teasing, but she’s not wrong. Andrea did cuddle them when they were sick as kids, and he’s certainly done the same with TK, both last night and this morning.
“What else should I do?”
“Nothing,” Andrea replies. “Your sisters are making soup, and I’m going to set up the humidifier and make some tea. Your job is right there.”
Carlos smiles as his mother points to the spot beside TK. He sits, pulling his boyfriend close while wrapping a blanket around him and pressing a kiss into his hair.
TK sighs, closing his eyes as he relaxes in Carlos’s arms. Carlos hasn’t talked much about his family but – “They seem nice.”
Carlos nods as he listens to his mother and sisters busy around behind them in the kitchen, realizing maybe he was wrong.
Maybe there was a bridge across this chasm all along.
They just needed help finding it.