Page 46 of Hidden Memories

And then I walked away.

But yesterday… his eyes told me a different story. His anger didn’t make sense. His pain didn’t either. Had I been wrong about what happened all those years ago?

The next morning, Theo and I walk over to meet up with Julia who is already working at Heritage. The tasks at my new job are simple and monotonous, which is exactly what I need. Routine. Predictability. A chance to stop thinking.

My muscles still ache from a couple of days ago, but watching Julia in her mid-sixties, still going strong with twenty-pound bags of dog food, I decide that she iseverything I aspire to be. Confident. Determined. Kind. Doesn’t take any shit whatsoever, and she has biceps of steel.

Despite her strength, I noticed Santi didn’t like her moving the heavy items.

Still a gentleman…

The air is crisp, the sunlight cutting through the early mist in golden streaks. The bell above the door tinkles when we enter the shop. Julia stands with a man, chatting at the cash register, leaning against it with a wide smile on her face.

Heritage isn’t open yet, so this is interesting. Does Julia have a beau?

When she hears the bell, she stands, almost ironing herself out, smoothing off some sort of giddiness this man seems to have brought out of her.

She greets us with her usual warmth, handing me a coffee in a takeaway cup. “Hope you like caramel.”

I take it graciously. “I like caffeine in all forms and flavors. Thank you.”

The man next to her shoves his hands in his pockets. A warm smile rests on his lips.

She takes another cardboard cup from Café Luna off the counter and hands it to Theo. “Hot chocolate?”

“Yes, please.”

Julia squeezes Theo’s shoulder. “I can’t take credit for the drinks. My friend Luis here brought us all a morning brew.”

Luis?Could this be…?

Luis thrusts his hand out between us. “Luis Mendez. Pleasure to meet you.”

Santi’s father.An ember inside me glows brighter. Santi’s dreams weren’t for himself. They were for his family. If his dad isn’t in New Mexico anymore, maybe heand his brothers retired him after all. I wonder if his sister is here, too? I guess Rio is in business with Enzo, so they’re probably both here. And Gabriel?

When I used to dream about a future with Santi, it wasn’t just about him. It was about them.

His family.

The boisterous Sunday barbecues, where someone was always shouting over the music, flipping meat on the grill, and pressing a cold beer into my hand. The bustling Christmases, full of cowboys and ranch hands running wild, warm embraces, and a kitchen alive with the smell of cinnamon, roasted chilis, and something fried and sweet.

I wanted to be part of one of those legendary Mendez parties. The ones he described under our tree, his voice full of something reverent—stories of mariachi bands playing until sunrise, sopapillas drowning in honey, and slices of tres leches cake so good they’d ruin you for anything else.

That sounded like what birthdays were supposed to be. What family was supposed to be.

Not like mine, where until I was twelve my parents played dress-up in luxury restaurants, stiff in their designer clothes, the table lined with enough glassware and forks to make me nervous to touch anything. Until she left, my mom played along. After that, birthdays became even more dismal—a single candle, a polite gift, a quiet affair that never felt like a celebration at all.

Despite everything between me and Santi, I never stopped wanting that dream to come true for the Mendez family.

I just stopped believing I’d ever be part of it.

Now, standing here, shaking Luis Mendez’s hand, I know I’m probably smiling too much. He doesn’t know me, but I know him.

Santi talked about his father a lot under our tree.

He told me that Luis was a strong man, the kind who didn’t just raise his sons but built them. That he could be stern, sometimes too hard, but never failed to be soft when it truly mattered. That he was generous, always the first to step in when someone needed help.

When Santi and I were together, Luis was drowning in grief. His wife had passed, and it was so bad that Santi’s sister dropped out of college just to take care of him.

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