Page 93 of For The Days We Can't Forget

I assured her I was fine, and after she was satisfied with my answer, she marched to Mia to give her the same treatment. She turned back to her cups, and one by one she distributed the hot cocoa to us, checking to see which cup should go to each person.

“I put a little something on yours.” She pointed at Danny, Mia, and me. “It’s supposed to warm you up.”

Right on cue, Mia started coughing. “Good Lord,”cough, “I thought,”cough, “it was love,”cough, “or something. What’s in here?”

“It’s rum,” Sonia replied in a stern voice and pointed a finger at her. “And you need to stay warm. So, you’re going to drink it until the last drop.”

With her eyes still twitching and leaking from her coughing, Mia infused as much cheer as she could into her breathy voice. “I love it.”

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one a little intimidated by Sonia Delgado.

Ben and Aaron stifled their laughter, while Danny and I covered our smiles behind our cups. The drink was in fact heavy with liquor, but I wouldn’t say that. Especially because it was doing what it was supposed to—keeping me warm. I was quite sure we weren’t supposed to drink that, especially in a hospital, but we’d survived worse.

Ignoring us, Sonia went on. “I think we have a lot ofthank yousto give out.” She turned to Danny’s—and my—friends, and for the first time since I saw her, she seemed speechless. She massaged her chest and took in a broken breath, her voice shaky with emotion. “I know all too well what it’s like to lose someone you love. My husband, Danny’s father, will be forever something missing from my life. He was one of the good ones, and no one could ever make his loss go away. You all understand that. For so long, since he was a little boy, Danny was all I had. Until he brought to our lives our Fee and you all.

“Even after everything you’ve been through, and the loss you endured, once again you stepped up for my boy. You brought our Sofia back months ago, and today you brought our Lisa back as well, always keeping my boy safe.” She placed her hands together over her heart. “Diósanswered my prayers.”

They acknowledged her gratitude, and I vowed to thank them when I could. My throat was too constricted for me to find and say any words.

“And I’ve got to say,” Danny chimed in. “It was nice working with you all at the same time.”

Ben made himself comfortable on Danny’s vacant hospital bed and looked at Aaron. “By the way, nice workout, Grandpa. Who would’ve thought an old, gray-haired man could keep up with us?”

“I’m not even two years older than Danny,” he argued indignantly.

“No comeback about the hair, I see,” Mia muttered before sipping her death potion and bursting into a new fit of coughing. The heat of her drink was even fogging her glasses. Mindful not to offend Sonia, she tried to suppress her puffs and pointed at her cup, wheezing, “So yummy.”

After our laughter at her expense died down, Danny spoke in a more serious tone. “You guys have done a lot for me, especially this last year. I could’ve lost my baby. I could’ve lost my woman. I also could’ve lost my life if it weren’t for you. Well, when any of you isn’t pulling me by the clothes and yelling in my face.”

Mia turned embarrassed and fidgeted in her seat. “Yeah. I’m sorry about,” she waved her finger vaguely in Danny’s direction, “that. It wasn’t my proudest moment. But to be fair, it wasn’t my worst either.”

Ben burst out laughing. “Man, even from afar, that was golden.”

I looked around, confused. “What happened?”

With a smile on his face matching his shy eyes, Danny peered at me. “For a moment there, I thought I’d lost you, and I started to lose control. So, Mia, very nicely, helped me get back on track. By pulling me from my clothes and yelling in my face.”

“And by scaring Aaron’s agents,” Ben contributed between cackles.

“I found one of them crying behind the agency car.” Aaron’s face was stern, yet his voice carried a tone of laughter behind it.

“Theyshouldbe crying,” Mia countered. “Good Lord, where are you getting those buffoons?”

We embraced the lightness of the moment, thirsty for a little normalcy. Although, our emotions were still running high.

Ben turned serious and pondered his words. It seemed to be the time to show our emotions. “Since meeting Izzie, I’ve been working on myself to be more vocal about how I feel.” He stared down and rubbed his thumbs on his cup. “I almost crossed the tunnel today. It was...well, it was scary. AndI’m grateful for you all for what you did.” He frowned for a moment, only then coming to his next conclusion. “Wait a second.” He pointed at Mia. “You saved my ass—ouch,” he rubbed his arm where Sonia had whacked him, “sorry, madam. You saved my...butt years ago when I was a teen. Also, today. And last year, you rescued Izzie at the companyandhelped her deliver my baby with Danny after the car crash.”

Danny nodded in thought and contributed to the conversation as if Mia wasn’t in the room. “She also found Sofia at the warehouse and today pulled Lisa out of the diving car.”

“And she helped you two today when that man sneaked up behind Danny at the Mansion,” Aaron volunteered.

She lazily tipped her head from side to side with a thoughtful expression on her face, as if the conversation wasn’t about her.

Ben continued. “So, it’s safe to say that—”

“I’m the queen of all,” Mia concluded.

“I’d say we owe you a lot,” he countered dryly.

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