The clock passed midnight.
Then one in the morning.
Then two.
Lupita sat beside Miguel without speaking.
Finally, she said, “You missed your delivery.”
“I know.”
“You might lose the job.”
“I know.”
“You may have to explain all of this to Don Ernesto.”
Miguel smiled faintly.
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I don’t have another answer.”
Lupita leaned her head against the wall.
After a moment, she whispered, “Maybe that’s different.”
“What is?”
“Usually you say you know and then nothing changes.”
Miguel looked at her.
“This time?”
“This time you stayed.”
He swallowed.
“I almost didn’t.”
“I know.”
Those two words landed harder than any accusation.
The hospital doors opened.
A nurse approached them.
“Are you the people who found Sofía?”
Miguel stood.
“Yes.”
“She asked if you were still here.”
They followed the nurse into a quiet room.
Sofía was sitting beside the baby’s bassinet.
Her daughter was sleeping peacefully.
Canela was curled beneath the chair, exhausted, one paw wrapped in a bandage.
The sight stopped Miguel in the doorway.
Sofía looked at Lupita first.
“Thank you.”
Lupita smiled.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“Yes, I do.”
