Ricardo laughed.
“Fine. You can clean the kitchen.”
And for the first time, Luía laughed with him.
But there was still one final obstacle.
Mariana.
The twelve-year-old had accepted Luía.
But she hadn’t accepted the possibility that her father might love her.
One evening, she confronted him.
“If you marry her, Mom won’t be your wife anymore.”
Ricardo sat beside her.
“Your mother will always be my wife.”
“Then how can you love someone else?”
He thought carefully.
“I don’t know.”
Mariana looked at him.
“Isn’t that wrong?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because loving someone new doesn’t erase someone you loved before.”
She remained silent.
Ricardo continued.
“I’ll never stop loving your mother.”
Mariana’s eyes filled.
“But I also don’t want to spend the rest of my life being afraid to be happy.”
Mariana looked toward the kitchen.
Luía was helping the twins make cookies.
“Does she make you happy?”
