“Because I am waiting until I find a man who looks at me the way Aldo looks at you. Do you really not know how very lucky you are? How rare that is? I would love to be in a relationship, maybe even a marriage, with a man who loves and respects me. I’m holding out for what you were so quick to dismiss.”

Her mother was never one to pull punches, and Gloria felt every single one of her words as if it were a physical blow.

“I’m trying to do the right thing, the thing that makes the most sense.”

“Mija, sometimes the thing that makes the most sense is wrong. Don’t hide away, trying to protect yourself from ever getting hurt again. It will be a sad and colorless life. Without pain, there is no joy.”

“We were moving too fast.” Stubbornly, she stuck to her guns though her stance was wavering.

“How can you doubt your feelings? I saw the way you looked at him. You loved him. You love him now, and you stand here and pretend you don’t. You were looking for an excuse.”

“I wasn’t looking for an excuse! I don’t know how I feel!”

Sara shook her head, pursed her lips. “You don’t trust yourself. And you never will until you jump in and try hard and deal with the consequences. But first, you must believe. You don’t have to believe that everything will work out and be perfect. You have to believe that you will survive it. You have to know, in your heart, that you will do whatever it takes to chase down your happiness.”

Did she know that? Was she fighting for her happiness, or was she fighting for safety? There was a time in her life that safe meant happy. Did that still hold true now?

“My job is to respect your decisions. I am not here to hold your hand and guide you in life. You are an adult. I will respect this decision, but I will be very disappointed in you.”

“That’s not fair, Mama. I’m doing what’s best for me.”

“You are doing what you think is safest. Safe and best are rarely the same thing.” Sara looked at her and shook her head sadly. “I have never once said this or felt this before, but today I am disappointed in you.”

And with that, her mother swept from the kitchen, leaving behind her a quiet blender and a cloud of disapproval.

77

He wasn’t sure what day it was. All Aldo knew was the pavement blurred beneath his feet. His new running blade, made from carbon fiber-reinforced polymer, was a dream to run on. But the rest of his life felt like a fucking nightmare.

Gloria left, taking the light out of his house…and leaving him with a bad-tempered kitten hell-bent on world domination.