—Since when? Esperanza asked.

—What do you mean?

—You never stood up for anything. Always hiding behind your father‘s big mouth.

—I should‘ve stayed in D.R. and let you fend for yourself. You‘d probably still be stuck in Puerto Rico.

He looked over at Bobby and hated Bobby for taking on the things Santo hated about himself. Don‘t end up like me, Santo thought.

Bobby glared at Santo and then Dallas and ran out of the room and locked himself in the bathroom. Dallas giggled on the sofa, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

Santo had gone too far. He knew it. And when he looked over at Esperanza, he wanted to take it all back. He was tired of being so angry. He missed her. What had happened to them? To the woman he‘d fallen in love with?

Esperanza noticed a fierceness in Santo‘s eyes. It excited her. Since Don Chan‘s arrival, Santo and Esperanza had stopped talking like they used to. She was also tired of fighting with him. They were drifting apart while living under the same roof.

Santo‘s arms and shoulders collapsed. His eyes drooped in sadness. He let out a deep sigh.

—Come here, Santo said to Esperanza.

Looking at him, his tall, slender build, his full and well-defined lips reminded her that this was the same man who had followed her to the U.S., even after she had abandoned them. This was the same man who worked all day and night to take care of them. She walked toward him and said, —Ay, Santo, mi miel de abeja, honey from the bees, so sweet to lick, to eat, so sweet, she said while Dallas sat on the sofa and watched. Esperanza didn‘t like the ruthless Santo who was training her son to be a man, but his assertive tone made her soft for him. She walked up close to him, pulled into his warmth. And on that particular day, the radio was playing the old Dominican songs that reminded them of their youth.

The kind of songs where all the instruments had their moment and held their own: the güiro, the trumpet, the congas, the guitar. All playing a slow bolero, slow enough so Esperanza‘s thighs could nestle between Santo‘s legs. They moved three steps back, three steps forward; back and forth, trying not to trip over the coffee table, Bobby‘s bike and the chairs. As they danced, he dipped her. With each step his hands trailed farther down her back and her arms held him tighter around his neck. They forgot Dallas was watching. It was only when they kissed and she giggled that they woke up from the dream the song offered, the dream of remembering where it all began for them.

—So you think it‘s funny, huh? Santo winked at Dallas as he pulled away from Esperanza, who was flushed. She wanted to dance into the bedroom and make love. But as soon as Esperanza heard the sharp pitch of Dallas‘s voice, she remembered she was a mother and she hadn‘t made dinner for her children. So she kissed Santo lightly on the lips and went into the kitchen.