He learned early that the university made everything seem urgent, even when it wasn’t, and students notoriously thought their grade complaints were more important than their quiz grades and attendance records throughout the semester, but he didn’t have to agree. Even if he needed to change a grade or submit a report to the college, he told everyone that he would be happy to do so once the semester started and he was back on contract. He knew people hated his firm no, but he stood by it each time because sometimes his boundaries were all he had. As soon as the semester started, he made sure to juggle printing off his syllabi and class rosters and beginning to learn his new students’ names with handling any old business form the previous semester. If that meant he was on campus for ten hours a day during the first week of the semester, it was worth it if he got to enjoy his time away.

And he did.

Alejandro usually had a long list of people to see while he was home. His family alone could take up his entire vacation if he let it, but his three brothers ate up most of his time, and as usual, kept him up the night before he flew back to Centreville. By the time they headed off to bed or back to their own homes, Alejandro’s dad was already puttering around in the kitchen, playing with the new coffee machine they’d gotten them for Christmas. Alejandro had just enough time to shower and change before it was time to go. He carried his bags downstairs, and Angel lugged them into their dad’s truck. His mom tried not to cry and shoved a warm foil package into his hands, which he knew would be filled with a couple of small tortillas full of egg and beans. His dad listened to traffic news on the way to the airport, and Alejandro ate his breakfast, the silence comfortable and strong, their hug at the passenger drop-off a final goodbye to home.

He was exhausted by the time he made it onto the plane. As he waited for takeoff, he looked at the to-do list on his phone, a list of things he needed to accomplish before the semester started, so he could hit the ground running as soon as he landed, but exhaustion hit him, and he was fast asleep before they were even at cruising altitude. When he woke up to change planes in Chicago, he wasted nearly his entire layover staring between the schedule of departing flights and the dark gray sky outside, terrified that his flight would be delayed or worse. Relief washed over him as he boarded the plane for the last short flight of the trip, but as soon as he was buckled into his seat, excitement coursed through him knowing that when he landed, Deja would be waiting for him.