“Yeah. I mean,” she said, her nose wrinkling in the adorable way he loved, “he’s got this weird obsession with zombies. We’re all hoping he grows out of it, but if he doesn’t, it’s not a bad hobby. We think. Do you have nieces or nephews? I can’t believe I’ve never asked that before.”

“It’s okay,” he said as she extended a glass of water to him. “I’ve got two nieces. One of my little brothers, Carlos. He and his wife met in, like, junior high and have been together for forever. Two kids, cute little house down the street from my parents,” he said and smiled, shaking his head. “It’s a real different kind of life.”

“Yeah,” Deja said. “That sounds like my sister. My brother-in-law was literally the boy next door. She works at the same company as my dad and lives close enough to walk to my parents’ house too. Sometimes, I think I should have followed in her footsteps.”

Alejandro nodded. “I think that sometimes, too. Every time I come home, I wonder what my life would be like if I had, but…”

“But?” Alejandro wondered if Deja could hear the desperation in her voice. He understood it, even if she didn’t, that need for someone who understood your life to tell you that you’d made the right decision and that you could succeed or to point you in a different direction if you couldn’t. He’d felt it, and he’d seen it in other people so many times, but it broke him to hear that tone in her voice and see the hunger for reassurance in her eyes. And even though he knew that Deja wouldn’t let him take care of her, he gave her the reassurance she was practically begging for.

“Carlos is a mechanic. He’s good at it. He’s fucking great at it, and he loves it. He was always a serious kid, and he wanted to be just like papi and have a life just like our parents’. This is what I’m good at. I’m where I’m supposed to be. So are you,” he couldn’t stop himself from adding.

Alejandro watched as Deja took in his words. He didn’t know if they sank in, but he could tell her again, happily, any time she wanted to hear them. He sipped his water, and she did the same. And then she chewed her bottom lip as she thought about what he’d said, and he watched her. They stood in silence for a while until she turned to him with a shaky smile.

“You want to order takeout for dinner?” she asked nervously.

“Fuck, yes,” Alejandro breathed.

“This is so good,” Alejandro said, finishing the chicken wing in his hand and tossing it onto the plate between them.