I steal a glance at Karla who gives me a, “Oh the stories I could tell” look that I try and flash right back at her.

“Tio Joel, I need your watch. I’m going to make it disappear.”

Dylan waves a wand he’s been clutching in his right hand and Joel takes off his very expensive looking watch and hands it over without protest.

Holding it in one outstretched palm, Dylan closes his fingers around it as much as he can and then waves the wand three times before opening his now empty hand.

“Where did it go?” I ask.

“On your wrist.”

I look down to discover my wrist newly adorned. The watch isn’t clasped, but it is draped on my right hand. “Oh my goodness. How did you do that?”

“Magic,” he answers simply.

Joel reaches for my wrist and thumbs my pulse just below the metal band. “Thief.”

I watch the movements of his thumb entranced with the way his touch warms my entire body.

“It’s a nice watch,” I say finally and reluctantly move to take it off, seeing the time in the process. “Oh no. No.” I stand and pull my cell out of my back pocket to verify. “I’m late. I’m so late.” I tap out a text to Victor.

Joel moves to action at the urgent tone in my voice. “Ma, we gotta run.”

I calculate the time I think it’ll take to get back to the university to get my car and then to my house. Ugh, how could I be so careless?

Hastily, but forcing as much appreciation and sincerity in my tone as possible, I say goodbye to everyone on the way out feeling genuinely regretful to be leaving this family lunch.

I’m lost in my own thoughts as we head back. I can’t help but compare Joel’s family with my own. My pregnancy put a strain on our families – mine and Victor’s. The families supported us, of course, but it hasn’t been an easy road. There’s a loss of dreams that parents face when they realize their kid has to grow up and be an adult before they should.

And then with Victor moving away so soon after Christian was born, it added to the burden our families felt. And I’m not even sad for the ways that changed me, I just want Christian to have the best. He’s such a special kid and I only wish Victor could see the way his actions impact Christian. I know he can’t miss what he’s never had, but I want him to have more. For the first time since he showed up at my door this morning, I’m wondering if I should go easier on him. I can’t change the past and if he’s showing up now for Christian, isn’t that all that really matters?

I steal a glance over at Joel who stares out into the open road lost in his own thoughts.

“Thank you for today. Your family is incredible.”