She inhales, then breathes out slowly. “I don’t know all the particulars, but my mother and aunts feel like Cláudia looks down on them because they were all single mothers when they raised their kids.”

“That sounds like a reason to look up to them.”

“I agree. Tia Viviane and Tia Mariana aren’t pressed about it, I don’t think, but it’s a sore spot for my mother. Before the visit, Cláudia made a remark suggesting that I’d never settle down. My mother, annoyed but also feeling uncharacteristically petty, bragged that I was in a relationship and that it was getting very serious.”

“Ah, so this is where Brandon comes in.”

“Yeah.”

“Is Cláudia right about you? Are you destined never to settle down?”

She lifts her head a bit and peers at me. “I’ll settle down eventually. Where and when it makes sense to.”

I don’t say anything. Right now, all I want to do is listen—and be here for her.

After a minute of silence, she says, “My mother thinks I avoid making big decisions because I’m afraid I’ll end up being sucker punched by them. She’s not entirely wrong, but she’s not entirely right either. I just think I owe it to her to be smart about my choices. To not fall into the same traps that she fell into.”

“You’re referring to your father?”

“That’s the main one, yeah. But it’s other stuff too.”

“Where’s your father now?”

“No clue,” she says. “The last time we talked he promised to attend my high school graduation. He didn’t show. The worst part is that my mother tried to warn me against relying on my father. She didn’t tell me not to connect with him, but she cautioned me not to expect too much. She was right. I was wrong. Lesson learned.”

“He’s never tried to contact you as an adult?”

She closes her eyes. “Not even once.”

The ache in my throat prevents me from responding as quickly as I’d like to. It’s inconceivable to me that a person wouldn’t want Solange in their life in some way. Being a part of her circle is a prize we should all want to win. “Are you angry with him? Resentful?”

“As to me, not at all. Because that would suggest that I was missing something by not having him in my life. Or that my mother didn’t do enough, and that’s very much not the case. My mother was my mom and my dad. She made up for his absence a million times over. But as to her, I’m livid. He had no business saddling her with a kid if he didn’t want to hang around.”

“I’m sure your mother never thought of you as a burden,” I say gently. “The love between you two is unmistakable.”