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Mateo mentioned that he spent that summer at home because Isabel was having a hard time, and as much as I’m dying to know the details, I don’t want to make her share if she doesn’t want to. “Nothing is your fault Isabel, and we’re together now, so it’s all turned out okay. It’s good that Mateo got to spend that summer here with family.”
“He hasn’t told you anything about that time, has he,” Isabel says, more as a statement than a question. “Of course, he would be too considerate to tell you about my bad choices.”
I wait silently as she changes lanes to pass a car. Despite what looks like deep, recent snow, the roads are completely clear. Props to Michigan’s winter preparedness.
“I went off to college not really knowing what I wanted to do,” Isabel begins. “But my parents were so adamant about wanting us to get a college education, and Miguel was doing so well at Michigan, so I figured I should just go to a community college and get some gen eds out of the way until I decided what I wanted to major in. Unfortunately, the only thing I wound up majoring in was guys. And partying.”
Isabel goes on to tell me about the guy she started dating toward the end of her freshman year who eventually introduced her to opioids. She failed out by the end of the fall semester sophomore year and moved in with her boyfriend, despite her parents’ pleas to come back home.
“Mateo and I are a year and a half apart in age, but only a grade apart in school, so this was happening during his freshman year at Townsend,” Isabel explains. “Right before spring break, I overdosed and almost died—I would have if not for the paramedics responding quickly.”
My heart drops. “Isa, that’s awful. It must have been terrifying to wake up in the hospital,” I say quietly, watching Isabel as she watches the road.
She shrugs one shoulder. “It was awful, but at the same time, it was the best thing that could have happened. It woke me up to the fact that I needed help. Seeing my parents scared that their only daughter was going to die finally snapped me out of it. I went straight to rehab.
“I moved back in with my parents after rehab but kept attending weekly meetings. Mateo coming home that summer to support me meant the world, and hearing about how he had grown in his faith at college opened me up to being interested in going back to church with him. I found the missing piece, the strength outside myself that I needed to stay clean and keep growing. Between Mateo going with me to church, my parents giving me a place to land, a great therapist, and my sponsor at my recovery meetings, I had the support I needed to keep me on track,” Isabel concludes.
I’m momentarily speechless, so blown away at the resilience of Mateo’s family and all they’ve faced. “Thanks for trusting me with that part of your story, Isa. I’m sure it must be hard to talk about,” I finally say.
“It gets a little easier every time I talk about it, and I know that God can use me sharing my story to help other people,” Isa shares. “And now I finally know what I want to do with my future. I’m going back to college so I can become a school counselor. I hope I can use my experience to help high school girls be better prepared and informed to make decisions about their futures.”
“That’s amazing, Isa!” I exclaim. “When will you start?”
“I’m working as a para-educator in our local school district right now, but I’ll start taking night classes next semester and transition full time eventually,” she says proudly.
Isabel asks a few questions about my college experience and the law school process. Before I know it, we’re slowing way down as we pull into the outskirts of Hart. My heart starts pounding with anticipation.
“So, what’s the surprise plan here?” I ask.
“Mateo was helping my parents with the Sunday lunch rush, but then Mom was supposed to convince him that they could all go home to take a break mid-afternoon before going back for dinner service. So we’ll go surprise them at home, and then we’ll all go back to the restaurant tonight. It’s closed tomorrow, so you’ll have the day to hang out with my parents,” Isabel explains. “And I’ll come back over after school is out.”
I nod as Isabel slows the car and pulls into a driveway. The single-story bungalow is decked out with Christmas lights and a huge wreath on the front door. Excitement rushes through me at the thought of seeing Mateo, especially surprising him.
Isabel tells me to wait for a minute in the car, then bounds up the porch steps to swing open the front door. I hear her yelling, “Hey! Hermano! Come help me bring something in from the car! Apúrate!”
She returns and leans her head in the driver’s door with a merry twinkle in her eye. “Okay, wait till he comes down the steps and then open up the door!”
Seconds later, I see Mateo come out the front door, and feel my heart suddenly in my throat. It’s only been a few days since I last saw him, but watching him come out of his childhood home, knowing I’m about to spend time with him and his family, has me feeling all sorts of ways.
The fact that he looks incredibly hot in jeans and a fitted long-sleeve tee, with slightly longer than usual stubble is not helping matters.
I see Luis come out on the porch right after Mateo with a wide grin, followed closely by a beautiful woman who has to be Rosa.
“Sheesh, practice a little patience, Isa,” Mateo is teasing as he walks toward the car. He jolts to a stop with a look of total shock the moment I stand up out of the car and close the door.
“No way!” he exclaims, glancing at Isabel and then back at his parents, who are all beaming at him. The next moment he’s racing toward me and scoops me into his arms, twirling me around as I laugh.
“You’re here!” he says as he draws back to look into my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here! Am I dreaming? Pinch me,” he adds with that dimpled smile.
“Hey, no pinching allowed, remember?” I tease before leaning in to give him another hug. His hands are woven through my hair against my back, clutching me like he’ll never let go. “All credit goes to your dad; this was his idea,” I say as I tip my head back to smile up at Mateo.
My mention of his dad seems to remind him that we’re standing in front of his house with his family. He moves to my side with one arm around my shoulders, and we walk toward the porch. “Apparently, you’ve already met Isa, and you know my dad,” Mateo says as Luis grins and tips his head at me. “But Lana, meet my mom, Rosa. Mamá, this is Lana.”
Rosa has stepped down to meet us on the walk up to the porch, and she immediately pulls me into a tight embrace. “El corazón de mi hijo, finally I meet you,” she says with such tenderness that tears spring to my eyes. She pulls back with her hands on my shoulders, looking me over with a soft smile. “You’re so beautiful, and so kind, I can already tell,” Rosa declares in beautifully accented English as she places a hand on my cheek.
“It’s so good to meet you, too,” I reply. “Thank you for inviting me into your home at such a busy time before Christmas.”
“You are so dear to our Mateo, you are already family, Lana,” she asserts. “And your parents welcomed Mateo at Thanksgiving when he couldn’t be home with us. That meant so much to this mother’s heart.”
