The pillows had been returned to their usual places.
The toy cars were back in their storage box.
The house had settled into silence.
But the silence felt different now.
It no longer seemed quite so heavy.
Carlos thought about the afternoon.
He remembered the sound of Mateo’s laughter and Elena’s expression as she watched their son invent one ridiculous scenario after another.
He remembered sitting on the floor with a pillow on his head, pretending to be a squirrel.
For the first time in a long while, the memory of an ordinary day made him smile.
Then another thought occurred to him.
He had been spending so much time worrying about giving his family a better future that he had nearly stopped participating in their present.
The realization was uncomfortable.
Carlos had never doubted his love for Elena or Mateo.
Every extra shift, every sacrifice, and every difficult decision had been motivated by his desire to protect them.
