“Okay, enough about me,” she says, laughing as she pats her cheeks dry with her hands. “What were you going to say?”
Maya takes a breath, steadies her nerves. She wants to get it right because there won’t be a second chance to say it.
“I haven’t talked to Dad about this at all,” Maya says. “Or Lauren. I wanted to tell you first. But a couple of months ago, I went with Joaquin and Grace to visit our birth mother.”
The color drains from her mom’s face as her hand comes up to cover her mouth.
Maya forges ahead anyway.
“I found an envelope a long time ago in your safe, so we went to the address that was on it,” she said. “And she—Melissa—she died a long time ago. A car accident.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Maya’s mom is holding her hands so tight that Maya can feel her wedding ring branding itself into her skin. “Oh, sweetie, oh no.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” Maya says quickly. “I’m not— I mean, yes, I’m sad about it, but she has a sister, Jessica, and she’s really nice. And there are pictures. And I just . . .” Maya can feel her mouth quivering. She hates it. It makes her feel like everything, including her own body, is out of her control.
“I just wanted to tell you first,” she says, and now her voice is quivering, too. “Because you’re my mom, okay? You are. You’re my mom. And I love Melissa because she had me, but I love you because you raised me, and I just wanted you to know that even though I’m still really mad at you, you can screw up a million times and I’ll still love you, no matter what. Just like you love me, no matter what. Right?”
Her mom is crying silently now, rivers of tears running down her face as she nods. “Yes, sweetie,” she says.
“So . . . when are you coming home?” Maya asks, hanging on tight to her mom’s hand, like she could levitate and float away.
“Soon,” her mom whispers back. “I’ll be home soon, I promise.”
“Home with us,” Maya murmurs, and then smiles a little to herself. “Where you belong.”
JOAQUIN
The adoption party ends up becoming a combination adoption–eighteenth birthday party.
Joaquin doesn’t mind one bit.
At the courthouse this morning, it was just the three of them, plus a photographer who Linda hired for the day. Joaquin wore a new suit that made him feel like an adult, and a tie that matched Mark’s. Linda wore a dress in the same colors as the ties, and the three of them looked at themselves in the mirror before leaving the house.
“We,” Joaquin declared, “look like huge dorks.”
Mark just laughed. “Too bad for you, kiddo,” he said. “Because in an hour, you’re going to be related to us. There’s no turning back now.”
Joaquin thought that sounded like a pretty fair deal.
Linda cried during the brief ceremony, and Mark got teary but later swore it was allergies. Joaquin still wasn’t sure it would actually happen, that a lightning bolt wouldn’t strike the courthouse, but the skies were blue and nothing went wrong and then the judge was saying, “Congratulations, young man,” and the photographer took all their pictures together, and Joaquin’s face hurt for the rest of the afternoon because he was smiling so much.
The backyard is pretty busy and the party’s in full swing by the time the sun sets. Mark and Joaquin strung up lights all throughout the trees yesterday (and only ended up needing two Band-Aids in the process), so the backyard looks almost magical. The bougainvillea and morning glories are in full bloom, too, along with the jasmine that makes everything smell as good as it looks. Joaquin and Linda planted those plants together a month ago. (They only needed one Band-Aid after that project.)
Mark and Linda are there, of course, dancing to the mariachi band that’s playing in the corner of the yard. Their next-door neighbors are there, too, mostly because Mark and Linda were afraid that they would call the police because of all the noise, but they seem to be having a great time. They’re chatting with Bryson-the-pencil-holder-maker-from-the-arts-center’s parents while Bryson stands a little too close to the horn section, staring up in fascination. Joaquin hopes he doesn’t accidentally get bonked with a trumpet.
In the corner, Joaquin can see Maya and Claire chattering away, their heads together, while Lauren and her dad peruse the barbecue buffet that Linda’s set out. Claire